The Game Testing Experiment

For the end of August here are my current results:

Games being tested: 3      It should be at 4, but one game was dropped, however, I officially work for the company that stopped me testing that game.

Income: 2 games are paying me 20 dollars per hour (max 1 hour per day) and 1 game 10.  I am currently up to 50 a day, which is half my goal, but Im now putting in 3 hours of gaming a day.  If I dont play I dont get paid.  Right now Im finding it pretty easy to get my time in though.

Free Games:  I have currently received 8 free games, 4 of which I have officially tested, the others are free time testing on a merit type system.

I definitely couldn’t have gotten to this point with out Gamer Testing Grounds.  Which showed me which companies to apply to and how to apply to them.

Sorry about the lack of updates recently, I have definitely become more busy, but I will try to answer all the e-mails and questions asap!

Sorry I haven’t updated in a while, but its been pretty busy at school and things.  A few more updated for you guys…  Apparently my testing with the first company will be done next week.  I was pretty bummed at first but they told me I am now an official game tester with them and will be sent new games by them automatically when they need me.  So I don’t have to apply to them anymore which is nice, I am considered an employee.

To answer a common question:  The genre of the first game I tested was a sports game.

I have also heard back from 3 companies regarding testing which is exciting news.  Wages and what games I will be playing have not been disclosed yet as I have not officially got the jobs yet.  If I score at least two of these I should be up to about 50 a day!  I’m gonna use Gamer Testing Grounds manual to apply to some more companies over the next few days.

Ok so I got my first two week paycheck a few days ago.  140 bucks!

I am pretty happy as I feel I havent worked at all, Im going to update my goal list a bit and share where Im at as of the moment.

Goals:

$ by december: $4000           Currently $140

Money per day: $100           Currently sitting at $30

To play (work) 4 hours a day.        Curently I am playing/testing for about an hour and a half per day.

I also have received 4 free games as of now.

Ok so Im getting 20 bucks a day to log onto an account and log at least 1 hour of gaming time for the Agent.  I am now up to 30 bucks per day playing video games!  This really can be done by anyone.  This is now 210 dollars per week just for gaming.

I got to change the level that I test on the other game LOL which is exciting news as I was getting quite bored!  (Minor complaint) I also received 2 new games from 2 different companies, but unfortunately I wont be getting paid per day to play them.  I just have to update them each week if I find anything wrong with them.

The jobs seem to be quite random, but if you keep on applying for them, money and free games will come!  Be sure before you start on your journey however to pick up the Gamer Testing Grounds guide. Without it I wouldn’t have had a clue how to apply for these jobs..

Ok I know its been over a week since my last update, but let me catch up on some things.  I have been playing and reporting on “the secret game” from you know who each day now, so Im up to 90 dollars with that.

Great news occurred yesterday as I got word from Sony Online Entertainment about an opportunity to beta test The Agency, its an MMOPR getting released next year.  I didn’t tell them about my blog.  What they don’t know won’t hurt them right? lol.  They haven’t disclosed whether or not I will be getting paid or not but I get to play this cool new game though!  I looked it up and here is a screenshot.

Ill let you know how it is!

Ok so apparently I wasn’t supposed to disclose the terms of the job, what the game is, or what company I am working for… OOPS lol.  I asked if I could put up screen-shots, but the game representative said they try to keep these jobs as discreet as possible otherwise they get flooded with requests etc.  Its too late to change what I posted, but from nw Ill will have to keep things more vague.

On a brighter note, I received the game in the mail, express delivery yesterday at around 4, its for my xbox and they sent a copy for my roommates ps3.  I have to play a certain level only on both consoles 5 times per day and send my reports.  I sent one report today so I have officially made 10 bucks!

Current Goal: 100 dollars per day

Current Income: $10 dollars per day plus 1 free game.

Im going to use the Gamer Testing Grounds manual to find some more companies to apply to.

YIPEEEEEEEEEEE. I woke up this morning, checked my e-mail and I received an e-mail from EA Sports!!  Its a small job, but basically I get a free game sent to me by mail, I have to play it and report my findings each day.  Each report gets me 10 bucks!!  lol I am pretty happy right now!!  Its not my goal of 100 a day playing video games but its a start, plus I get a free game.

They haven’t disclosed what the game is yet, I need to give them a call to verify everything, Ill keep you posted!  I got the link to their application with Gamer Testing Grounds guide.

I have been getting a few e-mails and want to answer some of those questions today:

How Many Applications Have You Submitted?

• I have currently submitted and applied for 12 jobs.

How long did it take to make your application?

• It didn’t really take me too long, but definitely a couple of hours.  I wanted it perfect, so that I had the best chance of scoring a game testing job.  I definitely am thankful I had Gamer Testing Grounds guide, which showed me step by step what to add and do.

Have you heard back from any companies?

• Not yet, but anxiously waiting!

Are there any requirements to making money while gaming?

• So far from the companies I have applied to, there is usually an age requirement of 18, but that varies.  I have had no problems and seen minimum questions about education and other things.  Basically, all you need is the right gaming console or computer to play the games.

Thanks for reading and the e-mails guys, it keeps me motivated to keep trying to get going with this.  Its been a week now and no word, so Im hoping something comes up soon….

Sorry it’s been a few days.  I have been sending my applications out like mad whenever an opportunity has presented itself.  Some companies have rejected my application because I don’t have a Nintendo Wii.  Oh well, maybe once I get going with this I can afford to buy all consoles to test games on!

Ok, so there were no jobs available at Blizzard or Vivendi, but I applied to EA and another company I hadn’t heard of.  I am pretty excited and think my application was pretty good.

I want to apply to as many jobs as possible, that way I have the potential to make the most money.  According to the guide, companies pay different rates, some 20 bucks an hour, but potentially some people make like 120 an hour!

I was also talking to my buddy who did this last summer.  He said it got pretty boring at times testing for bugs.  He had to play some levels over and over which become repetitive.  I don’t think Ill mind though, since I’m getting paid to play video games!

So let’s just hope my applications go through and more job openings pop up, with the Gamer Testing Grounds guide it shows me all the direct links to where I apply for jobs.  I also believe without it my application would not have been as good as it is.  Ill keep you posted!

Ok, so I have gotten my gaming application finished!  This took a little while, but the Gamer Testing Grounds guide showed me exactly what to do, so it wasn’t that bad at all.

Tomorrow I am going to submit my application to Blizzard, EA Sports and Vivendi I think.  Wish Me Luck!

So this is my first official blog post.  Just got back from classes, and am reading over the Gamer Testing Grounds page.  Its the site I am going to use to help me come in contact with gaming companies and show me the ins and outs of the companies.

I chose Gamer Testing Grounds because it is the most respected company to help step by step to land you a gaming job from the research I have gathered.  My buddies also used their guide and got a job with EA Sports over the summer.

I am going to get the guide now, and hopefully get an application to a gaming company that they suggest tonight!

The following is found on my about page, but I thought it would be a good start for a new post!

This site is a blog designed by me, Ed Turner.  I am 22 years old and am in my 4th year in University taking Exercise science.  I needed some extra money while in college so I decided to look into gaming and game testing.  I love gaming, and have had friends in the past get paid to test levels and play random games for companies.

Why not get paid for what I do in my free time already.  Read the blog updates on my progress.  The internet is very vague and there is not much information on how to get paid to play games, so read along and find out if you want to get paid to game too!

To get started on the latest job offerings and a detailed guide which I used to get started go to Gamer Testing Grounds.