Tips for getting a QA position?

erik!

I was just wondering if anyone has any advice on how to 1 up the competition when applying for a QA position. Since I'm still a student and learning all the cool art stuff, I figure why not try to get a QA position to earn some industry experience? What say you?

flaagan

Prove you're not a total tool. Show that you can work well with others, particularly in order try and find the source of a problem. If you've got any technical knowledge, that's too your advantage, as a lot of the QA guy's I've worked with don't have a f'ing clue as to what goes into making the game. Patience is important... you're likely going to be spending a LOT of time staring at that one game, and probably will have to deal with other QA people that you don't get along with, so keeping a cool head is a plus. Being able to clearly explain a problem you experience in the game is key - a poorly worded bug is just as useless as not reporting the bug, and keep in mind you're likely to be the one who has to regress the bug once it's been claim fixed, or you may not be, so whoever has to read your bug report needs to be able to clearly know how to reproduce the bug. (A little hint: if the game has a coordinate system you're using to report the location of a bug, DO NOT solely rely on that, as the devs may at any time remove that from the game engine, and you're suddenly left not know where the hell the problem occurred at.)

Hope that's the kind of answer you're looking for.

Pseudo

Flaagan hit most of the points with his wall of text.

When I was doing interviews the people who stood out to me were the ones that knew how and why games worked. The art side of things wont help you, but being an aspiring game developer will.

Knowing how collision works, how scripting works, how AI (basically) functions, and things like that will put you way over the top.

Striff

It depends on the company, especially how big the company is.

Smaller companies will defiantly try to find the cream of the crop out of people who apply. Play the companies games...be familiar with them. Be a team player...your going to be communicating with your fellow employees a lot.

Larger companies....at least some of the ones I know pretty well, I hear that is it extremely easy to land these positions. The screening process is not as hard as smaller companies.

But for both..you really need an open schedule. Most companies I know treat this like a full time job.

snemmy

watch Grandma's Boy

funny movie about a game tester...
pretty glamorized.. just watch it and laugh

Rhinokey

one thing you need to know.. that it seems a lot of testers do not know. a tester is not a designer or an art director. A lot of them seem to think that "the wood on this building is a little too redish,, should be more brown" is a legitimate bug,, but really,, no need to do anything like that to work your way into the industry.. "make a good portfolio" and "don't be a tool"

erik!

mmm, tasty info.

flaagan: could you elaborate more when you say technical knowledge? Do you mean the things that Pseudo mentioned about knowing how collisions, scripting, and AI work?

I would definitly like to know more about how collisions, scripting, etc. work in games. Any recommendations on sites that can give me a good rundown on those things? Much appreciated folks.

EmAr

Gamasutra is a good site with lots of articles on several subjects. Google helps too. Also, you can try reading mod-making sources like the Valve Wiki or UDN to see how things are handled in certain games/engines. Modding may be helpful too, especially if the company you're applying for has a mod-able engine.

flaagan

erik!.. yah, pretty much what pseudo said, just having a general understanding of what goes into making a game and what makes up a game is a very handy thing to know. Wherever you end up, if you can hang out with the devs (which is usually the case at a smaller company), do so. If people on the team know of your interest in the whole project and / or that you have some understanding of the work they do (and if you don't, ask them about it when it wont be pestering them), you'll make friends and have people you can talk with about your own progress towards getting a game job. Don't limit yourself to talking to just the artists, talk to everyone on the team if you can, both leads and grunts, coders and artists, etc.. you may find jobs or information that you didn't know about.

TechSmith

Around here, they will hire just about anybody for QA through recruiters.
The pay is pretty crappy though.

EarthQuake

[ QUOTE ]
watch Grandma's Boy

funny movie about a game tester...
pretty glamorized.. just watch it and laugh

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh dear god this movie caused me so much pain. Its quite posibly the most retarded look into game design ever, aside from that one "We need to tighten up the graphics" commercial.

Pseudo

Oh and something that I wish people would have told me before I got into QA... If you are working QA to get a foot in the industry, DON'T do QA at a publisher (EA, Activision, etc).

You wont be treated well, and you will have close to zero interaction with the devs.

Leech

My first response to this question was "have a pulse" but I realize that doesn't help much.

I'm not sure what you are going to gain by working a QA job if you are going to school for art. In fact I think it's a bad idea. If you want specific reasons, send me a pm.

You would be much better off getting an internship for art. You will learn more, it will mean more on your resume and being in Costa Mesa (you have probably a dozen companies within a 20 minute drive) you should have no problem obtaining one. Your school should have connections to get you this - have you asked them?

Worst case scenario - you don't get an art internship, then think about QA.

erik!

Gamasutra! of course, why didn't I think of that. Just listened to one of their podcasts about gaming education. Intersting stuff.

Leech: I'm goin to school to learn about the process of making games, not just "game art". I think a QA position would give me a better understanding of how everything works within a company and how games are made right now. An internship is required at my school (AI). However, I won't be eligible for that for another year or more, hence the QA position.

flaagan

[ QUOTE ]
Oh and something that I wish people would have told me before I got into QA... If you are working QA to get a foot in the industry, DON'T do QA at a publisher (EA, Activision, etc).

You wont be treated well, and you will have close to zero interaction with the devs.

[/ QUOTE ]

I call utter BS on that, pseudo.

During my stint at EARS I spent a good portion of my time over at the dev building working with the devs directly, and my experience / knowledge played a big part in that happening.

But I definitely have to agree the general attitude / treatment of QA there was utter crap. We were often the scapegoat for problems that dev refused to fix or just flat out ignored. At my current QA job, we spend about half an hour every evening talking with the producer (and maybe 10 minutes of that is talking about the game, the rest is friendly bs'ing).

Spark

Yeah, I have to respond to the watch Grandma's Boy comment, watch it and understand that is the exact opposite of what really happens in the industry. Pure crap on a disk is what it is. I think adding to what can help is having good communication skills, to be able to have your thoughts on what is the problem and easily understandable to a dev that will need to work on that bug. Many of times I have gotten back bugs, which just say "Broken" and nothing else, which really isnt that helpfull:) Good luck.

Spark

ElysiumGX

I am currently working in a QA position. I'd have to say confidence and professionalism got me the job...and overall, just a good attitude (which coming from me, is surprising :P). I applied twice. The first time I wasn't really trying hard. Didn't hear anything back. The second time, I had help from friends in polishing up my resume. Making what little I had under my belt really stand out. Marketing myself and my abilities. Keeping it simple and organized. That finally got me the phone call. I took a copy of my resume to the interview. I was honest with my answers. Explained all the things I do know about game design, and all the things I was eager to learn. Having basic knowledge of how game engines render a mesh, textures, and animation has been very helpful for me.

The people I work with are a fun group. We have a good time, communicate well, and the company treats us fairly. The devs cooperate well with us. I've learned a great deal.

So basically, know what your goals are, and don't be an ass.