How can game testers align with company goals and vision?

1. Dive deep! Understand the company's "why" - what drives them to create games, what values they hold dear, and how they envision success. 2. Connect the dots: See how your testing efforts directly impact those goals. Are you ensuring top-notch quality for players? Contributing to positive brand perception? Identifying opportunities for accessibility and inclusivity? | 3. Align your priorities: Let the company's mission guide your approach. If "player-first" is a core value, prioritize tests that truly assess the gameplay experience.

IMO, align testing efforts with top quality standards, focusing on user experience (UX) and design. Collaborate effectively, report bugs clearly, and prioritize based on impact (Should be discussed and agreed upon internally). Test in real-world scenarios, provide feedback on new features, manage time efficiently. Stay updated on industry trends for continuous improvement.

1. Don't be a lone wolf! Build strong relationships with developers, designers, and producers. Understand their development roadmap and share your testing insights proactively. 2. Be a helpful bridge: Translate between technical jargon and player language. Explain how bugs affect the gameplay experience and suggest potential solutions collaboratively. 3. Become a trusted advisor: As you gain experience, offer feedback on game design, balancing, and even monetization concepts. Your unique perspective can be invaluable.

Liaise with the production team to be included in early development meetings. Oftentimes, the work arrives to the testers very late in development, which makes it difficult for the testers to create comprehensive test plans/test cases with a full understanding of the development context. Testers are part of the developing team too, and as such, they can always provide input from a user/testing perspective early on. The production team can also help by creating processes when any documentation is updated. Oftentimes, there are changes in GDDs and TDDs, and the testers are not aware of them, making their job difficult. With these strategies, the testers will be more aligned with the vision of the company, product and team.

During my initial career days, i was not very much aligned with this concept of learning with the team but suddenly i saw some of bug reports that my peers have filed while we were testing an MMORPG. This incident made me more curious about creating different scenarios on runtime basis while running a pre-defined test cases. When the game testers talk to each other they learn from their experience, their bug scenarios, their ability to create scenarios that will find exploits/loopholes in a function.

1. Knowledge is power! Engage with the broader testing community through online forums, conferences, and workshops. Share your own learnings and pick up valuable tips from experienced testers. 2. Stay ahead of the curve: Learn about new testing methodologies, tools, and automation techniques. This helps you improve your efficiency and contribute even more significantly. 3. Collaborate on open-source projects: Working on shared testing initiatives with other testers allows you to hone your skills, learn new approaches, and contribute to the gaming community as a whole.

Learning from your peers is a solid way to get started! When first starting off I had no idea what I was doing but by asking questions, learning more, and even by working with my team I was able to start doing things I had no idea was possible! I went from not understanding what Unreal was to eventually performing manual testing for frame rates, MS rates, and all! Your team is one of the greatest resources you'll have in the game industry! A lot of people may think that a "team" is the people you work directly with, but remember that your team is everyone involved in the project! Ask developers as well for any tips or tricks, as many may have started off in testing as well!

1. Step outside your comfort zone! Expand your horizons by testing games in different genres and on various platforms. This diversifies your skillset and makes you a more adaptable tester. 2. Understand player expectations: Each genre has its own conventions and gameplay mechanics. Immerse yourself in different worlds to truly understand what players expect from those experiences. 3. Offer fresh perspectives: Your ability to adapt to different game styles can bring valuable insights to the development team, leading to more diverse and engaging gameplay experiences.

As a tester, you will have to test numerous mechanics and features. In my practice, having a gaming experience always helps me quickly understand what game designers want to implement: 1. I know how a particular mechanic is implemented in other games and what is convenient or not from all that. This helps ask the right questions even during the design phase. 2. I am aware of platform specifics and how to enhance the user experience on each of them or, conversely, make the game less user-friendly. 3. I know how to adapt or transfer mechanics from one platform to another without losing the game's excitement. Have you ever played competitive shooters on consoles? Give it a try. 4. Remember it and bring your experience into games.

Game testing can be difficult in the sense that you may be testing the same thing for a number of weeks, months, years even, but if you look at the practice as a puzzle/challenge it'll help to change any repetition. Figuring out how to break something in a game is always fun, many gamers will often find ways to do something the Devs never thought possible! Implement that will to break the game, find the exploits, or even the smallest of bugs! By enjoying the challenges of how to get the game to break in a way is a puzzle you get to proudly find within the development of the project!

1. Remember, passion fuels excellence! If you genuinely enjoy playing and analyzing games, your enthusiasm will show in your work. 2. Approach testing with curiosity and a desire to learn: Every bug is an opportunity to understand the game's systems better and contribute to its improvement. 3. Celebrate successes: Take pride in your contributions to the final product. Knowing you helped create a game that players love can be incredibly rewarding.

One of the reasons why I entered game development is the joy I find in my work. It can be quite challenging to find a project that you want to engage with personally or a game that you spend hours on daily. The pleasure derived from the project is crucial in many ways: 1. It helps prevent burnout since the work and the project bring enjoyment. 2. The whole team is focused and passionate about the project. 3. You always strive to make the game better and more user-friendly. I'm confident that all of this contributes to the success of your game.

I genuinely think that LinkedIn's collaborative articles ideas are also AI-generated. How can testers align with the goals and vision of the company? Should they even? How much influence do testers have on the product design or core features? With all the respect towards the testers' hardship, they are probably the least required to align with the vision (whatever that means).

1. Become a master of documentation: Clearly report bugs, suggest improvements, and track your findings in a way that's easy for others to understand. 2. Embrace continuous learning: The gaming industry is constantly evolving. Stay updated on new trends, technologies, and testing methodologies to remain relevant and valuable. 3. Advocate for ethical practices: Speak up if you see anything that goes against the company's values or potentially harms players. Remember, you're a guardian of the gaming experience. By following these tips and injecting your own personal experiences, you can become a game tester who goes beyond finding bugs and actively contributes to the company's vision.