Thoughts on you being a free qa tester?.

[Ramstar]

EDIT

Trying this a different way because it seems this is going in the direction of 'that is EA'.. OP updated.

I fully understand what EA is and it's definitions and that we make choices to buy them blah.

FROM A CONSUMER ETHICS POV
- What would be the issue if EA logic was really a free demo like Vein?



ORIGNAL POST
--
I think there should be more game 'demos' like vein so everyone is working for free until a point where paying for it is acceptable.

I get EA games are mostly about the title. I get helping indie devs and making suggestions for improvements. I get indie devs don't have the resource or scale labs to properly test their game so kind of falls on us gamers but where is the balance.

The logic of paying for the game is to fund development time, but we are working for free whilst paying for the privilege.

Thoughts?

[Pscht]

Good luck getting the "WANTWANTWANT NOW" crowd to understand that.

[Tito Shivan]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από D. Flame:

I will test a game for free for free. I will not test a game for free if there is a fee to me.

You will test a game for free, or you will 'test' a hand for free?

I mean because actual 'testing' is quite detached from being fun.

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από The nameless Commander:

I am not putting an equation mark between early access and QA testing.

Early Access doesn't come close to QA, not even to actual testing.
It's more like paying to watch how something is made.

[The nameless Gamer]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Tito Shivan:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από The nameless Commander:

I am not putting an equation mark between early access and QA testing.

Early Access doesn't come close to QA, not even to actual testing.
It's more like paying to watch how something is made.

Not even that much if we're to get quite technical. It's simply watching the progress, not the process. Although the bug reports people are submitting are something in common with testing.

[D. Flame]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Tito Shivan:

I mean because actual 'testing' is quite detached from being fun.

False. That is just your opinion, one that I do not share.

[Crazy Tiger]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από D. Flame:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Tito Shivan:

I mean because actual 'testing' is quite detached from being fun.

False. That is just your opinion, one that I do not share.

Well, do'h, you never like reality.

[Tito Shivan]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από D. Flame:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Tito Shivan:

I mean because actual 'testing' is quite detached from being fun.

False. That is just your opinion, one that I do not share.

Then I may suggest you a career in QA.

[D. Flame]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Tito Shivan:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από D. Flame:

False. That is just your opinion, one that I do not share.

Then I may suggest you a career in QA.

Would that I could. It is generally considered a dead career now. Companies are more likely to push out unfinished games now, charged full price for them, and let their customers do the QA for them.

Even when I was younger, most only considered it a temporary stop gap on the path up to programmer.

[Tito Shivan]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από D. Flame:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Tito Shivan:

Then I may suggest you a career in QA.

Would that I could. It is generally considered a dead career now. Companies are more likely to push out unfinished games now, charged full price for them, and let their customers do the QA for them.

Surprisingly to many. "Unfinished games" do get QA.

It's just these days the tolerance for shipping bugs is greater. And often deadlines are drawn in blood.

[AmsterdamHeavy]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Ramstar:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Heraclius Caesar:

Don't buy early access games if that's how you feel about it. You're not "working" by playing an early access game that no one forced you to buy.

You've missed the point. See response above to nx machina. I guess I'm trying to discuss here ethical consumerism.

Playing an EA game isnt even close to "working for free". You have no idea what QA testing is if you think its the same thing.

What an EA game is, "buy as is", is clearly labeled on the store page. There is no ethics discussion to be had on this topic.

[RPG Gamer Man]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Pscht:

Good luck getting the "WANTWANTWANT NOW" crowd to understand that.

Yep, and the BANDWAGON crown and the INSTANT GRATIFICATION crowd too..lol.

[skOsH♥]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από ☭-Soviet-Triumph-:

From what I read actual QA testing is much less pleasant experience than just playing the game normally, actively hunting for bugs, doing the same ingame actions over and over again in slightly different ways. Are you really playing game demos that way?

This. Actual testing is not fun at all, very tedious, but if I find a ton of issues with their game and help their devs then I am doing the same thing they should be doing

And if they're getting paid, and I am doing the same monotonous process to also help improve the game, but I am *not* being paid, just having access to the game isn't a fair trade, at all

I'm surprised that companies can't pay people to do this monotonous work because if I use the technique of testing everything for collision/clipping/tangled hitboxes/functionality/environment interaction in a very boring but methodical manner, I would expect to be paid a lot.

But....I do it for free, but sometimes the devs do not fix it correctly or a new bug is created....then it feels like they aren't doing any QA testing themselves.....but I am.....They're getting paid, I'm not, and sometimes I feel like I am putting more effort in

I don't like being free labor. Pay me, or just hire me as a dev. I've made games, and mods for games, and have helped EA titles with the annoying way to test games (instead of just playing), because the amount of bugs and issues you can find increases due to deliberately trying to find them.

[eram]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από skOsH:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από ☭-Soviet-Triumph-:

From what I read actual QA testing is much less pleasant experience than just playing the game normally, actively hunting for bugs, doing the same ingame actions over and over again in slightly different ways. Are you really playing game demos that way?

This. Actual testing is not fun at all, very tedious, but if I find a ton of issues with their game and help their devs then I am doing the same thing they should be doing

And if they're getting paid, and I am doing the same monotonous process to also help improve the game, but I am *not* being paid, just having access to the game isn't a fair trade, at all

I'm surprised that companies can't pay people to do this monotonous work because if I use the technique of testing everything for collision/clipping/tangled hitboxes/functionality/environment interaction in a very boring but methodical manner, I would expect to be paid a lot.

But....I do it for free, but sometimes the devs do not fix it correctly or a new bug is created....then it feels like they aren't doing any QA testing themselves.....but I am.....They're getting paid, I'm not, and sometimes I feel like I am putting more effort in

I don't like being free labor. Pay me, or just hire me as a dev. I've made games, and mods for games, and have helped EA titles with the annoying way to test games (instead of just playing), because the amount of bugs and issues you can find increases due to deliberately trying to find them.

why would they pay you when the current deal is you pay them?

[AmsterdamHeavy]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από skOsH:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από ☭-Soviet-Triumph-:

From what I read actual QA testing is much less pleasant experience than just playing the game normally, actively hunting for bugs, doing the same ingame actions over and over again in slightly different ways. Are you really playing game demos that way?

This. Actual testing is not fun at all, very tedious, but if I find a ton of issues with their game and help their devs then I am doing the same thing they should be doing

And if they're getting paid, and I am doing the same monotonous process to also help improve the game, but I am *not* being paid, just having access to the game isn't a fair trade, at all

I'm surprised that companies can't pay people to do this monotonous work because if I use the technique of testing everything for collision/clipping/tangled hitboxes/functionality/environment interaction in a very boring but methodical manner, I would expect to be paid a lot.

But....I do it for free, but sometimes the devs do not fix it correctly or a new bug is created....then it feels like they aren't doing any QA testing themselves.....but I am.....They're getting paid, I'm not, and sometimes I feel like I am putting more effort in

I don't like being free labor. Pay me, or just hire me as a dev. I've made games, and mods for games, and have helped EA titles with the annoying way to test games (instead of just playing), because the amount of bugs and issues you can find increases due to deliberately trying to find them.

No one asked you to do that.

This sounds like one of those street-side windshield washers complaining about not getting paid when no one asked them to clean a windshield in the first place.

[Rin]

"Here is a game in development, it's cheaper for now because it's not considered finished yet. And if you want you can buy it now and help progress (or not)."

[D. Flame]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Rin:

"Here is a game in development, it's cheaper for now because it's not considered finished yet. And if you want you can buy it now and help progress (or not)."

They don't cost less and often they cost more.