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Incoming games QA rant. No apologies for the length, because I’m angry and upset and this stuff needs to be said. Again.
I’ve been feeling low for some time but this current QA discourse is just making me hit rock bottom. Feels like shouting into the void & going round in circles. Again. Who is it that still needs convincing how valuable software testers / quality analysts are to game development?
It's easy to think it's just people outside of the industry who are really ignorant. Seriously, it's 2020, there's so much info out there about game dev practices, how can anyone still spout this bollocks that QA just play games all day?
Sure I know testers without degrees, but I know far more that do have degrees & not only that, the same Comp Sci degrees that programmers have. Equally I know loads of programmers that don't have degrees. Besides, having an expensive piece of paper does not determine
your intelligence, experience or how good you are at your job. It also doesn't mean you should be treated like crap or not given a living wage. Some of the smartest, most successful people I know don't have degrees. Not everyone has the opportunity/privilege to go to uni.
And it’s easy to think the attitude is just down to asshats yelling things like "did anyone even test this?". https://twitter.com/DaniBeeG/status/1291536168345956357
It’s beyond dispiriting. It’s never who designed this, who coded this, who managed this project so badly it didn’t leave adequate time for addressing these issues is it? I’m not trying to throw other disciplines under a bus here, because it’s not an Us vs Them thing.
We’re a team and quality is everyone’s responsibility. But I’m sick of the blame landing at QA’s door, which feeds into this idea that it’s a bunch of unskilled monkeys doing the work.
I guarantee that QA did find those bugs. Most QA have absolutely no say in whether or not bugs get fixed. Even the ones that do are operating under constraints. There’s only so much time to fix issues before the next update, you have to prioritise & some bugs have to be deferred
That’s why many testers prefer Quality Analysis/Assistance over Assurance. Testers can’t assure the quality of a game because they are not usually in control over whether or not issues get fixed, or even if it’s fun to play.
They can analyse the quality, give feedback and tell stakeholders about the risks. They can assist the team in building quality into their practices. But it’s often not in their power to determine exactly what gets fixed and when.
But the poor attitude towards QA comes from inside the industry too. And I’m not just talking about the obvious, shitty companies who treat their QA like dirt. The problem is pervasive on a much subtler level, & the disrespect often ties into the language we use around QA
At one company I worked for - one that treated QA fairly well - whenever a tester moved into a different role, an email would be sent around the team and it always read "congratulations to so-and-so on the promotion"
If someone goes from a tester to an artist, that's not a promotion. That's a side-step into a completely different discipline. Yet the language used speaks volumes to the QA team. You are the bottom of the pile, QA is a place to escape from. Congrats to that dude who just got out
I remember the reaction of some well-meaning peers to finding out my company was looking for a producer. They couldn't understand why I wasn't applying. After I explained I wasn’t interested & wanted to continue to progress my career down a technical route,
they still told me I should go for this "promotion". Because who'd want to be in QA right? Now they didn’t say that part, but that was the underlying message and I came away feeling really shit. And it's something I still stress over when I look back at it.
My mind tortures itself over what these people might think of me. What if they find out I never applied? Oh god they must think I'm unambitious. Maybe they think I DID apply but didn't get it. Jesus they must think I'm crap / unintelligent / not good at what I do.
As it happens I'm very good at what I do, I have won several awards for my work, but the idea of the negative way they may perceive me and my chosen career knocks my confidence and causes me anxiety to this day. All from a well-meaning interaction with very ill chosen words.
We’ve still got industry vets still telling people that QA is a great way to get your foot in the door. Honestly it’s not, and they should know better. I know a lot of people got into games that way, but times have changed and it’s an outdated & unhelpful thing to say
I totally don't blame people for using QA as a way in, so many people are desperate to get into the industry and all their uni tutors seem to parrot this mantra to them. New folks looking for that lucky break don't really know better.
But those experienced in this industry should. It's not a good way in (but that's a whole other thread) and the rhetoric is harmful to this discipline and those who choose this as a career path
And there’s even developers within the industry who outright look down on QA. And all I can say is that they must be absolute arseholes to work with https://twitter.com/ragtimemouse_/status/1263614261923700736
Again even when someone doesn’t have an outright disrespectful attitude to QA, saying things like “Why don’t you be a programmer instead?” is sending the same vibes https://twitter.com/ragtimemouse_/status/1263918519348936709
Look at the attitude of the producer mentioned here. Thank fuck they didn’t get the job, but the fact is they are probably out there doing a piss-poor job of project managing some other team & treating QA as disposable https://twitter.com/MichelleMHyde/status/1291430283057618944
I’ve experienced this reaction many times, both from people inside and outside the industry. https://twitter.com/TeaAndMonsters/status/1291294799488856064
It hurts when you’re having a in-depth, interesting conversation with someone, they ask what you do on the team, you tell them you’re the tester, and their face just clouds over and then they walk away
The irony being that QA are the one of the most perfect devs to talk to about the game you’re interested in. They have a complete overview of production, work with every department and usually know everything there is to know about the game
Knowing how it all works and how it all knits together as a whole is a big part of their job. But sure go talk to the animator over there, he’s only going to end up calling me over to explain how something works to you anyway
While I'm one of the lucky ones - paid well, embedded, respected in my company, ridiculous amount of responsibility - it's soul destroying to see other testers treated like shit, to see the discipline shat on over and over.
It has an impact on every tester across the industry. We all feel it. https://twitter.com/LadyOddDuck/status/1291151707280465921
Sadly I derive a lot of my sense of self worth from what I do and it’s practically non-existent atm. I constantly withdraw from industry events and don’t get involved in different spaces as much as I’d like because of this kind of rejection
I’d love to get involved in mentorship programs but why bother? No one wants a QA mentor right? Who’d want to be in QA?
Of course that’s utter nonsense, but that’s how the discourse makes me feel. Worthless and unwelcome. And tired of defending my career choices.
Of course that’s utter nonsense, but that’s how the discourse makes me feel. Worthless and unwelcome. And tired of defending my career choices.
I stepped out of the games industry years ago for many reasons but one of them was the lack of respect towards QA. QA talent is continually leaking out of the games industry because of the shitty attitude towards it https://twitter.com/RodneySquint/status/1291455260918263810
Honestly it's days like these where I question my sanity for coming back to games and I wonder how long it’ll be before I run back to the wider software industry, where there’s more money and respect and a hell of a lot less stress.
There are things the industry could do right now to make things better for QA, beyond actually paying people properly and not siloing them into different buildings where they are not allowed to speak to other devs
The industry needs to start changing its practices. Stop bringing QA on at the end of a project when issues are far more expensive to fix and time is running out. This contributes to the industry’s crunch problem too which impacts EVERYONE in game dev.
We need to stop touting the whole ‘QA is the last line of defence’ nonsense. Quality is everyone’s responsibility and it should be baked into a team from day one. Embed QA properly into your teams, and do it at the start of the project, yes before there’s even a build to test.
Before there’s something they can get their hands on QA should be there designing test tools and procedures, advising on risks, highlighting what’s going to be needed for test coverage, reminding the team about certification requirements so you don’t have to redo a lot of work
when you decide to port to console. Performing ‘static testing’ on things like design docs: pointing out the sorts of ambiguities that are going to cause the programmer to code the thing in a way that does not give the desired outcome. And so much more
Companies: continue to acknowledge the hard work that your QA teams do. It’s a valid, fascinating, technical career. Make sure you are providing QA career paths and progression just like you do for every other discipline.
Teammates: Leave the Us vs Them attitude at the door. Testers aren’t trying to make you look bad because there are bugs in your code. Games are complex software, bugs are inevitable, we all know that.
QA are there to work in partnership with the rest of the team, to make the game the best it can possibly be and the whole team look like bad-asses. We should all have each other’s backs.
And please, even if you’re one of the people that recognise how important QA is, check your language when talking about the discipline and consider how it makes your colleagues feel
Not sure many people will have gotten to the end of this since it’s so long, but well done if you did. Also fuck it, venting has made me feel a tiny bit better if nothing else.
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