This week saw the return of Sony's reality television show, The Tester, which
pits aspiring game testers against each other in contests until only one
remains, with the champion of the contest earning a position as one of Sony's
very own internal game testers. The first season of The Tester was far from
critically acclaimed, but it did prove to be a big hit among viewers. Season two
of the show promises even more drama, viewer contests, and bigger and better
problems for the would-be game testers. Sony has also promised a larger judging
panel, and has already secured several notable names in the fields of game
development and Game Design as guest panellists. Some of the names currently
confirmed include Stig Asmussen, the game director of God of War 3, and Medal of
Honor's executive producer Greg Goodrich. You can find of these titles at this unblocked games website.
The winner of The Tester
receives the opportunity to work as one of Sony's Game Testers in their San
Diego studio, and will also receive a signing bonus, in addition to a selection
of other prizes. Sony is enthusiastic that, unlike many reality television game
shows, they are actually offering the winner of the show a great opportunity to
jump-start a profession in the gaming industry. Season One's winner, Will
"Cyrus" Powers, has already managed to climb a little further up the corporate
ladder, and after a short stint as one of Sony's game testers, he is now
employed in Sony's PR staff. Winning, or also simply appearing on, the show
might assist give contestants access to a career in the gaming
industry!
However, game testers may also note minor flaws which will
not negatively impact the gaming experience, but still have to be fixed. On such
occasions, the Game Development staff would weigh up the pros and cons of fixing
these bugs prior to release, and then determine if the issue needs to be
addressed prior to release, or if a patch can be issued to fix the bug at a
later date.
The moderate success of The Tester has prompted Sony to
speculate that they would like to develop new and entertaining content for
PlayStation Network in a bid to rival premium TV channels such as HBO and
Showtime. Nevertheless, this is a long-term project, and according to Sony it
will be at least five years before any progress is made.
No comments:
Post a Comment