Become a Games Tester!

I use to really want to be a games tester.

I still do sometimes think it'd be an interesting profession to take up, even though spending hours doing structured testing and writing bug-reports maybe isn't that apealing...

Having a small voice in the gaming industry, it's still something people ask me on a regular basis - how do I become a games tester? I really want to be a games tester!

The thing is, despite being low pay, long hours and potentially boring, a games tester is a rock-star job. Everyone and his best mate wants to be a games tester, every gamer you speak to talks about becoming a games tester...

I suppose it makes sense, smoeone who spends 6 hours a day gaming, realising they could get paid to what they do already, and get games for free and get to play games before they come out!

Of course - I don't want to allude that it's really like that, sitting in an officer trying to find walls you can walk through in a graphically unfinished glitchy game, then writing a detailed bug report afterwards is more 'interesting' than fun, and probably not that interesting anyway...

Of course there will be times when being a games tester IS all it's cracked up to be, when you're asked to play the latest game and just give an opinion on it... I guess you can take the rough with the smooth...

If you are serious about becoming a games tester, if games testing seems like the career for you and you're prepared to put the work in to be a games tester, then I strongly recommend you read this.

Games Computer Games : Why do it?

Why did I start doign Games Computer Games ? I used to blog about gaming on Giantbomb, I wanted to reach a broader audience with Games Computer Games than I thought Giantbomb would allow me.

Where is Games Computer Games going now? Well to be honest I don't know, as an aging veteran gamer, I don't have the sort of gaming time I expected to have when I started Games Computer Games. In reality having two young children has somewhat hampered my time to write on Games Computer Games.

One thing I have decided is come what may, Games Computer Games will not be abandoned. Games Computer Games may become a refuge or otehr mid-thirties gamers who need somewhere to moan about how they don't have time to game any more.

Certainly I think the Left 4 Dead advice I've provided here on Games Computer Games is pretty good. I don't suppose Games Computer Games is a good name for a site if it's just about Left 4 Dead though?

I will broaden the horizon of Games Computer Games - Smokemare will ride again! I don't know what Christmas will bring - traditionally I get at least one game - even if I don't get time to play it. I still have to plough through LA Noire when I get time.... And that's from June!

The trouble is - as I've said before on Games Computer Games, I'm finding ahcievement hunting on Left 4 Dead games more fun... As I said in my Duke Nukem Games Computer Games post - volunteering for anaethetic-free pile surgery would probably be more fun than playing Duke Forever...

I still can't believe how it destroyed my joy of gaming!

My advice, the official 'Games Computer Games' advice for any long suffering wives out there who have lost their huspands to the XBOX - get him Duke Nukem Forever...