3 ms·

>I felt that, if I could get my foot in the door, within a year, whatever studio that hired me would realize that I would be quite an asset for their audio team

>I felt that, if I could get my foot in the door, within a year, whatever studio that hired me would realize that I would be quite an asset for their audio team. I know several people who've been pretty successful in the gaming industry, none of them started out in QA. Generally, they just worked on small bad/games eventually moving up to bigger and better ones. They all had solid track records of being active in various communities writing FAQs/guides or modding before finding a way to do those things for a living.

hga 13y ago
Near the end of a fairly successful and long programming career I made the mistake of taking a QA job (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5785759 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5785759 for some details) and boy, was it a mistake. No matter how sophisticated the work, QA people get no respect. It might be better than no job, but I suspect if you start out with one it could have a long term detrimental effect on your career (I escaped that because my QA job ended with a demanding software project and the company was independantly of my group going down the tubes, Lucent made a bad bet on next generation technology, and in trying to catch up, shipped a ton of equipment that didn't work ... and financed too much of their equipment sales, which ended badly when too many of those companies went bankrupt; see http://www.amazon.com/Optical-Illusions-Lucent-Crash-Telecom/dp/0743226674/ http://www.amazon.com/Optical-Illusions-Lucent-Crash-Telecom... for lots more details).
- mathattack 13y ago
  Very good point. QA doesn't get respect. As a result, QA does provide one thing earlier than other areas: management responsibility. Because churn is so high, it's important to put in good processes. Additionally, very few people stay. As a result, it isn't uncommon for QA managers (in any part of tech, not just games) to be in their mid-20s. This is demonstrated in the story, with the managers being in their mid 20s. That said, as you say, it can be detrimental for software development careers.
  - BrentRitterbeck 13y ago
    Why does QA not get any respect? This is something I have trouble understanding. I work in QA. I am fully able to read and write code. The engineers I work with have a background in computer science, and I have a background in the domain. The engineer is learning about the domain as he does his job. I am learning about computer science as I do my job. QA and engineering have to operate as a cohesive unit. It's not supposed to be one group against the other. Both groups are there to make the product better. The two groups are just approaching a better product from different directions. The engineers I have the easiest time working with are the ones that leave the ego at the door, realize that both sides bring something to the table, and are simply concerned with solving the problem at hand.
    - mathattack 13y ago
      I think it is a self fulfilling prophecy. But companies in markets that value quality can use QA for competitive advantage.
potatolicious 13y ago
Game industry QA is a little perverse. It's where dreamers who can't get into a dev position go to hopefully get into a dev position eventually. Management knows this, and exploit this. It's always suggested that QA is a valid track to move into actual development, but this rarely/never happens. Nonetheless, companies perpetuate this myth to keep the seats filled with starry-eyed folks who dream of building games rather than testing them.

hga 13y ago

Near the end of a fairly successful and long programming career I made the mistake of taking a QA job (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5785759 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5785759 for some details) and boy, was it a mistake. No matter how sophisticated the work, QA people get no respect. It might be better than no job, but I suspect if you start out with one it could have a long term detrimental effect on your career (I escaped that because my QA job ended with a demanding software project and the company was independantly of my group going down the tubes, Lucent made a bad bet on next generation technology, and in trying to catch up, shipped a ton of equipment that didn't work ... and financed too much of their equipment sales, which ended badly when too many of those companies went bankrupt; see http://www.amazon.com/Optical-Illusions-Lucent-Crash-Telecom/dp/0743226674/ http://www.amazon.com/Optical-Illusions-Lucent-Crash-Telecom... for lots more details).

mathattack 13y ago
Very good point. QA doesn't get respect. As a result, QA does provide one thing earlier than other areas: management responsibility. Because churn is so high, it's important to put in good processes. Additionally, very few people stay. As a result, it isn't uncommon for QA managers (in any part of tech, not just games) to be in their mid-20s. This is demonstrated in the story, with the managers being in their mid 20s. That said, as you say, it can be detrimental for software development careers.
- BrentRitterbeck 13y ago
  Why does QA not get any respect? This is something I have trouble understanding. I work in QA. I am fully able to read and write code. The engineers I work with have a background in computer science, and I have a background in the domain. The engineer is learning about the domain as he does his job. I am learning about computer science as I do my job. QA and engineering have to operate as a cohesive unit. It's not supposed to be one group against the other. Both groups are there to make the product better. The two groups are just approaching a better product from different directions. The engineers I have the easiest time working with are the ones that leave the ego at the door, realize that both sides bring something to the table, and are simply concerned with solving the problem at hand.
  - mathattack 13y ago
    I think it is a self fulfilling prophecy. But companies in markets that value quality can use QA for competitive advantage.

potatolicious 13y ago

Game industry QA is a little perverse. It's where dreamers who can't get into a dev position go to hopefully get into a dev position eventually. Management knows this, and exploit this. It's always suggested that QA is a valid track to move into actual development, but this rarely/never happens. Nonetheless, companies perpetuate this myth to keep the seats filled with starry-eyed folks who dream of building games rather than testing them.