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FngKestrel · 11-11-2004, 02:29 PM

Yeah, I had to post this because I've done QA at EA. When I started working there, it was like, "Dude, I'm working at EA!" At the end, it was, "Man, all I want is a 40 hour work week."

00111000: I was definitely in a same boat. I tested almost all the Sims titles that came out in 2002. That was a long year. When I was done, I was able to pay for my eye surgery out of pocket because I had made so much money and had no time to spend it.

I know people at EA who have talked to me about returning there as an artist instead of QA. It's definitely something that would probably good for my career, but I have to wonder about its affect on my general wellbeing. One thing is that when I was in QA and pulling those hours, we all looked forward to the day where we would be in production, and we imagined that everything would be better. It's unfortunate to find out that that's not the case.

I've talked to people about the pros and cons of unionizing, but it's definitely a mentality of, someone else will take your job if you don't want it. For testers, it's definitely regarded as unskilled labor, which I would argue is a fallacy. The testers I know are at the top of their game, consistently, in a position that has huge turnover and incredible mind-numbing effects.

That being said, I refuse to get out of the game industry, for now. But I do hope that the industry matures a bit more. I remember reading in an interview in PC Gamer, to paraphrase Bruce Shelley, I wish some of these people would take some of their experience points in industry and put them into maturity.

The industry needs to look to the long term and understand that you prepare for the future by taking care of your employees.

11-11-2004, 02:29 PM	#5 (permalink)
FngKestrel Junkie	Yeah, I had to post this because I've done QA at EA. When I started working there, it was like, "Dude, I'm working at EA!" At the end, it was, "Man, all I want is a 40 hour work week." 00111000: I was definitely in a same boat. I tested almost all the Sims titles that came out in 2002. That was a long year. When I was done, I was able to pay for my eye surgery out of pocket because I had made so much money and had no time to spend it. I know people at EA who have talked to me about returning there as an artist instead of QA. It's definitely something that would probably good for my career, but I have to wonder about its affect on my general wellbeing. One thing is that when I was in QA and pulling those hours, we all looked forward to the day where we would be in production, and we imagined that everything would be better. It's unfortunate to find out that that's not the case. I've talked to people about the pros and cons of unionizing, but it's definitely a mentality of, someone else will take your job if you don't want it. For testers, it's definitely regarded as unskilled labor, which I would argue is a fallacy. The testers I know are at the top of their game, consistently, in a position that has huge turnover and incredible mind-numbing effects. That being said, I refuse to get out of the game industry, for now. But I do hope that the industry matures a bit more. I remember reading in an interview in PC Gamer, to paraphrase Bruce Shelley, I wish some of these people would take some of their experience points in industry and put them into maturity. The industry needs to look to the long term and understand that you prepare for the future by taking care of your employees.