Now don’t lose me here. There is a good side to being a Quality Assurance tester, despite my long list of bad things in the first part of this series. If you want to be in QA, there is light at the end of this tunnel. And hey, I’ve been in QA all this time, so there must be reasons that I stay. So if you’re still interested in the dream of a QA Tester, read on.

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Do you want a QA Testing job really bad? Does the idea of playing games all day and getting paid for it your glamorous dream job? Do you want to see you name in lights with the latest video game hit?

Are you insane?

I’m going to rain on your parade a little bit, but there is sunshine at the end, I promise.

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Mythic isn’t bad, they’re just a victim of genre. Jen MacLean, Chairperson of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and VP of Business Development at 38 Studios, recently set the record straight about the Mythic Warhammer Online credits controversy. For those not in the know, Mythic was targeted for press attacks when news got out that people who worked on the Warhammer MMO prior to the studio shift and lost over 3-4 years of work wouldn’t get credit.
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For all of you independent game developers out there, it ain’t always easy finding funding, especially for avant garde or experimental games. That’s where GCube Ventures, an investment firm for interactive entertainment, steps in. Managing Director Shiraz Akmal, formerly from THQ, filled us in on the details of this unique form of financial support for a “gaming ecosystem” from content development to publishing to distribution.

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I get emails from 3D modelers, animators and other artists now and then. Based on my very scientific research (that would be bunch of emails) I could estimate that 50% of the emails I get have no sample links. Some send me extremely long emails explaining their history since they were born. Some send me spam-like messages that are generated to some list (from where I’ve never signed, and cannot unsubscribe).

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The Austin Game Developers Conference unofficially began on Sunday night, September 14th, as many attendees met with specialized groups in various bars around downtown Austin. If you have ever wondered how to go about networking yourself with industry professionals, this is it. More than likely, you will not find a more relaxed environment to introduce yourself and voice your opinions on the current state of the industry.  And, if you miss the opening night, fear not. The following three nights proved to be just as open to mingling and card-swapping as the first.

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In 1977, kids were listening to Rush, smoking cigarettes and a few of the lucky ones had even gotten to second base with the girls, all of which left Bioshock creator Ken Levine wondering “where am I at this point?” Well last week thousands knew exactly where he was as we gathered for his opening keynote speech at PAX 08 offering us a peek at his inner-nerd and a few lessons on coming to terms with our own.
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I look at game artists’ portfolios on a regular basis. These websites are usually designed so poorly that I close my browser out of disgust. They’re even bad enough to turn away potential employers, regardless of the quality of the artwork. Tragic!
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In line with the recommendation to independent game developers to chase Asian markets with strategies like micro-transactions in portable community-oriented games, there’s a new untapped audience on the rise. Mexico is known as a market caught up with piracy, but a recent report from Research and Markets Ltd. suggests that the game industry there could be worth $1 billion by 2010.
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The Game Developers Conference holds its next event in San Francisco next March, but will miss one of its best.  The event organizers have announced that after 5 years working on the Game Developer Conference and Game Developer Events,  Jamil Moledina is leaving in pursuit of other interests.

The announcement states Meggan Scavio will pick-up the reins as Event Director.  She looks to continue and enhance the GDC’s relationship with the developer community which sounds promising as she is an 8-year veteran.
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