July 11, 2024
Quality assurance (QA) might sound like a complex term, but it’s essential for ensuring the games are prepared for a successful launch (although there are always some things that are difficult to foresee). In simple words, game QA is all about finding and fixing bugs, glitches, and inconsistencies before a game is released to players.
Picture this: you’re excited to play that new game you’ve been following for a few months now, but once you get to it you find countless annoying bugs that mess up the fun. That’s where QA testers come in. They play the game, identify any issues, and make sure everything runs smoothly before it’s available to you. They try and find those bugs before you do.
Why is QA Important?
In this fast-paced industry, ensuring a high-quality final product that has been thoroughly checked for bugs, glitches, and other minor inconveniences is a top priority.
The more bugs you leave behind, the more negative impact the game can have on the player. And is common knowledge that players are more likely to leave negative reviews than positive ones, so putting the game through that extra ‘clean up’ can be the difference between a new hit and a game abandoned at the bottom of the drawer.
But game QA isn’t just about bugs; it’s also about ensuring that games are fun and engaging for players. QA testers provide feedback to developers about gameplay mechanics, user interface, and overall player experience. By testing games from the perspective of the player, QA testers help make sure that every aspect of the game is prepared for the target audience.
Essential Tools for QA Game Testers
- Game development software: Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, GameMaker, …
- Project Management Software: JIRA, Zephyr, YouTrack, Notion, … for tracking test cases and reporting bugs.
- Some knowledge of coding and programming languages: C#, C++, and Python. This could be beneficial for understanding how games are built and finding bugs more efficiently. Coding skills aren’t always required, but they can enhance your capabilities.
How to Become a QA game tester?
While there’s no fixed path to becoming a QA tester, having a background in computer science-related fields has an advantage. But even without an engineering degree, it’s possible to develop a career in game QA with a basic understanding of the game industry and development.
Online courses, bootcamps, YouTube videos, books, … there’s an infinite amount of information around so you can kickstart your path wherever you want. Learn the QA fundamentals, and train your problem-solving, coding, error identification, and resolution, report writing, and more.
Focus on practical learning and use the tools you’ll need once you’re on the job to build a strong portfolio.
Conclusion
In summary, game QA testers are a key step in delivering high-quality games. They help ensure games meet player expectations.