Gunnycycle

I wouldn't say "silliest", but bug I was most amused by. I tested WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It.

I was testing all the entrance cutscenes and for Trish Stratus, there was a scene where she was under a waterfall wearing a white T-Shirt. Needless to say, the shirt was completely see-through. My lead made me write it up and it was removed from the game. I hated myself for writing up that bug. I still hate myself for even mentioning it to my lead.

Holy fuck, I would have to say it was the first WWF Raw for the original XBOX. That game was garbage (bug-wise), but THQ needed it to come out as one of the release (first gen) titles for that console.

This is barring MMORPGs that I've worked on which, technically is a nonstop bug paradise. But that's only due to the fact that MMORPGs are a nonstop work in progress.

1. Quotas are a necessity, but only in the right context. If you are given a new build/game, then it's expected that 10-15 bugs a day would be a pretty good mark to hit. But as a build/game reaches the end of a dev cycle, then leads/management should, if they are worth their salt, realize that bug counts will drop and take that into account when it comes to work performance. Unfortunately, not everyone shares this ideal and if you're not writing up 20+ bugs a day regardless of bug quality, they're not going to notice or care who you are.

2. That practice is pretty new in the industry. But as for interaction with Devs, it's been a pretty common environment in a lot of smaller dev houses. It's how a lot of QA advance into dev roles themselves. Because being able to show a dev your bug is a great conversation starter as to how certain systems and code works. If there is anything a dev loves to do, it's to talk about how their code works. This way, it bridges a gap between the two departments. And usually, that communication between someone who is trained to break a game and someone who is trained to fix what's broken will create a more efficient development environment.

3. First thing, learn to read design documentation. There's the programming docs also, but unless you're technically inclined, I'd start of with design. This way, you'll know exactly what is supposed to happen in a game. From graphics, to game mechanics, to sound. As our job is to find what ISN'T supposed to happen. Having a design doc handy is like gold. Second, learn and be good at QA theory. Anyone can find a bug. QA will find obscure crashes AND know why they happened. Third, volunteer to do things. I moved my way up Disney by creating documentation like stanardized naming conventions and excel sheets that tracked and documented changelists and fixes per build. And last but not least. You don't have to kiss ass, but it's always good to make sure leads and anyone above you know who you are. Preferably for the work you do. But if you're a hot girl, don't worry. You'll get a lead spot in an amount of time dependent on how big your tits are and how low your neckline is. (Sad, but true. sigh)

Honestly, it would have gave WoW a run for its money. Too bad the higher ups thought that moving into China to produce casual games was more of a priority because "we don't see MMORPGs becoming more popular than they are now" (insert facepalm here).

As for the game itself. It was actually great! Graphics was on par with WoW, but it was less cartoony. It used that time's unreal engine which made animation super smooth.Game mechanics was pretty smooth and the last version I tested was on par with WoW's "target, 1,2,3,1,2,3,4" mechanic. The death system just like wow's where you would have to find your body as a spirit. It was going to be the first MMORPG that had instanced dungeons. And it actually had a talent system linked to the morality system. Think wow talents and FF10 ability tree had a baby.

And to be honest, it wasn't anywhere near to complete before it got axed. At the time we tested it before its demise, it only had one dungeon, and a few outside maps that you had to load as a separate instance each time you had to test it. Besides EA's focus on casual games. One of the reasons it was scrapped was because it was so behind schedule, it would have been embarrassing if people found out.

I know this is pretty general, but if you have more questions, please feel free to ask.

A friend of the family was one of the QA supervisors at SEGA (when it was still in Redwood City, CA) at the time. I needed a job, and he had me apply. I was 18.