[cbloom]

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ever worked as a video game tester? if so how was the experience? if not, do you know anyone who did and what was their take of it?

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I was never a tester. Programmers don't often start as testers, but a lot of designers do. Testers usually love their job at first but quickly grow to hate it.

There are generally two types of testers : guys with no ambition who just want an easy decent paying job (these guys suck), and guys who really love video games and want to move into design. The latter guys put in extra effort and are a pleasure to work with and usually wind up getting an opportunity to contribute more.

Also, being a tester differs widely at different places. At Microsoft testers are treated well and respected, they get a lot of say in the design of the game. At EA it's a brutal grunt job and you're totally sequestered away from the developers.