MegaDrive and Game Gear, Sega's old-fashioned gaming machines appear in the middle of the 1990s Game development movie footage

Movie movie created in 1996, containing game development in the US Sega "This is SEGA TEST"Has been released. Among the movies are memorable hards such as mega drive, Sega Saturn, game gear, and original Virtua fighter, and many old-fashioned games are introduced along with the work of the game tester.

This is SEGA TEST (1996) Director JOHN JANSEN on Vimeo


Shift on the 1st starts at 7 am


When assigning work to the whiteboard ......


The staff got out one after another


Game machines used for work are "North American version of mega drive" Genesis "extended equipment"Super 32XWhat sets it. The game board for testing is set, and there is an atmosphere of tester environment indeed.


"What is a tester?"


Tom Karinsky, CEO of SEGA AMERICA, said, "Testers should be calm for the game."


Producer / tester Mark · Pania Gua replied, "It is about those who make the game better."


"People who do not do what an ordinary person does, find a mistake"


Mr. Karinsky also said, "When you play the game, you need to be able to say" This is not interesting, "I will tell you the importance of the tester's work.


"How long does the tester work?"


"It's 14 hours a day, is not it?"


"About 80 to 90 hours per week"


"At least 40 hours, maybe about 65 hours or so," this neighborhood seems to be tasty by people.


However, Mr. Dave Dodge, who is in the position of putting together testers, is unlikely to work for about 90 to 100 hours.


"Daily work"


Testers in front of the manager 's room.


We will hand over the test board one after another.


And fill out the management sheet to confirm the progress of the whole. In this way, the test is repeated from the beta stage until just before the actual release.


Bugs discovered during the test are reported to producers and programmers and are requested to be corrected.


It is also the work of the tester to check whether the bugs that have been corrected and returned are corrected properly.


Those who can tackle find a mistake


For that reason, ordinary people make places and actions that do not go and just do it.


Sometimes, we also test the game machine "PICO" for children.

I operate a pen and a button to find a problem ... ...


Sometimes I hit the wall or try to kick with my legs.



I also have to step on.


Testers' work is stressful. Therefore, it is important to take a walk and suck smoking to change the mood.



Kalinsky said: "Testers are very important people, we try to listen to the people who are actually engaged in work."


"There are various people in the company, such as sales and planning, it can be said that it is" crucible "and I have to work together and do creative work"


Sometimes it is also possible to reproduce the stage on paper by connecting the prints on the screen.



"Tobacco break"


When the break time came out the staff. Beyond that ... ...


A track full of hot dogs, snacks and drinks. It seems that sales are taking place at break.


Refreshes are sometimes indispensable for the work of testers where simple work continues in practice.



"Patience strength"


Mr. Chris Lucic, a tester, says that "When you write comments on test results, you should look at things with consumer's eyes," he says he should not forget the feelings of those who bought money.


Because of that, it looks like she is trying to test the gun shooting game with a serious look.


"The indomitable spirit"


A man who is a manager who looks through thorough check materials and makes confirmation.


Also doing work somewhat towards the computer.


The night shift begins at 3 PM and continues until 11 PM. The afternoon shift staff graduated one after another.


And the test work will continue. All play is recorded in video and it seems that it can be verified later.


Then the game freezes here. I started checking quickly.


Rewind the tape, play it and check the flow ...


We will summarize all the information such as the procedure of bug occurrence and option setting at that time in the report. Anyway, creating a handwritten report is a place to feel a retro feeling at all.


In Sega, bugs are classified into three types. It seems that what the game crashes or freezes is called "A bug", what disturbs play is "B bug", and what about graphics and sound is "C bug".


First submit the report to the leader of the team and ask for confirmation.


After confirmation is next ... ....


Register the contents of the bug in the database.


Enter the type of bug, person in charge, date, bug content etc


Then, after receiving red check (check) by the responsible person and approval, we fixed the database.


Dispose of documents by shredder


"enthusiasm"


"The person in charge must be a person who can explain intelligently whether the game is good or bad, because he likes the game, he can have an accurate view, and why the game is good or bad."


"As a producer, we must build relationships with testers and give each other inspiration and we must be able to judge what is a good game."


Sometimes it seems that the person responsible for the tester is driven down.


The person responsible for the tester can also meet with the producer and evaluate the bug.


Then we will decide how important bugs are, what we need to fix, and so on.


If there is a problem the development team says "How do you have a problem in fact?", But also asking for a correction by putting a terrible call.


And the tester waits for a bug check after correction. "Correction is Kurezo" and tells the staff additional work.


"atmosphere"


"There are various people,"


"Very ... ... I'm relaxing. I always get the feet on the ground."


"There are musicians, actors, guys who are doing programmers, and there are designers and producer eggs."


"I have a bastard, I am always doing karate at the parking lot"


Time passed ......


Waiting game tester team


Then it displays something on the screen


Managers who stood up just as "Kizito"


"Integration"


Remove the board ... ....


LSI prepared


Set in the machine and burn the updated software to ROM.


And passed to the tester ......


Set it in the test machine and check.


By repeating this work, the bugs are being crushed one after another.


Karinsky CEO says, "Since we can not release games with bugs, the work of the tester is very important," he says.


Mr. Dodge who put together the test team said, "As soon as the bug is found, a bug has been found, we will immediately contact the producer to change the schedule, even if we have paid thousands of yen for the game, It is a very important work and no doubt, "he tells the meaning of the tester's work.


"Future Plans to Go"


"People nested from the testing department also become producers of games"


"For us it is important to have such people assigned to various places within the company."


"Because we need a passion for games, the testing department is a suitable department for nurturing human resources."


"We believe that the game industry will grow bigger in the future, although at first it is a market targeted by boys, they will play in the game even if they become adults.Therefore, we have the power to this industry I am poured. "