William Bernard is a Quality Assurance and Marketing analyst for Tukko Labs and a frequent contributor to the Tukko Report. He has the auspicious record of testing almost every game available on console, and pc since the dawn of the NES. He heralds a master’s degree in marketing, and holds the highest IQ marks in the team. He has taken his cumulative experiences in playing the different gaming genres and applying that knowledge for the benefit of the Tukko Lab’s clientele. Though quite jolly, he does hold one of the most critical aspects of our operation, and that is to give the most relevant, and yet evocative critiques that help push the industry into his desired vision of it…
Tukko: So could you tell us what your job is exactly and what it entails?
William: Sure. I’m a usability analyst for Tukko Labs. Generally speaking, usability is the analysis, study and critique of user-friendliness in software and websites. For games, usability refers to analyzing the design elements of the game that actively affect the player’s overall experience while playing the game.
Tukko: That sounds a bit complicated, could you provide an example?
William: It’s not as complex as it sounds, but it does require thinking beyond the obvious at times. Take for example most first person shooters. On PCs, mouse and keyboard controls are the norm, and players are able to accurately target enemies on screen even with a small crosshair. On consoles however, controls are much less accurate, so it would be difficult for a player to be able to play properly if the game developer implemented a similar, small crosshair on screen. That’s why you see most console First Person Shooters have a much larger crosshair, which compensates for the loss of accuracy due to controls.
William: Had developers stuck to utilizing a traditional PC-style crosshair, it would most likely frustrate players to no end. That would be an example of unintended frustration by design. Usability is a way to avoid such problems.
Tukko: That sounds like a pretty tough thing to spot; it’s definitely not something that immediately would jump to mind as being “wrong” in a game. Could you describe briefly the process of how you would go about finding these problems?
William: It’s mainly active observation really. A lot of the job is just watching people playing games. You have your test plan and what you want the players to run through, and you watch them play through it. Then you see what areas of the game they seem to have trouble with. Sometimes we ask the players to say what they are thinking while they play. We do this through with several players, and at the end of the study we compare the results. From here we can pinpoint the common problem areas and figure out solutions on how to resolve them.
Tukko: What would you say is the biggest hurdle of the job?
William: Just getting people to be as brutally honest as possible really. A lot of times, people think they are hurting your feelings, or don’t want to seem like total asses by speaking their mind, so they don’t say anything or say something different. Sometimes they don’t even know what they really feel themselves. But we really do want their brutal honesty, because at the end of the day that’s what will really help make the game better.
Tukko: Usability sounds like a pretty specific job role. How did you end up getting into this line of work?
William: By accident to be honest. My training is actually business oriented, geared more towards market research than anything else. My first job in the industry was a research analyst for a regional game distribution company, but eventually I started getting asked to help them on survey design and studies as well for usability. I started teaching myself usability, read as much as I could online, talked to people, and started practicing it on games I own myself. Now I’m doing it full time.
Tukko: So you were a gamer before you even got into the industry?
William: Absolutely. It’s why I’m in the industry to begin with.
Tukko: How long have you been gaming?
William: I don’t even recall a time either when my family didn’t have a personal computer of some sort, so I was always growing up around computers and games. The first games I really remember was when I was around 4 or 5, but I think I only really started playing since I was about 7 or 8. Like most kids we had an NES back in the 80’s. I played that thing to death. Eventually that progressed on to a SNES, a Genesis, and others. Alongside that PC gaming was also always there, but I didn’t really get into that as much until maybe the early 90’s, when I was a little older.
Tukko: Did you realize that you were to be testing games for a living back then?
William: Not necessarily testing games per se, but I knew I wanted to work in the industry for sure.
Tukko: When exactly did you realize which industry you belonged to?
William: Hard to say. But I obviously loved gaming as a kid and I knew I didn’t want to stop as I grew up. Most of my studies were focused on business and management. Applicable in a lot of industries, so it was a general safety net, but I definitely knew I wanted to apply it to gaming if possible. That’s why I got that job I mentioned previously as a research analyst. Getting into part of the development process was an extra bonus along the way.
Tukko: Could you talk a bit about your business background and how you’ve been able to integrate it into your work?
William: Well, my main focus in business school was always marketing. I always thought it was one of the more interesting parts of business, a lot more so than finance or sales. I eventually focused down into market research techniques and statistical analysis, so that became my bread and butter. In a way, usability is similar in that you are also trying to figure out what your market thinks and feels about your product. So actually, it wasn’t such a huge leap for me to adapt my knowledge to the job at all.
Tukko: Would you recommend this profession to anyone?
William: As long as you have a thick skin, then yes. In QA, you generally are perceived as an expense and not an asset. Alongside that, the criticism QA dishes out to the developers can sometimes be pretty harsh, and no one likes it when you trash talk their baby. It can be frustrating to when only a few of your recommendations are actually implemented. I’ve even had projects where none of my recommendations got implemented. If you can stomach that sort of thing though, then by all means, I would definitely say it’s one of the more interesting jobs in the industry.
Tukko: That must feel quite frustrating. Do you have anything to say out there to the developers and people trying to follow a similar path that you’ve taken?
William: Have a goal and stick to it. Keep it in the back of your mind always and you’re guaranteed to get there sooner or later.
Tukko: Where do you see the future of Social game QA / testing headed?
William: It’s definitely becoming more challenging, especially with how many games now have a social aspect which is just as important to the overall game experience as anything else. I’m sure as new game types are developed, the challenges will continue to come, but that’s part of what makes the job interesting. Still, it should become quicker and more efficient, as most technology based careers tend to become. The better the tech and tools, the better and faster the results will be. It’s just a matter of adopting and integrating them into a usable format.
Tukko: What do you foresee as some of the major QA / testing pitfalls for Social Game developers?
William: Most get greedy. They see success stories like Zynga and Playfish and think they can do it too. So they slap together a game with little to zero actual budgets and expect it to succeed. Then they implement a crazy business model, and when their game fails they start pointing fingers. Hot markets tend to attract the shysters and hucksters, so this really isn’t anything new. But still, it does prove to me how much more valuable my job has become in this day and age, and that makes me happy.
Interview | Tukko Labs’ Chief Game Analyst, William Bernard talks about life as a game tester
William Bernard is a Quality Assurance and Marketing analyst for Tukko Labs and a frequent contributor to the Tukko Report. He has the auspicious record of testing almost every game available on console, and pc since the dawn of the NES. He heralds a master’s degree in marketing, and holds the highest IQ marks in the team. He has taken his cumulative experiences in playing the different gaming genres and applying that knowledge for the benefit of the Tukko Lab’s clientele. Though quite jolly, he does hold one of the most critical aspects of our operation, and that is to give the most relevant, and yet evocative critiques that help push the industry into his desired vision of it…
Tukko: So could you tell us what your job is exactly and what it entails?
William: Sure. I’m a usability analyst for Tukko Labs. Generally speaking, usability is the analysis, study and critique of user-friendliness in software and websites. For games, usability refers to analyzing the design elements of the game that actively affect the player’s overall experience while playing the game.
Tukko: That sounds a bit complicated, could you provide an example?
William: It’s not as complex as it sounds, but it does require thinking beyond the obvious at times. Take for example most first person shooters. On PCs, mouse and keyboard controls are the norm, and players are able to accurately target enemies on screen even with a small crosshair. On consoles however, controls are much less accurate, so it would be difficult for a player to be able to play properly if the game developer implemented a similar, small crosshair on screen. That’s why you see most console First Person Shooters have a much larger crosshair, which compensates for the loss of accuracy due to controls.
William: Had developers stuck to utilizing a traditional PC-style crosshair, it would most likely frustrate players to no end. That would be an example of unintended frustration by design. Usability is a way to avoid such problems.
Tukko: That sounds like a pretty tough thing to spot; it’s definitely not something that immediately would jump to mind as being “wrong” in a game. Could you describe briefly the process of how you would go about finding these problems?
William: It’s mainly active observation really. A lot of the job is just watching people playing games. You have your test plan and what you want the players to run through, and you watch them play through it. Then you see what areas of the game they seem to have trouble with. Sometimes we ask the players to say what they are thinking while they play. We do this through with several players, and at the end of the study we compare the results. From here we can pinpoint the common problem areas and figure out solutions on how to resolve them.
Tukko: What would you say is the biggest hurdle of the job?
William: Just getting people to be as brutally honest as possible really. A lot of times, people think they are hurting your feelings, or don’t want to seem like total asses by speaking their mind, so they don’t say anything or say something different. Sometimes they don’t even know what they really feel themselves. But we really do want their brutal honesty, because at the end of the day that’s what will really help make the game better.
Tukko: Usability sounds like a pretty specific job role. How did you end up getting into this line of work?
William: By accident to be honest. My training is actually business oriented, geared more towards market research than anything else. My first job in the industry was a research analyst for a regional game distribution company, but eventually I started getting asked to help them on survey design and studies as well for usability. I started teaching myself usability, read as much as I could online, talked to people, and started practicing it on games I own myself. Now I’m doing it full time.
Tukko: So you were a gamer before you even got into the industry?
William: Absolutely. It’s why I’m in the industry to begin with.
Tukko: How long have you been gaming?
William: I don’t even recall a time either when my family didn’t have a personal computer of some sort, so I was always growing up around computers and games. The first games I really remember was when I was around 4 or 5, but I think I only really started playing since I was about 7 or 8. Like most kids we had an NES back in the 80’s. I played that thing to death. Eventually that progressed on to a SNES, a Genesis, and others. Alongside that PC gaming was also always there, but I didn’t really get into that as much until maybe the early 90’s, when I was a little older.
Tukko: Did you realize that you were to be testing games for a living back then?
William: Not necessarily testing games per se, but I knew I wanted to work in the industry for sure.
Tukko: When exactly did you realize which industry you belonged to?
William: Hard to say. But I obviously loved gaming as a kid and I knew I didn’t want to stop as I grew up. Most of my studies were focused on business and management. Applicable in a lot of industries, so it was a general safety net, but I definitely knew I wanted to apply it to gaming if possible. That’s why I got that job I mentioned previously as a research analyst. Getting into part of the development process was an extra bonus along the way.
Tukko: Could you talk a bit about your business background and how you’ve been able to integrate it into your work?
William: Well, my main focus in business school was always marketing. I always thought it was one of the more interesting parts of business, a lot more so than finance or sales. I eventually focused down into market research techniques and statistical analysis, so that became my bread and butter. In a way, usability is similar in that you are also trying to figure out what your market thinks and feels about your product. So actually, it wasn’t such a huge leap for me to adapt my knowledge to the job at all.
Tukko: Would you recommend this profession to anyone?
William: As long as you have a thick skin, then yes. In QA, you generally are perceived as an expense and not an asset. Alongside that, the criticism QA dishes out to the developers can sometimes be pretty harsh, and no one likes it when you trash talk their baby. It can be frustrating to when only a few of your recommendations are actually implemented. I’ve even had projects where none of my recommendations got implemented. If you can stomach that sort of thing though, then by all means, I would definitely say it’s one of the more interesting jobs in the industry.
Tukko: That must feel quite frustrating. Do you have anything to say out there to the developers and people trying to follow a similar path that you’ve taken?
William: Have a goal and stick to it. Keep it in the back of your mind always and you’re guaranteed to get there sooner or later.
Tukko: Where do you see the future of Social game QA / testing headed?
William: It’s definitely becoming more challenging, especially with how many games now have a social aspect which is just as important to the overall game experience as anything else. I’m sure as new game types are developed, the challenges will continue to come, but that’s part of what makes the job interesting. Still, it should become quicker and more efficient, as most technology based careers tend to become. The better the tech and tools, the better and faster the results will be. It’s just a matter of adopting and integrating them into a usable format.
Tukko: What do you foresee as some of the major QA / testing pitfalls for Social Game developers?
William: Most get greedy. They see success stories like Zynga and Playfish and think they can do it too. So they slap together a game with little to zero actual budgets and expect it to succeed. Then they implement a crazy business model, and when their game fails they start pointing fingers. Hot markets tend to attract the shysters and hucksters, so this really isn’t anything new. But still, it does prove to me how much more valuable my job has become in this day and age, and that makes me happy.