Back in college I received a heads-up for a position at a digital creative agency that needed “an enthusiastic and well-organized intern who LOVES GAMES to assist our Games Group in organizing internal assets, brainstorming for new games, and producing and testing online games.” When my core group of friends related their internship headaches, I couldn’t share my battle scars because I didn’t have any. My days were easy; after morning class I had a 20-minute commute to Brooklyn where I then proceeded to play games for the rest of the day.
None of them seemed particularly interested in my internship – none of them gamers probably had something to do with it, but let’s ignore this so I can be anecdotal. None of them asked the questions I would’ve liked to answer. What’s it like to get paid to play games? What’s it feel like to click a button until either a) it breaks, or 2) you pass out? Perhaps a more important question: does testing a game for work affect your mindset for games played outside of work?
If they asked me that last question during the first couple of months I would’ve said no. If they asked me when my internship ended I think I also would’ve said no. Apparently when I said “questions I would’ve liked to answer,” meant a one-word response a step above a grunt. That’s the kinda guy I am – my thoughts don’t have the momentum for speech.
After the internship ended I became their dedicated QA tester. Just counting game projects, I’ve tested about a dozen – single and multiplayer – and “playing” the same game over and over for weeks has no impact on my gaming habits.
Tolerance might be a reason. I was the kind of kid who beat Final Fantasy 2 then went back to max out each party member’s level. Think about the absurdity in this. There were no sphere grids or materia to allocate skill points. Cecil could never Jump, Rydia was the only Summoner much like Edge always seemed to be the first one to die. Maxing their levels didn’t give them new abilities; only inconsequential gains to stats. Or how about this embarrassing factoid: sometimes I would beat DJ Boy, and then without pause, start the game all over again.
Maybe it’s not tolerance. Maybe it’s just being an idiot.
