Now you can turn your hobby into a money making profession.
Actually, If you have a habit to playing games then you got an opportunity to
make money with it in your leisure time.
So you might be asking how to become a game tester &
make money playing different games.
But before that you need to know who is going to pay you and
why would they ever be willing to pay you for just playing games?
Well, Gaming
companies are always eager to know the response of their buyers. They want to
know whether they really like the game or the product has some serious issues. So
before these companies launch a product to their end users they need game
testers who can check the performance of their product.
You will be ascertaining how well or bad the product is and
what needs to be done to fix design and coding issues.
There are various other ways you make money from playing
games.
- You can take up online surveys related to games and make money.
- You get paid for previewing and reviewing new games.
- You also get paid participating in focus groups.
What You Have to do as a Game Tester?
As the development process goes into final phase the game
testers gets a version and they begin playing games.
Finding Errors – Testers have to find errors while they
start playing games. Errors could be coding errors, bugs, design errors and
logic errors.
Checking UI and Functionality – Check the look and feel
about the User Interface. You also have to check functionalities like game
progress, outcome, multi player games etc.
Reporting Bugs – When you are working for a large project
with dozens of testers then you have to determine whether the bug has already
been reported or not. If not then you have to report it and check again if the
fix works or not. Then finally you verify that bug hasn’t reappeared.
Verify Integration Points – Here you have to check if the
game win determination matches the gaming rules.
Compatibility and Security Review – Check for the operating
system and browser compatibility and see whether the game is working well or
not. Similarly verify security and reliability.
Performance Testing – For online games you have to check
whether the site is able to handle the traffic or not.
What Do You Need to Become a Tester?
So can anyone become a tester? My answer would be No. It is
not an easy job because you require a lot of technical knowledge.
Game Algorithms and Codes – A little bit of coding knowledge
can also come in handy.
Years of Experience – You need some experience before you
think of becoming a tester.
Understanding of Games – You need to know various types of
games, its features and how to play them. About the UI, functionality, game
rules etc.
Communication Skills – You got to communicate with
programmers and designers if you have to report a bug or an error.
How Much Money Can You Make?
For the beginner the pay is very low. It could go up to $16
to $20 an hour. However you will start with only $10 an hour.
However if you get to take part in focus group then you can
make up to $150 an hour.
If you play for reviews of a new game then you can make
between $5 and $20 each hour you play.
A tester on an average makes around $40000 per year.
If you work hard then you can make up to $30 an hour.
How Do You Get Started?
The problem with getting started is many sites on the
internet are just scam. You have to be on LinkedIn and look for HRs who are
recruiting testers.
You can also look to regular job sites for openings as a
game tester.
You have to stay in loop if you want a tester job because
the recruiting agencies are few in numbers.
