To avid gamers, getting to play video games all day, every day would be living the dream. Well, what if you can get paid to do so? Wouldn’t that be amazing? The good news is that you can actually be compensated for playing video games. How, you may ask? Two words: game testing.
The job description of a game tester is basically self-explanatory—they intensively test video games that are under development. Playing isn’t all they do for pay, however. These professionals are tasked to go through every possible permutation of play, checking for errors within the game before they get distributed to the general public.
A crucial part of a large entertainment and multimedia computing team, they closely collaborate with programmers and provide valuable, real-life insights that help them polish the gameplay. Another term for the job that you may be more familiar with is quality assurance.
How can you become a game tester?
If the above description piqued your interest and you’re looking to pursue the promising world of game testing, it’s highly important that you invest in education. Contrary to what you may think, becoming a game tester would require heavy writing and communications skills—part of QA is drafting reports that document your findings, after all. A strong attention to detail is also a must-have for a game tester.
If you have a background in entertainment and multimedia computing, you have an edge over the competition. This is because you’ll be able to understand the technical aspects of the game. You’ll be in a better position to make recommendations when you know how a project is developed.
To clarify, having a degree in entertainment and multimedia computing is not necessarily required for game testers. However, a deep understanding of game development can put you in a better position to make recommendations to improve a project. While your personal accomplishments of finishing over a hundred video games within a year is impressive, that won’t be enough basis to evaluate the technicalities of a game.
You can, however, earn that much-needed critical lens through an entertainment and multimedia computing background. At CIIT Philippines, EMC majors are taught both the creative and the programming aspects of gaming, so you’re certain to be a strong candidate for the role.
Why are game testers important?
As the video game industry continues to evolve and gain popularity, the demand for game testers rises as well. More titles are being ported into different gaming platforms, and it can get especially difficult for video game developers to keep track of quality.
Realistically speaking, no developer can produce a flawless game without a hands-on entertainment and multimedia computing quality assurance expert onboard. It takes extensive game testing to find out if the game has any flaws or bugs. If they opt out of hiring game testers, the development team would be overworked, compromising their own jobs just to keep track of the game’s quality.
Prepare to pursue game testing
If you think game testing is for you, then you should consider pursuing a degree in entertainment and multimedia computing. The Bachelor of Science in Entertainment and Multimedia Computing at CIIT Philippines is an excellent opportunity to learn the ropes of game development and open doors to potential growth, both professional and personal.
As an educational institution that promotes high-quality, industry-based teaching, we will equip you with the skillset you would need to become a successful game tester. With an up-to-date curriculum that reflects the latest and most relevant of all trade needs, the BS EMC degree guarantees your exposure to the latest technologies in the video game industry.
Invest in yourself and your future by enrolling at CIIT Philippines. Check out our college courses to get started.
