Joystiq: The (not so) stringent world of video game testing There have been a lot of complaints about publishers rushing buggy games out so they can hit a certain date, knowing they can update them via patches over the increasingly popular online gaming services. So why not try and address things in the testing phase of the game? Karla Starr, a reporter at The Seattle Weekly actually took a job as a tester with a game company, and went inside the the belly of the beast to bring us a real insider’s view of game testing.

Well no shit. I went to GDC and was… well, appalled by the view of Test and the views of testers in the industry at large. There were a couple of companies that were doing it “right”. During one of the round table sessions and I expressed my dismay at the majority of what I heard from other testers, I was told “Oh, no wonder… you’re with Microsoft.” I took it as a compliment, but it was an astute observation.

What is it that Microsoft does that’s right (and made us stand out at GDC)?
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