I mentioned that I was a tester for THQ this summer, but I couldn’t tell what I was testing. Fortunately, the game I tested has been released. My name’s in the credits and it’s no longer a secret. I tested Avatar: The Burning Earth, mainly on Wii.

The best part about testing a kids game is that, no matter how tired I grew of the it, the game was still silly and fun. I tested in overtime for Conan and Stuntman: Ignition, both of which were somewhat traumatizing on a psychological level. Playing a game like Conan that rewards you for amputations and brutality can mess with your sense of normality. Stuntman: Ignition rewards you for crashing into things, which is not the best game to play until 10 at night before a long commute home. Avatar, on the other hand, encouraged me to use special powers to help save citizens from various cities.

While I was grateful to have been assigned to a game like Avatar, I didn’t think I would have much of a desire to play it once it was released. When I was given a copy for Christmas from a friend, I changed my mind. He wanted to play it with me and see what I had been doing all summer.

Avatar is designed as a co-op game but it can also be played alone. Even when I was testing, it was much more fun to play with someone else. After playing that game 40-70 hours a week, I established a pattern and would play it in a similar way. Adding in another person changes the experience so the game feels new again. They may do something differently than you due to their habits or simply to annoy you. Those variations made us better testers, as we’d discover things we never would have seen. After all, it’s a kids game so why not play like a kid once in a while?

It was a strange feeling to share the game I had worked on so intensely with someone else. I had spent countless hours picking out the flaws in the game, so I was well aware of its strengths and weaknesses. It was hard to resist saying all my favorite lines along with the game. I was surprised to find that I felt a sense of pride. This was the first published title that I had worked on and my first credit. I was officially a member of the game industry due to a half-decent children’s game.

Quality assurance testing is one of the most unique work experiences I’ve had. It gave me a community of gamers who shared inside jokes from a game we couldn't speak about at home. It allowed me to play games in a different way and gain a better understanding of the production process. I don’t plan on returning to QA, but it was a valuable experience and I’m glad to have been a part of Avatar.