User talk:David Wilson/Temp

Hi, I'm awesome too, we should be great friends! ^_______^ Misery 22:50, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

I can confirm Dave's awesomeness. Kim Chase 22:59, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

And I do like awesome people... David Wilson 23:13, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

I can confirm Misery's aw.. oh, thought you said something else. Backsword 23:15, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

You are so mean Backsword. Misery 06:17, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

<3 --Cursed Angel 12:12, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

A question to awesome

Quick question, is working in QA fun/fulfilling? I'm currently looking into taking a career break to experience other career paths and as I live in bonny Edinburgh (where rockstar north is based) I'm considering applying for a testers job. However I've had mixed reports from friends in the industry. Some people have told me the people/environment are great to work with/in but the job itself is mind numbing (as apparently theirs only a certain number of times one can run into a wall and still maintain the joy factor), while others have said it can be good fun with getting to grips with new and interesting game features. A bit at a loss myself as never worked in this field before. Any help you could offer would be appreciated. -- Salome 13:55, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Does the idea of walking backwards and forwards opening and closing from both sides every single door in a game just to see if you can break something appeal to you? Do you ever think it would be interesting to see what would happen if you dragged your weapon into your inventory halfway through activating an attack skill? (That's the only way I know of to cancel an attack skill by the way.) When you got your first equipment pack, did you try to put tonics in it? After the Cultist's Fervor/Dark Aura/Shadow Walk bug was patched did you try to find other ways to trigger sacrifice without triggering recharge? If you are answering yes to these you might find QA interesting. Misery 14:03, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

I did the last two, the first one sounds somewhat akin to having someone stick needles in your eyes. -- Salome 14:11, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Maybe QA isn't for you... To be honest, every job has it's terrible parts. Misery 16:19, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

So sorry it took me so long to respond. QA tends to keep one busy. :D

To take a somewhat roundabout tack to answer your question, QA is pretty much just another job in the fun and fulfillment departments; some people are better suited to it than others. I met a guy once that loved driving a tow truck, and he'd been doing it for four years! I can't imagine doing that for even a month. XD

Misery makes a good point that parts of the job can become somewhat tedious. Repeating the same levels/missions/actions/everything else for every variation you can think of is a necessity, but it can also be what keeps the job interesting. If you like puzzling things out, QA can be a good source of mental exercise. It requires a lot of cause-and-effect testing (Why did that skill react that way? Will it react that way on this other mob or in this other situation?) as well as creativity and guesswork (This skill seems to act fine here... What if I tried this instead?). I'll admit, awesome as I am, even I have become bored with QA tasks on occasion. But, I've also been very fulfilled for the majority of my testing career. Also, the types of people that tend to gravitate to QA testing range from fun to...unique, so the people you meet can certainly contribute to the job.

So, my recommendation is to try it out if you've got the time and inclination. The worst you can do is collect a few paychecks and find that you hate the job; sure, you're out a month or two of your own time, but you got cash and experience in exchange. On the other hand, you may find that you love the job and may even be especially suited to it, leading to a new set of career options. One of the best parts of QA is that you typically get your hands in a little bit of everything: art, play balance, design, mechanics... This experience can easily be transferred to other careers, and I've seen many people move from QA to programming or design positions.

So, to conclude, yes, I find it fun and fulfilling. Many others I've worked with feel the same. You may not. I've seen a lot of people decide they didn't like it and move on to other opportunities. But, by all means, give it a shot. QA is always in need of fresh talent.

Hope that answers your question!

David Wilson 18:41, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Your Gamesutra article

I wanted to let you know I enjoyed reading your article. I was curious about game-testing and heard it could be incredibly boring. Nevertheless I've always wanted to experience game-testing at least once so I found your article to be informative and interesting. Thanks for sharing the link in your front page :) – Barinthus 13:02, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. I was happy to have a chance to share some of my experience. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask; I'll answer to the best of my ability. :) David Wilson 19:16, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

I have two questions. Firstly, how awesome are you? Secondly, what is the colour of awesome? Misery 20:00, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Well, it's difficult to describe precisely how awesome I am, but I'll make an effort. I'm the head professor of Awesome University. We're still working on creating a web presence, but it will occur! I have an M.S. in Theoretical Awesomeology, with a minor in Applied Awesomeology. So, on a scale of one to one hundred, with one being not awesome and one hundred being totally awesome, I'm around one bajillionty. Well, one bajillionty and a half if you want to get technical. I just rounded down to make it easier for everyone.

As to the color of awesome, it's a candescent iridescence, encompassing all colors while limiting itself to none. Also, it shimmers. Because it's awesome. Thanks for asking! David Wilson 17:28, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

I kind of always thought it was red. My mistake. Misery 17:34, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

I guess David's level of awesome is OVER NINE THOUSAND! I'll vouche for Misery on his awesomeness. — Jon Lupen 17:55, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, aliens can't get a read on me without their gear exploding. Misery wasn't completely wrong, by the by. Awesome has red in it. It takes a lot of awesome to see all the colors of the awesome, though. David Wilson 18:14, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

So tell me, what does Awesome taste like? — Jon Lupen 02:20, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

It tastes like rainbows. David Wilson 18:57, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Have to try a rainbow sometime. Misery 22:37, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Would skittles happen to taste anything like awesome? — Jon Lupen 04:09, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

Well, if you can't get your hands on actual rainbows, skittles are the next best things. They're to rainbows as high-fructose corn syrup is to sugar: not as good, but cheaper and good enough to get the idea across. David Wilson 17:12, 21 July 2009 (UTC)