QA: An Ugly Job?
So you might be thinking you would love to do QA and be able to play games for a living? How cool would that be to get paid to play games? There are millions of gamers out there that would almost give their trigger fingers for the chance to do just that. Most people think that QA is all fun and games. However, there are times it is not and the importance of it is undeniable and a necessity.
Let’s make things clear for anyone who may not know. Game QA or any QA for that matter isn’t the client or company giving you the game and saying, “Here have fun, let me know if you find anything wrong”. Typically it is much more specific and often times you focus on one element of a game such as weapons or even just one level. Other times test plans are created and you must follow along as you play while checking functionality, systems, etc. So can QA be an “Ugly Job”?
The answer is quite simply, yes. Playing the same level of a game for 40 hours can certainly wear on you. Even endless checks of the same feature in a game can become very monotonous. This is where you come in! If you truly have a passion for what you do, that will transcend some of the pitfalls associated with QA or testing. Being able to see a game take form as the weeks or months go by can leave you with a very satisfying feeling. There have been many times in my experiences where an idea I had was implemented into the game. Thus not only giving me a personal attachment but a rush of… Well it’s hard to put into words, but it’s freakin’ awesome! That being said, the games we test, the websites we check, the apps we analyze are what they are for others because of us. It definitely can be unglamorous and typically can be an uncelebrated position but its only “ugly” if you let it be!
– David Follo
Project Manager