Playtesting doesn't generally involve playing the game. It's a mis-nomer. It's a wide-ranging responsibility, trying to reproduce bugs, trying to reproduce bugs after fixes have been added, testing new objects getting implemented, sitting watching animations to make sure they are playing correctly... The list goes on.
The vast majority of the time involves doing the same thing over and over again hundreds of times. It can certainly be fun, but the fun comes from the camaraderie, fun and banter had between the playtesters, rather than the playing of the game.
This. I've heard playtesting positions have an extremely high turnover rate in the industry due to misconceptions about what will be done, and the monotonous of the position.
Our playtesting is purely volunteer based - people are not required to turn up to every playtest or test for exact hours. It's very flexible, basically whatever help people are willing to provide, we take. We set up certain times when Devs will be around to help organize & provide information that might help locate issues. You in turn get to talk to devs about issues, thoughts, bugs and learn and test all the future stuff first before anyone else.
We try not to make it monotonous either, but it sometimes can be. It's not for everyone, but it can be fun for all of us
We dont have the manpower to reply to everyone. If you're selected, you'll be emailed soon. If not, you'll be on-file for the next round (and EVERYONE gets re-assessed).
Playtesting doesn't generally involve playing the game. It's a mis-nomer. It's a wide-ranging responsibility, trying to reproduce bugs, trying to reproduce bugs after fixes have been added, testing new objects getting implemented, sitting watching animations to make sure they are playing correctly... The list goes on.
The vast majority of the time involves doing the same thing over and over again hundreds of times. It can certainly be fun, but the fun comes from the camaraderie, fun and banter had between the playtesters, rather than the playing of the game.
This. I've heard playtesting positions have an extremely high turnover rate in the industry due to misconceptions about what will be done, and the monotonous of the position.
Our playtesting is purely volunteer based - people are not required to turn up to every playtest or test for exact hours. It's very flexible, basically whatever help people are willing to provide, we take. We set up certain times when Devs will be around to help organize & provide information that might help locate issues. You in turn get to talk to devs about issues, thoughts, bugs and learn and test all the future stuff first before anyone else.
We try not to make it monotonous either, but it sometimes can be. It's not for everyone, but it can be fun for all of us
Thanks for the response! I believe there was a miscommunication on my part, as I was referring to the industry for paid, QA tester positions where their job is to come into the office every day and test mechanics. How you guys handle testing sounds similar to some of the other testing groups I've been a part of for Verdun and Running with Rifles handle it.
More accurately, they're saying it's self-centered to want to be paid for something you're volunteering to do, which is the case here. They're not hiring people which would entail being paid for your time, but asking for volunteers where you're giving up your time free of charge.
Eh, sorry for the necro, but you're right. Apologies for my crankiness.
Comments
Our playtesting is purely volunteer based - people are not required to turn up to every playtest or test for exact hours. It's very flexible, basically whatever help people are willing to provide, we take. We set up certain times when Devs will be around to help organize & provide information that might help locate issues. You in turn get to talk to devs about issues, thoughts, bugs and learn and test all the future stuff first before anyone else.
We try not to make it monotonous either, but it sometimes can be. It's not for everyone, but it can be fun for all of us
MY NEURALYZER COULD HAVE PRACTICAL PURPOSE
Know if selected or not is quite important
We dont have the manpower to reply to everyone. If you're selected, you'll be emailed soon. If not, you'll be on-file for the next round (and EVERYONE gets re-assessed).
Eh, sorry for the necro, but you're right. Apologies for my crankiness.