The typical QA role within the industry focuses primarily on finding problems (known as bugs) and documenting clearly and concisely where the problem was observed. During the development lifecycle of a game the primary focus is very design-orientated; reading documentation, comparing designs to contemporary games, making game recommendations/improvements and providing regular feedback to the teams on a regular basis on the progress of the game. It is very important that QA Technicians are up to date with the latest games and are ‘game experts’.

• Work in QA department for testing and evaluating games currently in development
• Implement testing schedules and test plans in line with the development schedule
• Liase with external QA houses and publisher QA departments

QA Technician
Finding bugs
A QA Technician’s main role is to find and report bugs and defects in a product. This is achieved by conducting structured testing in all areas of the product. Once a bug or defect has been found, the QA Technician needs to see if it can be reproduced and to what degree it can be reproduced, detail what the cause of the bug is if possible and then accurately document the issue into a bug database.

An essential part of the role is being able to document highly detailed, descriptive bug reports for the development team. A well written bug report should include a detailed title and description, accurate reproduction steps that any member of the dev team should be able to follow, a frequency of how often the bug occurs, a screenshot when necessary and the platform and product version number of the build in which the bug was discovered. Including all of this information in the bug report allows the dev team to get working on the fix straight away.

Game quality
A QA Technician’s other main responsibility in addition to locating bugs is to ensure that the product’s game-play, game-play mechanics and game flow are of a high enough standard. During the testing cycle we will also conduct playthroughs and evaluations of the products to ensure that they are fun to play, that they are neither too hard nor too easy to play, and that the game-play is balanced correctly.

We also conduct focus test for all of the titles we have in development. A focus test is an evaluation procedure that is conducted by a group of people in the desired age band of a product. This is an extremely useful test as we can see first hand if people find a product to be too easy or not hard enough as well as seeing if the product’s game-play mechanics are working as designed.

Some of the skills required for a QA Technician role are:

• Able to demonstrate excellent written and verbal skills
• Must be thorough in their approach to problem solving and able to function independently when required
• Needs to be comfortable working to deadlines
• Ability to fit into a dynamic and creative team environment
• Attention to detail is essential and all tasks must be carried out to the highest standard
• Methodical, diplomatic, self-starter
• Mature professional attitude and work ethic
• A good knowledge of games helps.

Best Tip
Being a QA Technician also requires a high level of “gaming stamina” as you will more than likely be testing a game for at least a few months in a row. Another very important aspect of the role is knowing the difference between playing a game and testing a game. There is a huge difference and it is the key to being a good, productive QA Technician.

At Blitz Games we have created our own game report that we ask applicants to submit with their CV or application form prior to an interview. Remember to be open, honest and express your own views – not just those you may have read in a game review. We also have our own games knowledge test that is filled out by the applicant during their interview. Lastly, we will get the candidate to play-test an older game developed by Blitz Games; while we will ask them to record any bugs they find, more importantly we want to see what methodology they use and how they go about structuring their testing.