Yes, but only because the game is pretty short and therefore did not have to endure it for too terribly long during testing sessions.Originally posted by ShineAqua
OMG are you okay?
-Kevin
Do you prefer dogs or cats?
Bah. I didn't get to test a game. It was a focus group.
I DID get to hear some interesting ideas (which I, of course, can't divulge. ...or at least don't want to. I like being honest! Whee!), most of which, as my friend said on the ride home, will probably never see production. This IS Acclaim, after all. As much as I'd like to see a turnaround, I don't see it happening (Prove me wrong, dammit!)
The group was my friend and I and a bunch of typical young people, 'bouts 17 or so. It had to be the most aggrivating hour n' a half I've ever had. What fun it was to listen to these morons try to compare every idea they had with Grand Theft Auto... and to listen to their grammar... I'm sure if Nick was there, he would have strangled them all with neckties. Then witnessing them telling the MARKETING department game ideas as they show us an ad for the new baseball game. "Yo, you gotsta put some batting target in there 'cause that would be mad hot, yo!" By the way, next person I hear say something is "hot" in regards to anything but temperature gets my copy of Turok: Evolution rammed up his ass. Meanwhile, my friend pointed out extraneous white-space and I mentioned the lack of gameplay shots. I also mentioned that the lisenced cover player's head was WAY too big for the ad. The replies I got from the "kiddies" went along the lines of, "People respect this man, yo! They gonna buy the game if dey see 'dis!" Me: "But who in their right mind would buy a game based on the person on the cov... oh, I'm sorry, this is America. Never mind." "But, why you buy Dave Mirra games then, son?" Me: "I don't." Somehow, the 17-year old with the mind of someone half his age took that as a shock and sank back into his chair, his maw agape.
I realize that this is their main audience, too. Can I change this? Hell no. Business is business. I gave them PLENTY of good ideas on some of their concepts, which they will also probably never use.
But, y'know what? I don't care. I got two free games out of it.
...
Well, one free game and a dog-pile. Headhunter = good. Turok Evolution XBox = Turd. Hell, I should have gotten paid to take it off their hands.
[/rant]
TNL Legend.
Yes, but only because the game is pretty short and therefore did not have to endure it for too terribly long during testing sessions.Originally posted by ShineAqua
OMG are you okay?
-Kevin
Originally Posted by Doc Holliday
Official
Anyone looking to test:::
Companies do not look for hardcore gamers. Maybe out of 10 potential openings, theyll reserve 2 spots for "hardcore gamers" and the rest for different walks of life, this ensures different playing styles.
And for the record, framerate is a C class bug. Meaning your complaints as a tester wont be forwarded to the dev team.
Do you prefer dogs or cats?
Heh. Funny thing is, when Acclaim called...Originally posted by MrKasualUltra2000
Companies do not look for hardcore gamers. Maybe out of 10 potential openings, theyll reserve 2 spots for "hardcore gamers" and the rest for different walks of life, this ensures different playing styles.
Acclaim: Which systems do you own?
Me: Basically all of them.
Acclaim: So, do you see yourself as a "hardcore" gamer?
Me: ...I guess so.
MKU is right, too! Me and my friend were the only two that actually really played games at all! The rest were the casual kind who only play sports and GTA.
zzzzzzzz
I'm currently testing MechAssault's online component, along with a bunch of other MechAssault/Live owners...
Never under any circumstance scrutinize the mastication orifice of a gratuitous herbivorous quadruped.
I beta tested UT for Dreamcast. It was fun, best part was they let me keep it.
"Remember, not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck."
Geek in the Desert
temaki #1
I was talking to a former producer at Konami.
He basically told me, testers are regarded as inferior beings and treated as such. They're there to have more hands to play to find bugs and no more. The whole staff gets donuts, the testing staff get nothing. The whole staff get subsidized company trips, the testing staff go home.
Ideas, he says, are worthless. Everyone has ideas. Ideas in the game industry are worth nothing unless you're a memeber of the senior production staff.
In addition, he says, as a recruiter, game testing experience is no more a fast track into the industry than say the receptionist at the company. Which makes sense actually when you consider it. If you spent any significant amount of time at a testing postion (enough to pad a resume anyway), why wouldn't that time be better off at art school or trade school learning 3D modelling or programming or sound engineering or something ?
Really, I'd test if I were looking to pass the time in my job hunt or during some down time between projects... but no way would I even do it as a regular job.
I am a Wiinner
shine, have you played urban yeti?Originally posted by ShineAqua
OMG are you okay?
rock on brother!!!Originally posted by K3V
I did testing on the GBA classic, Urban Yeti
-Kevin
Button Masher
This all depends on the company you're working for. The size of the company is a big issue, because if the company is large enough to require a full-time testing team there are great opportunities to develop a career. I have 4 friends who started as testers who are now Assistant Producers. Two of them had been testers for less than a year when they got promoted. Also, when a few ex-testers are in the production department they will less likely be looking at you as an 'inferior being'.Originally posted by negitoro
I was talking to a former producer at Konami.
He basically told me, testers are regarded as inferior beings and treated as such. They're there to have more hands to play to find bugs and no more. The whole staff gets donuts, the testing staff get nothing. The whole staff get subsidized company trips, the testing staff go home.
The timing and the type of suggestion the tester is proposing makes a BIG difference. When a game is looked at by testers it is usually in a pretty advanced stage; most of the art (character models, environments, animations, etc) will be in the game and all of the major design/concept work will be finished. At this stage, if a tester comes along and suggests something like "there should be an ice level" or "the main character should be female" he/she will get laughed at (actually I've seen people get fired over things like this). It's just too late to make any major changes.Ideas, he says, are worthless. Everyone has ideas. Ideas in the game industry are worth nothing unless you're a memeber of the senior production staff.
On the other hand, more subtle suggestions are usually welcomed. Like control scheme changes and AI tweaks. Where I work, we have a messageboard (like this one) specifically for the testers to make suggestions to production. I'm happy to say that I've had many of my ideas incorporated into games. It makes the job seem a bit more worthwhile.
As of right now, there is no other way to learn how to be a video game Producer than to work at a video game company. You can go to an art or tech school to prepare yourself to be an artist or programmer, but those positions give you zero input in terms of game ideas and concepts. You'll always be executing someone else's idea. Producers get paid more and they actually have creative control over the game, from start to finish. That's my dream job, and being a tester is one of the best stepping stones available right now. Seriously.In addition, he says, as a recruiter, game testing experience is no more a fast track into the industry than say the receptionist at the company. Which makes sense actually when you consider it. If you spent any significant amount of time at a testing postion (enough to pad a resume anyway), why wouldn't that time be better off at art school or trade school learning 3D modelling or programming or sound engineering or something ?
Just to reiterate, the testing situation is probably completely different from company to company. I definitely wouldn't want to work at Konami though.Really, I'd test if I were looking to pass the time in my job hunt or during some down time between projects... but no way would I even do it as a regular job.
Do you prefer dogs or cats?
...
...you know what?
I don't care about any of this. I just feel good that I said exactly what I wanted to say to Acclaim. Now we can all feel relaxed that SOMEONE told them that all they're known for is lisenced stuff.
If I ever go again I will, with a running tape recorder in front of me, say it more bluntly. "Stop making all this lisenced shit and make games from these other original ideas, you stupid fucktards."
Then we can rest and say that it's their own fault for going bankrupt.
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