quote:

Originally posted by Melonie:
I've changed my mind on everything. I'm not sending the paperwork they asked, and if they do ask that I come on the show, I will decline.

I refuse to be on a show that's all about drama and hooking people up. It's either all about gaming or nothing at all, and in this case, nothing at all.

Good for you. It will probably be a crappy show anyways.

What everyone is saying about the reality TV angle is all true. They do care more about getting a show that is dramatic than they do about finding the best person for the job. It's about getting a show together that to them makes for good TV, nothing more.

If you are serious about becoming a game tester did you try doing it alone? Did you try sending your resume to gaming companies that interest you? Did you try to learn more about what a tester does and do things to better your skill set? If it's the job you want as opposed to the TV exposure I'd say do those things.

Also, networking increases your chances of getting any game industry job, and not just by a little either. Networking is the way that a big majority of industry jobs are filled. I've read various sources on it in the past and I'm sure I've seen the figure to be as high as 80% before. You know that there are several professional game testers on the forums here? There are also other industry professionals here that deal with game testers every day, both in a professional and social sense.

Just seems to me that if you really want to be a game tester you could have a MUCH better chance than this show. This show will take a number of contestants and reward one of them with a job. Not sure how many contestants there are but one in fifteen, one in ten, one in five, all sound like really crappy odds. I'm pretty sure that with a bit of work your chance of getting a tester job without this show could be one in one

quote:

Originally posted by Anim8rJB:
Weasel - didn't Cliff start out doing mods on some game?

It was some mod for unreal tournament that gave the game even SPAMMIER weaponry. I hated it, but for some reason I remembered his name. Spidey Sense I guess. Full auto sniping rifle, homing auto mini rockets and living mines that swarmed you among some of the... "highlights".

quote:

Originally posted by Redcoat_Kezz:
What everyone is saying about the reality TV angle is all true. They do care more about getting a show that is dramatic than they do about finding the best person for the job. It's about getting a show together that to them makes for good TV, nothing more.

If you are serious about becoming a game tester did you try doing it alone? Did you try sending your resume to gaming companies that interest you? Did you try to learn more about what a tester does and do things to better your skill set? If it's the job you want as opposed to the TV exposure I'd say do those things.

Also, networking increases your chances of getting any game industry job, and not just by a little either. Networking is the way that a big majority of industry jobs are filled. I've read various sources on it in the past and I'm sure I've seen the figure to be as high as 80% before. You know that there are several professional game testers on the forums here? There are also other industry professionals here that deal with game testers every day, both in a professional and social sense.

Just seems to me that if you really want to be a game tester you could have a MUCH better chance than this show. This show will take a number of contestants and reward one of them with a job. Not sure how many contestants there are but one in fifteen, one in ten, one in five, all sound like really crappy odds. I'm pretty sure that with a bit of work your chance of getting a tester job without this show could be one in one

Exactly what he said! If you are really passionate about getting into the game industry you have to network. You are actually starting that by being here and making friends with us all. Like kerry said again, a lot of us do work in the industry and able to pull some strings. I got into QA because of kerry and I am greatly thankful to this day for him making that happen!
BTW Be prepared to move.

I too had an interview with the casting guy...let me just say that I feel terrible that you were treated like that during your interview. Oddly enough...during mine..he made no mention of my beauty. It could be because of my race and he didn't want to offend me or something and I guess it could be because I don't look like a Frag Doll or any traditional western standard of beauty especially if he considers a size 16 to be "Fat" here's my pic on myspace ...I mean he brought up the fact that I am a girl gamer and asked me how do I cope with dealing with the male dominated industry...but that's about it when it came to comments about my gender.
I can't believe he had the audacity to say something like that to you, I guess he assumed since you were attractive you would be shallow and unintelligent but you certainly proved him wrong. I actually submitted my paperwork to them, but that was days before I read this from this website from surfing to see who else got an interview with them and when I saw this thread I felt compelled to join this site and respond. Anyways, I understand why you changed your mind, but from reading your comment I hope they do pick me...the "ugly fat gamer girl" just so I can show them how wrong they are for thinking that. If I get on that show, I..like you...want to represent for girl gamers everywhere...so what if we don't fit into some standard of beauty....I want to get into the competition to win! I wish there were other ways for me to get my foot in the door, but right now I'm in North Carolina...so I don't know if there are any other gaming developers in my area...but I will take heed of some of the other posters notes on how to get into the industry especially once I graduate from college. Have a nice day though!

quote:

Originally posted by ChicagoFameGirl:
I too had an interview with the casting guy...let me just say that I feel terrible that you were treated like that during your interview. Oddly enough...during mine..he made no mention of my beauty. It could be because of my race and he didn't want to offend me or something and I guess it could be because I don't look like a Frag Doll or any traditional western standard of beauty especially if he considers a size 16 to be "Fat" here's my pic on myspace ...I mean he brought up the fact that I am a girl gamer and asked me how do I cope with dealing with the male dominated industry...but that's about it when it came to comments about my gender.
I can't believe he had the audacity to say something like that to you, I guess he assumed since you were attractive you would be shallow and unintelligent but you certainly proved him wrong. I actually submitted my paperwork to them, but that was days before I read this from this website from surfing to see who else got an interview with them and when I saw this thread I felt compelled to join this site and respond. Anyways, I understand why you changed your mind, but from reading your comment I hope they do pick me...the "ugly fat gamer girl" just so I can show them how wrong they are for thinking that. If I get on that show, I..like you...want to represent for girl gamers everywhere...so what if we don't fit into some standard of beauty....I want to get into the competition to win! I wish there were other ways for me to get my foot in the door, but right now I'm in North Carolina...so I don't know if there are any other gaming developers in my area...but I will take heed of some of the other posters notes on how to get into the industry especially once I graduate from college. Have a nice day though!

I've decided not to go on the show for more reasons than just that, though. It was more of the straw that broke the camel's back, I suppose.

I do enjoy watching reality shows, I'm not going to lie about that. However, I do notice a similarity in most all of them, and that is their techniques of making people say what they want them to, or editing footage to portray a certain image of their choice. During the interview alone, they tried so hard to get me to talk about using my looks toward my advantage, or finding a boyfriend on the show. I tried to veer away from those topics, yet they would ask them over and over again, just worded differently, hoping I would take the bait.

It's my impression that actually being on the show would be much worse. I feel like they were only interested in me because of my looks, and even though I love getting compliments about how I look, I don't want to be on a show about gaming primarily because of that. I'd like to be recognized for my passion for gaming, my skills, and sportsmanship (or sportswomanship ).

Still, the main reason why I decided not to be on the show is because the grand prize is just a temporary game tester job, it's nothing steady. It's a dream of mine to get into the gaming industry, but I can't say that being a game tester is really what I want to do, you know? Moreover, I would have to quit my job and move to California for something temporary. Then what? It's way too difficult to find a job right now for me to quit just for something temporary. I'm more interested in long term opportunities. Even though my job right now is only part time (by my choice, because I needed a break from full time work to focus on my education and passions in life, which are art and gaming), but it pays the bills, and it's an awesome job. I wouldn't trade it for a temporary game tester job, that's for sure.

Having that said, I think the opportunity would be great for some people, and I don't want to take someone's spot that really wants it. My reason for wanting to be on the show was to be recognized in the gaming industry so I could find opportunities to promote games, or something of the sort. However, I can do that on my own with my gaming video blog. If I work hard at it, I'll achieve it myself without having to go on a show that I really don't want to.

I do hope that you make it, ChicagoFameGirl. I would love to see a girl kick some butt on the show and represent everyone. I'm so glad that they interviewed you properly and did not degrade you. I think you're a beautiful girl, and if you do get to participate on the show, please tell us and I will be cheering you on the whole way through.

I completely understand your reasons for not going through with this and it's a lot to risk losing just for a temporary job. I did get a response back stating that I am a semi-finalist and that the human resources department of Sony Playstation Network will be in contact with me over next week on background checks and contracts for the show. I don't know if that means I've finally made it to a spot on the show (if I pass all the checks) or if this is round two of the audition process (I'm thinking the later anyways) so I'll let you know if I do in fact become a contestant.