Get That Job: QA lead

What is your role at the studio?
I am the team lead at Goodgame Studios’ quality assurance department.

My team is in charge of ensuring that our games deliver the highest quality of user experience and run as seamlessly as possible. This involves a variety of tasks ranging from the co-ordination of test runs, documenting our findings and reporting them to the developers. Being a game tester is very different from just playing a game, because you have to be very conscious of technical details and understand the various underlying game mechanics in order to be able to identify the flaws.

How would someone become a lead in QA?
There is no ready-made career path in quality assurance. Personally, I’ve always had a passion for computer games. After university I worked at a recording studio where we produced soundtracks, sound design and
voice-over for games. But I wanted to get closer to the product, which is why I started as a QA intern at Goodgame in June 2012. I then became a QA technician and am now team lead for the department.

What qualifications and/or experience do you need?
A real passion for games and a distinct interest in how a game works are essential for anyone working in quality assurance. Game testers of all levels need to understand why a gameplay element has been developed in a certain way and where potential problems could arise.

If you’re interviewing someone to join your team ay Goodgame, what do you look for?
We are not looking for just any trained personnel but for a wide range of gamers, programmers and generally intelligent and curious people with diverse backgrounds. The ideal new Goodgamer is very motivated and relates strongly to our games and to the company. A cultural fit within the team is just as important as professional experience and degrees. We want people who thrive on challenges.

Why choose to follow a career in your field?
If you’re a QA technician, you never have a boring day at work, because the range of tasks is really diverse and every day is different. Working directly on the games is very rewarding too, especially since we are in charge of improving their quality, which means that we make our games more fun and enjoyable for our users.

Goodgame Studios currently has quite a few open positions in the Quality Assurance department, find more details at: www.goodgamestudios.com/job-listing