small and obscure problems, often in form of recommendation rather than bugs. Game tester A game tester is a member of a development team who performs game testing. Roles The organization of staff differs between organizations; a typical company may employ the following roles associated with testing disciplines: Game producers are responsible for setting testing deadlines in coordination with marketing and quality assurance. They also manage many items outside of game testing, relating to the overall production of a title. Their approval is typically required for final submission or "gold" status. Lead tester, test lead or QA lead is the person responsible for the game working correctly and managing bug lists. A lead tester manages the QA staff. The lead tester works closely with designers and programmers, especially towards the end of the project. The lead tester is responsible for tracking bug reports and ensuring that they are fixed. They are also responsible that QA teams produce formal and complete reports. This includes discarding duplicate and erroneous bug reports, as well as requesting clarifications. As the game nears alpha and beta stages, lead tester brings more testers into the team, coordinates with external testing teams and works with management and producers. Some companies may prevent the game going gold until lead tester approves it. Lead testers are also typically responsible for compiling representative samples of game footage for submission to regulatory bodies such as the ESRB and PEGI. Testers are responsible for checking that the game works, is easy to use, has actions that make sense, and contains fun gameplay. Testers need to write accurate and specific bug reports, and if possible providing descriptions of how the bug can be reproduced. Testers may be assigned to a single game during its entire production, or brought onto other projects as demanded by the department's schedule and specific needs. SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test) or Technical Testers are responsible for building automated test cases and frameworks as well as managing complex test problems such as overall game performance and security. These individuals usually have strong software development skills but with a focus on writing software which exposes defects in other applications. Specific roles and duties will vary between studios. Many games are developed without any Technical Testers. Employment Game QA is less technical than general software QA. Game testers most often require experience however occasionally only a high school diploma and