[TRENCHES] Tuesday, June 23, 2015 - Loose Ends Justify The Means

Geth

Loose Ends Justify The Means
http://trenchescomic.com/comic/post/loose-ends-justify-the-means

I still can’t face him

Anonymous

I’ve been in the games industry for nearly a decade and despite all the craziness I’ve endured, I still remember the beginning.

A friend of mine got me a contract position in QA to help with the final push on a game. I was to join the internal QA team and be right inside the studio along with the devs themselves!

After playing the game non-stop (16 hours a day, 7 days a week) I was quite confident in saying I knew the game inside and out. I knew all the quickest ways though the levels, where all the secrets were and how to mop the floor with every boss in the game.

It was probably about a week or two before we went gold when my arrogance got the better of me. I was nearly through the game when I got stuck on a boss in one of the final levels (one I had beaten dozens of times) and I just couldn’t take him. I was taking a brutal thrashing.

I died 20 or 30 times and all the while attracting an audience. After every couple of deaths a new onlooker would join the crowd. First it was my friend, then the QA lead followed by another QA, I even attracted one of the level designers and a programmer. As each person appeared, they’d offer a piece of advice; grab more health, pick up the weapons, focus on the little guys, focus on the boss… None of it was helping, but as I continued getting pummelled, a single voice caught my attention.

“Do we need to add more health?” It was the lead designer. My futile efforts had managed to cause a big enough commotion to attract his attention… I was stunned.

I think I responded with “No. It’s OK, I’ve got this”.

It was then he took my controller (he must have been standing there longer than I thought and was tired of watching me die). Without even placing both hands on the controller, as he had a coffee in his left, he proceeded to annihilate the boss in less than 30 seconds. The crowd quickly dispersed as the boss died.

I clearly remember him saying “looks good to me” as he handed my controller back and walked away.

To this day, I have never faced that boss again.