Play for the Pay

Every gamer dreams of earning money by playing games. Sean Sequeira explores the job of a game tester where a passion for games can be turned into a career

INTRO VIDEO
A game tester is the one who makes sure the game you are playing is in perfect working condition. Game testers are responsible for finding kinks in the game and reporting them to the development team so as to clean out all the bugs before the game is released publicly in the market. A game tester works closely with the game art and game development teams to make sure the final product is just as it was envisioned and causes no problems while the user plays it.

COLLECTING EQUIPS
There is no formal education that qualifies someone to be a game tester at the moment. A basic higher secondary education (10+2) would be enough for a person who is interested in pursuing game testing. If the person is a graduate in computer science, computer programming or graphic designing, or has a good knowledge of the hardware and software that would go into game testing, it would improve their chances of becoming an entry level game tester.

SKILL MOVES
With regard to additional skills that a game tester should have, Chiranjeevi Saikiran of Gameshastra says “He should be a ‘game freak’ and he should feel like gaming is a religion.” There is an unspoken requirement that the person should have played many hours of gaming before applying for the position. Having played games continuously for 12-14 hours straight in one day can actually count for experience. Additionally, Saikiran says the person should possess very good communication skills as it is essential and he should be well aware of the gaming market on a daily basis.

NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES
On average, a game tester works around 9-11 hours a day. The amount of work load they are given depends entirely on how well the game development team has designed the game, how many bugs there may be in the game and the length of the game. Saikiran mentioned that tight schedules may demand a game tester to stay in the office premises for up to 2 weeks continuously in order to work round the clock to meet a deadline.

ALL ABOUT THE MONEY
Game testing is not a particularly lucrative profession and is considered an entry-level job. The pay package that is offered to a fresher is an average of Rs. 1,20,000 per annum. This amount may even rise up to Rs. 1,80,000 per annum for a fresher if the person shows promise and has a good level of skills that may be deemed important by the respective company.

LEVEL: LEGENDARY
After attaining at least 6 to 9 years of experience, a game tester can reach the position of Quality Assurance manager or Quality Control manager with a pay package of Rs. 11 lakh per annum. The amount of time it takes to reach the position will depend on the initiative shown by the person. Additionally, game testing is often seen as a stepping stone into game development or production or other sectors of the gaming industry. Game journalism is also a viable option.

TEAM PLAYER
According to Saikiran, “The best companies for a game tester to work in India include Gameshastra and EA Mobiles in Hyderabad, Dhruva Interactive in Bangalore and Ubisoft in Pune.”

SINGLE PLAYER
Game testers can also work on a freelance basis with certain companies. Freelancing options are provided on the basis of a contract which is decided  based on the deadline of the game. On average, a freelancer may earn between Rs. 1,20,000 and Rs. 2,40,000 per annum depending on experience, quality of work and the policy of the company offering the contract.

GAME TESTING IN COMING YEARS
According to top officials in the field, the Indian gaming industry is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 32% to Rs. 3,100 crore by 2014. This indicates the game industry in India will be in a very strong position in the coming years. It is probably a good time to consider turning your hobby for playing games into a career.

WORD OF ADVICE

Most people think it’s very easy to test a game but as a tester it’s very difficult in good ways. We test a game thoroughly so the user can enjoy it bug-free. Testing the development build once is OK but we have to test the same game for 3-6 months sometimes just to make sure that we have checked it in all possible ways.
-Chiranjeevi Saikiran Game Tester Gameshastra Solutions pvt ltd

LEVEL UP!

Quality Assurance manager or Quality Control manager

Team Leader

Senior game tester

Fresher

Volume 3 Issue 5