How to Become a Game Tester

When people talk about good jobs or getting their dream job, most people talk about becoming doctors or lawyers, maybe even an architect. A career that is not often talked about is a video game tester. Many people consider this a fantasy job, or one that doesn’t even exist. The truth is, video game testers are actually out there, working directly for video game companies, and you can become one too. Here are the steps that you need to take to get your actual dream job – a video game tester.

• Keep in mind that it is hard to become a video game designer. There is a very small market for this kind of job, but jobs are available, but you have to look harder. Calls for this job are not usually placed in classifieds or other places you can commonly find job ads. Instead you have to make contacts with video game designers and companies. You want them to notice you for your skills and experience.

• Once you have caught their attention and you are putting together your resume to try and secure the job, be sure to talk a lot about your experience with video games – these people only want to hire people that are truly passionate about games and the process of making them, designing them, testing, and playing them. Include which consoles you own or have owned in the past, what types of games you have played and have, how many you have, how long you have been a gamer, how often you play video games, and for how many hours at a time you play. Any additional information about your experience with video games that you think would be of importance can also be included.

• Persuade them that you are the one for the job. Explain why you are a good fit, and show that you have knowledge about games and why a tester is an important part of the design process. Show them that you know your stuff : impress them.

• Show them that you know how to recognize glitches by talking about the games you have and some of the glitches you have noticed, and report them. Talk about how games could be made better. Again, show them your knowledge of this industry.

Keep sending out applications and making new contacts in the video game industry, and chances are, you will eventually be a part of this exciting industry as a very important video game tester. In the past you may have thought this was a fantasy job, but now that you know this dream is attainable, go out and get it. If you are having problems making contacts in the industry do job searches, but don’t use the term video game tester when searching. Instead, type in quality assurance, or quality control, and you will likely come up with some matches. Stay persistent, and soon enough you will be living the dream life.

How to Get Started in Game Development

If you are passionate about business and video games, and want to use your passions and hobbies to make a career for yourself, consider going into the game development industry. This is a multi-million dollar industry, and it continues to grow each and every day. If you want to jump on the bandwagon and make a living doing something that you truly enjoy, than this is a great career path to pursue.

The only problem with this industry is that it isn’t talked about enough in the career aspect of it. Most people who want to begin working in this industry start off pretty clueless, or give up all together because they have no clue where to begin. This article will help you get an idea of where to start your journey if you want to get into the game development industry.

• Make sure to gain a lot of knowledge about video games, if you don’t already have a firm grasp on them. Play a lot of video games, and take notes as you do so. If you enjoy a particular game, note why, do the same if you don’t enjoy the game. Note any glitches the games have, and write down what could have made the game better. by doing these things you will get to know what makes a game good or bad, and what could improve the not so enjoyable games into something better.

• Be sure to develop great computer skills. Some colleges even have classes specially tailored for game design, sometimes these colleges even have game design or game development degrees. If your school doesn’t offer these classes, get a degree in computer programming or computer science. You will need this skills to make games later on down the road. Study hard and pass your classes with top notch grades.

• You have two ways you can go now. Either seek an internship with a large gaming company for experience, or work for a smaller gaming company. Both these options will get your foot in the door and greatly increase your chances for success in the upcoming months and years. You may not make much money with these options, but the experience you will gain in the industry is invaluable.

• Make and design your own games when not at work to build a work portfolio to impress larger companies. Once you think your portfolio is a good size, look up the HR departments of large, big name game companies, and submit your resume and portfolio to them, and hope for the best. You may have to apply to a large number of companies, but hopefully one of them will bite the bait and hire you on as part of their game development team. This is a lot of work, but it will be worth it in time. Having a job as a game designer in a big gaming company is an amazing accomplishment, and something to be very proud of. It may take time, but everything will work out wonderfully in the end if you persevere and keep on it.

Finding Video Game Tester Jobs

A video game tester is someone who test upcoming video games to make sure they work properly. These people look for glitches that might have been overlooked in the design process, and they also slot any other mistakes. They make suggestions to the rest of the game development team on how to make the game even better and more marketable to a wider audience. The game testers hold the video game industry together, and ensure that the games being released are quality games that will actually be enjoyed by those who purchase them.

Many people think video game testers are a myth, but they are very real, and it is possible for these people to become video game testers also, if they so desire. More and more people are realizing that these jobs are real, and some colleges are going as far as offering video game testing classes. The problem with video game testing jobs is that they are hard to find. Here are some ways to find video game testing jobs.

• First off, commit yourself to the process. It can take quite a long time and a lot of effort to secure a video game testing job, as the competition for this job is extremely high. Make a commitment to yourself, and establish goals and milestones to help you achieve these goals.

• Next, make your presence know. Join online video game sites and forums. Post a lot, and answer other members questions about games. Make sure that you make it known and easy to see that you are quite knowledgeable about video games, and chances are someone will notice you eventually.

• Do a job search for video game testers to get an idea of who is hiring. You may want to use keywords such as quality assurance or other similar terms to get better results, as video game testers may come up with junk if that is what you search for. Make a list of who is hiring, and decide which companies you are going to apply to, and full out your resume and send it to each and every company you have chosen to maximize your chances of getting a lead.

• Make sure your resume is filled out with plenty of information about you and your experience with video games and anything to do with them. Link them to your profiles on gaming websites, as this will help to show them that you know plenty about games and how to maneuver in them. Convince them that you are the best of the best – you are trying to convince them to pick you over the hundreds of other applicants, and you really have to sell yourself.

Being a video game tester can be a coveted and very rewarding job if you take the time and effort needed to secure the big job. It will take a lot of effort, but stay persisted and it is sure to happen for you, even if it doesn’t seem like it at times. Once you get the job, you won’t regret any of the efforts you made.

The Essentials to Becoming a Game Developer

If you are great with computers and enjoy playing video games, than a career in game development might be a great fit for you. By pursuing this as a career option, you will be able to do something you are good at and are passionate about. Too many people wake up each morning hating their jobs, dreading their entire day. This doesn’t have to be you. Become a game developer and chances are you will wake up in the morning excited for another day at work, and will be able to truly live a relaxing, enjoyably lifestyle. The road to becoming a game developer can be difficult or tedious at times, but for a life full of happiness and excitement, it is well worth it. Curious on what it takes to become a game developer? Here are the steps needed to break into this career.

1. If you are still in middle or high school, you can get started even now. Take classes that deal with computers and help you to gain experience with them. Computer science, graphic design, anything dealing with computers that you think would benefit a career in game development and make obtaining your degree easier for you.
2. Game developers need to go to college, so that is your next step. Some schools now have classes, and even degrees specially for game design and development. If your school is like most and doesn’t offer these classes or degrees, than you can get a degree in computer science, computer engineering, or computer technology. All of these degrees will make you eligible and prepared for a career in game design and development.
3. After you graduate, it is a good idea to apply for internships in both small and large gaming companies to help get your feet wet. It is very hard for a newbie to the field to get a job in a big company without experience, and internships, whether paid or not, or pretty much the only option you have for getting this experience.
4. After you have amasses some experience, start sending out applications like crazy to bigger companies, or any gaming company you would personally like to work for. Be sure to include any experience you have, a work portfolio, and why you would be a good fit for the job. Also be sure to include information about your experience with video games, as these companies want people who actually care about their industry and the work they do – they won’t hire just anybody with the proper degree, they want someone who will be passionate about working for them.
5. Once you have gotten a bite from a company, do excellent in the interview. Don’t be afraid to show some personality, and always ask questions if you have them. If you land the job, than great. If you don’t, you will always have the opportunity to try again with the next company. Never give up, and eventually you’ll get there.

Game Designer Salaries

A career that many people don’t consider as an option is a game designer. This career field is growing in popularity and availability quite quickly as the gaming industry explodes. More and more game consoles are being introduced to us: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and many more. More and more games are coming out, and they are becoming more and more impressive and technologically advanced every day. Because of this, many of these high ranking, multi-million dollar gaming companies are looking to hire skilled, knowledgeable game designers. These people are living the life, getting to design the next big gaming hit, and they aren’t doing it for chump change either. Game designers and other people who work in this field are actually brining in a good amount of money, and you could be the next one to bring the dough in also, if game designing is your thing.

So, how much do these coveted game designers bring in, exactly? The answer really depends on where they work – designers working for brand name, big boss gaming companies will typically make much more than those working for small, independent game design companies. Either way, these designers will start off making a smaller salary while they gain their experience levels, and as time goes on their pay goes up also. Even better for game designers, their pay will continue to rise as the industry continues to explode with popularity.

The average pay for a first year game designer is around $40,000. As their experience grows, than can expect to earn up to $70,000 or more annually, pulling in a pretty decent salary to raise a family on. While they may not receive man benefits besides good pay when working with a smaller company, there are many benefits typically offered to game designers when they work with larger companies.

• Most game designer get a pretty good health insurance policy when they work with big name companies like Electronic Arts and Microsoft to go along with their hefty salary.

• Game designers get the benefit of working with people who are just as passionate as them about video games, and will get lots of company from gamers and tons of interaction in general. Game designer don’t work alone – they get the opportunity to work with an entire team of awesome people.

• Game designers also get to enjoy the fact that their job is pretty stable. The video game industry isn’t going anywhere. Instead it continues to grow and prosper.

• Game devs get to work in a more casual work environment than many other careers offer, and this can greatly benefit some people.

• Lastly, these game designers get to problem salve and challenge their minds each and every day, and they get to really shoe their stuff and embrace their creativity. Not many jobs allow creativity, so this is a great benefit that is simply priceless.