Want to work as a games tester in the video games industry? Then this is the book for you. This book provides all the essential information and guidance you need to understand the industry and get your foot in the door.
This book covers everything, from the education you’ll need, how to look for and apply for job opportunities, and the studio interview process itself. It also includes advice for what to do once you’re in the role, with chapters covering how to write a bug report and creating test plans, as well as interviews with top tips from experts in the industry.
This book will be of great interest for all beginner and aspiring games QA testers looking to build their career.
Author(s): Harún H. Ali
Series: The Pocket Mentors for Games Careers
Edition: 1
Publisher: CRC Press
Year: 2024
Language: English
Pages: xiii; 118
City: Boca Raton
Tags: Video games–Testing; Video games industry–Vocational guidance
Cover
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Who Am I?
Who’s This Book For?
1 What Is QA
1.1 The Stigmatisation of QA
1.2 Can You Make a Career Out of QA?
1.3 Hierarchy
1.4 The Many Roles of QA
1.4.1 QA Testers
1.4.2 Compliance Tester
1.4.3 Localisation Tester
1.4.4 QA Tech Roles (Tools Tester, Engineer)
1.4.5 Embedded QA Tester
1.4.6 Senior QA Tester
1.4.7 Lead QA
1.4.8 QA Manager
1.4.9 QA Director
2 Contracts, Different Types of QA Companies, and Wages
2.1 Fixed-Term Contract
2.1.1 Fixed-Term Contract Advice
2.2 Permanent Position
2.3 Internal (In-House) QA and External (Outsource) QA
2.3.1 Internal QA
2.3.2 External QA
2.4 Wages in the Industry
3 Education and Mentoring
3.1 Further Education
3.2 Apprenticeships
3.3 Higher Education
3.4 Graduate Schemes and Internships
3.5 ISTQB Qualifications
3.6 Alternative Ways of Learning
3.6.1 YouTube
3.6.2 Code Coven
3.6.3 Udemy
3.6.4 Pluralsight
3.6.5 LinkedIn Learning
3.7 Mentorships and Schemes
3.7.1 IGDA Global Mentorship Programme
3.7.2 Xbox Mentoring
3.7.3 Limit Break Mentorship
3.7.4 BAME in Games
3.7.5 Into Games
3.7.6 Grads in Games
3.7.7 Women in Games International (WIGI)
4 Community, Networking, and Events
4.1 Usability Testing and Playtesting
4.2 Community Bug Reports
4.3 Game Jams
4.4 Networking and Events
4.4.1 EGX – London (UK)
4.4.2 E3 – Los Angeles (USA)
4.4.3 Gamescom – Cologne (Germany)
4.4.4 Animex – Middlesbrough (UK)
4.4.5 Yorkshire Games Festival – Bradford (UK)
4.4.6 PAX Events (PAX East, PAX West, PAX AUS) – Seattle, Boston (USA), Melbourne (Australia)
4.4.7 Nordic Game – Malmö (Sweden)
4.4.8 WASD – London (UK)
4.4.9 Develop:Brighton – Brighton (UK)
4.4.10 Hamburg Games Conference – Hamburg (Germany)
4.4.11 Games Job Fair – Helsinki (Finland), Online
4.5 Local Meetups
4.6 Online Communities
4.6.1 Discord
4.6.2 Twitter (Also Known as X)
4.7 Networking Tips and Advice
5 Job Searching
5.1 Useful Job Searching Websites
5.1.1 Game Industry Websites
5.1.2 Gamesjobsdirect.com
5.1.3 Gamesjobs.live
5.1.4 LinkedIn
5.1.5 Workwithindies.com
5.1.6 Remotegamejobs.com
5.1.7 Hitmarker.net
5.1.8 Gracklehq.com
5.2 How to Find Game Companies
5.2.1 Gamedevmap.com
5.2.2 Gamesmap.uk
5.2.3 Gamesjobs.live
5.3 Talent Acquisition
5.4 Recruitment Agencies
5.5 Relocation Considerations
6 CVs (Resume) and Cover Letters
6.1 CVs
6.2 Cover Letter
6.3 Rejection Advice
7 Interviewing for a QA Job
7.1 Signing NDAs
7.2 Presenting Yourself
7.3 Virtual Interviews
7.4 Research the Company
7.5 Game Testing Skills Test
7.6 Talking About Skills
7.7 Ask Questions
7.8 Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?
8 Working in QA: Everyday Tips and Skills
8.1 Soft Skills
8.1.1 Communication
8.1.2 Interpersonal Skills
8.1.3 Problem-Solving
8.1.4 Time Management
8.2 Everyday Tasks You Can Do
8.3 Never Assume!
8.4 Thinking Outside the Box
8.4.1 Observation
8.4.2 Question
8.4.3 Hypothesis
8.4.4 Experiment
8.4.5 Analysis
8.4.6 Conclusion
8.5 General QA Advice
8.5.1 Taking On Extra Responsibilities
8.5.2 Repetition
8.5.3 Sticky Notes, Emails, and Bookmarks
8.6 Software
8.6.1 Jira and Confluence
8.6.2 Bugzilla
8.6.3 Perforce: Helix Visual Client
8.6.4 Hansoft
8.6.5 TestRail
8.6.6 Excel
8.6.7 Software: General Advice
9 Bug Report Breakdown
9.1 Summary
9.2 Priority and Severity
9.3 Components
9.4 Affect Versions
9.5 Build IDs
9.6 Steps to Reproduce
9.7 Description
9.8 Workaround
9.9 Expected Results and Actual Results
9.10 Attempts, Occurrences, and Percentages
9.11 Affect Players
9.12 Assignee
9.13 Team
9.14 Attachments
10 Types of Testing
10.1 Black Box and White Box Testing
10.2 Playtest
10.3 Performance Testing
10.4 Load Testing
10.5 Soak Testing
10.6 Stress Testing
10.7 Compatibility Testing
10.8 Smoke Testing
10.9 Sanity Testing
10.10 Retesting
10.11 Regression
10.12 Ad-Hoc Testing (Free Testing)
10.13 Component Testing
10.14 Testing Environments
10.15 Test Cases and Suites
10.15.1 Test Cases
10.15.1.1 Test Case ID
10.15.1.2 Title
10.15.1.3 Description
10.15.1.4 Pre-Conditions
10.15.1.5 Steps
10.15.1.6 Expected Results
10.15.1.7 Status
10.15.1.8 Tester
10.15.1.9 Bug Link
10.15.1.10 Notes
10.15.1.11 Time
10.15.2 Test Suite
11 Looking After Yourself (Mental Health and Your Rights)
11.1 Mental Health in the Games Industry
11.2 Burnout
11.3 Imposter Syndrome
11.4 Gaming-Specific Mental Health Organisations
11.4.1 TIGS
11.4.2 Safe in Our World
11.4.3 Check Point
11.5 Unions and Workers’ Rights
12 Where to Go Next
12.1 Software Testing
12.2 Production
12.3 Development
12.4 Closing Remarks
