QA as a Bridge to a Game Career?

An anonymous reader writes "Over at educational site Game Career Guide, there's a new article asking whether game testing is a good way to get into the game industry. Veteran game tester Zachary Slater comments of the conundrum: 'QA could be a worthwhile career path for console and computer games if only it were treated and respected as such ... It isn't and probably won't be. Game developers and publishers seem to regard QA as an unfortunate expense required in the development process. It is a problem for anyone who wants to actually focus on it that they won't be respected for doing so.'"

Comments

QA has worked for many professionals

[The_Hooleyman]

I work for a large game development studio.

If you didn't go to school, but you are energetic, disciplined and passionate, apply for QA roles and then commit to understanding the mechanics you see when you are testing. I know an Executive Producer of an extremely successful 2006 game that started in QA years before and absorbed the processes he saw around himself. He moved into design years later and applied this knowledge while absorbing process from the new disciplines around him. Then he was a respected Producer for years, mainly because he understood what it took to get things done in each area. Most recently he applied all of this with a talented team and made a great game.

Even young punks who think they know it all can grow up in QA. It is quite an eye-opener for these know-it-alls to be around disciplined, confident CompSci and other graduates who really do know their stuff. They often mature during this process can move onto roles with more responsibility. The ones that don't are easy to spot. If you have the education, the only thing that you need if you are missing experience in the games industry is modesty and passion. Modesty to work on the boring systems, and passion to make those seem exciting.

The industry really needs more candidates. If you see business news about the growing game industry, remember that 85%+ of that growth is people. We routinely hire talent from other countries because we don't get enough local resumes.

It *CAN* work... you just have to be patient.

[mark-t]

An acquaintance of mine was a tester for Electronic Arts for several years, although he was certainly qualified as a computer programmer. He always got laid off from QA when the work was slow and then because he made a point of remaining available, he was rehired again whenever they needed more testers.

Eventually (only recently, in fact), they finally took him on in a permanent capacity as a full-time developer. But this whole process took YEARS.. and in that whole time, there was never any real indication of hope that he was ever going to be anything more than a tester for them.

So I'm inclined to believe that it can work, but one may have to stick it through a lot of periods of unstable employment. Bear in mind also that the fact that the fellow I know got hired on as a developer may have only been fortuitous for him, I can offer no guarantee that this tactic would always work.