Call of Duty: Are You Game Enough to Test?
Have you got what it takes to be a games tester? It's nearing the end of the year again, and that means another Call of Duty game—Black Ops 2 this year. There are many people who play games for many hours a week. Yet young people move into software testing based on their ability to play games rather than because of their knowledge, understanding, and capability to test games.
Young people are given jobs to tests games, and the novelty soon wears off. They find out that the skill of playing a game is completely different from the skill of testing a game. Testing games is time consuming because there is more to it than inexperienced people realize.
Wikipedia has a good section on games testing. And here Matt Swider from G4TV gives his take on how to become a games tester.
While being a good games player is important, I believe the first thing is to go and complete a course with the ISTQB. This certification will give you a good understanding of what testing is about. It will also give you opportunities if you get bored or disillusioned with testing games.
The challenges faced in games development are huge. It's as complex as making a blockbuster movie, with tens—if not hundreds—of people involved. Deadlines are based on business requirements. IT must deliver on those deadlines, and therefore testers will have immense pressure put on them.
Then, the games need to be localized into more languages, which requires even more testing. If you want to move into testing games, be prepared. If the country you work in doesn't have strict working hours laws, then you might be required to work long hours. Starting out in games testing without other qualifications or career goals may not give you the best start in your work life.
Games technology is as advanced as it gets. Havok started out of Dublin, and their engine is based on the work of PhD physics students at the time. The mathematics and computational power required to display modern games is astounding. The stamina to test games is no less demanding. Cooking in your kitchen is a lot different from cooking in a restaurant.
Do your research, and don't rush headlong into a career you don't know much about.
