This is not what this article is all about.
Just after the 4th of July, voting began for contestants to get a chance to move onto the second round of the casting process. If you are a member of PWNed.com, you may remember back when there was a "Become A G4 Host" thing just like this. Premise being, users vote on who they think is the most personable contestant and those with the highest votes get to meet the casting director. Go ahead and head on over to http://casting.thetester.com and submit a vote.
This is also not what this article is all about.
If those are not the point of this article, then you may be wondering why are you here. It is for me to pose the question: "Is this really what the gaming industry has come to for up-and-coming graduates to get their shot?" Do we really have to jump through even more hoops to get a foot in the door in order to become game programmers or game designers now? While most QA positions state they only require a high school diploma, most would rather have someone with a BS or equivalent before even being considered. I know this from personal experience.
That is just to get a testing job so you can rack up hours of experience before you can even think about applying for anything close to the job you most want to have in the industry. No company denies that QA is almost always where everyone has to start to be the next big designer or programmer. It is just the nature of the beast.
So why are companies like Sony handing out these foot holds to just anyone that can be a personality and thinks that it is all playing games for a job? People who don't have a clue what even white-box or black-box testing is, nor do they actually understand the code or design process. Part of being a tester is being able to identify an error AND suggest how to fix it. How do we expect people chosen for "personalities" to also be the kind of person who has the knowledge or initiative to actually do the job they are trying to win. Isn't that why companies do interviews for jobs instead of give them away?
It really sticks in my craw that it has dissolved into needing an "in" to a game company or winning a position. It is no longer about knowledge or skill. Some times I guess a company lucks out and things work out, but honestly, what about us who have spent thousands of dollars on getting a degree - something you require? Why is it that these entry level jobs are just handed out as prizes? Seriously?
I'm going to end the rant here. I could go on and on about how messed up the HR in gaming companies have become. They seem to be HR with a minor in PR divisions now. That or HR with a minor in nepotism.
Shameless Plug: Even though I am not a fan of what Sony is doing here, it is a chance for a foot in the door. So please vote me up over at http://casting.thetester.com/TheRealHades.
