How Do I Become a Game Tester?

If you love to play video games, you can make a career out of being a game tester. Game development has many steps, but quality assurance is a vital stage of development. Some smaller developers will look to freelance testers to help them, while some of the larger companies have a full time staff.

How do I become a game tester? There are many different ways, but first you must have a specific combination of skills and education. To become a top tester, you should have a degree in computer science or programming. This will give you a good working knowledge of the life cycle of software development.

You must also have good oral and written communication skills. You will be writing and submitting numerous bug and enhancement reports to the developers. It is important that they understand the issue you have found in order to properly remedy the bug. They should not have to guess at what you are trying to communicate.

Having a good focus and drive is good in the testing industry as well. As a game nears release, you will be working long and arduous hours. You are the last line of defense to ensure a product goes to the public error free. You will likely be rechecking previous bugs to make sure they have been fixed properly.

If you are interested in getting into the gaming industry, being a game tester is a great place to start. The skills and experience you gain as a tester will transfer into your career as a developer or strategist.