Dragon Hired as QA Tester for NRS's Next Game

[Juxtapose]

didn't they break up, idk I haven't been following much news tbh.

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[OutWorldAleMerchant]

You're telling me a dragon tested this game?

 

[Rude]

I keep hearing people talk about "how little say" testers have in terms of what's left overpowered and what's toned down but I have my doubts. NRS seems to hire people based on them having a good tournament resume or community clout, which usually boils down to abusing the most overpowered and broken tech/characters in said game and not necessarily because they are the right person for the job. I'm wondering how much they are going to just "let it rock" because QA suggests so, and if the game is going to essentially be a year-long beta test after release and drastically change later on like with the past few games.

Conspiratorial nonsense

 

[Rude]

I find a lot of people don't understand the business aspect of video games (or business in general). It's not a bunch of buddies making games because it's awesome, these are companies developing and selling products (video games) for profit. There are structures, systems, legalities all in play here, and all to maximize profit.

I agree with the post.

The vast majority of what QA testers do are things like checking to make sure Brutality conditions are consistent on every part of the screen, visual glitches, bugs, making sure moves function on every character on every stage, etc. A LOT of really mundane stuff.

People really think ALL QA testers do is focus on tournament balance.

 

[B W1zZ]

Conspiratorial nonsense

I beg to differ

 

[haketh]

Is it very likely some of the trusted members of QA have some input with the team when it comes to balance? Prolly yeah. Is it likely it's some weird conspiracy to get buffs for their pet characters or better tournament performance? Nah

It is very naive to assume QA testers do not influence design and balance decisions. If you wanna believe that 16bit have nothing to do with the pages of buffs kitana's been given every patch across 3 games then that's just you.

Dragon, however, is notorious for being a huge tier whore even more so than ForeverKing, man doesn't care about tearing down a tournament hype by mashing trident rush or all the fullscreen boulders in the world so long as he gets that W. I have no problems with him personally, everyone says he's a nice guy but i don't want him influencing my next mk game.

Also the notion that ppl working for NRS can't compete is false, any of them can "temporarily quit" to compete in a tournament like what GGA Dizzy did in combo breaker, then return to their jobs the next day after the tournament. it's all a big joke really, but it is what it is.

This is a bit as the kids say WeirdChamp NGL, someone being a player who guns for the best tool for the job prolly isn't gonna have much negative impact on their thoughts on balance, especially a player like Dragon who's always been smart about how they approach this stuff. And Dizzy was out from NRS from awhile when he left to compete for MKX and that hasn't been done since IIRC.

 

[KingHippo]

I feel like people presume that a contracted QA position, a temporary position that is bottom-rung and must be applied and interviewed for, is the exact same as way back when when they'd haul in people from the community for a week to come and play around, something that probably hasn't been done since MKX. It's not, I doubt anyone is headhunted for the position, but a heavy playing background is probably a hell of a resume booster.

I also think people presume that people who move to permanent positions or longtime QA jobs are preeminently focused on the competitive aspects and optics, constantly dropping in and out to go play in tournaments, which has just consistently bore out to be untrue

 

[B W1zZ]

He's correct, though. You aren't.

How do you know? Do you work at NRS? This is all speculation, you don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

 

[Trustful_Whale]

How do you know? Do you work at NRS? This is all speculation, you don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

I have done video game QA before. Everything you said was inaccurate.

 

[B W1zZ]

I have done video game QA before. Everything you said was inaccurate.

Doesn't mean NRS operates the same way as whatever company you worked for.

 

[Juxtapose]

How do you know?

Whether he's done Q&A or not, there are certain structures in business and corporations that is universal and simply logical.

The role of a Q&A tester, a job that is normally an entry level contract position, is realistically not going to have the decision making authority in a structured company to dictate game/balance design.

While anything is possible, it just isn't realistic. Keep in mind you do have someone who is a developer in this very thread who's said it's not likely either, and who's addressed your thinking directly.

 

[Juggs]

Whether he's done Q&A or not, there are certain structures in business and corporations that is universal and simply logical.

The role of a Q&A tester, a job that is normally an entry level contract position, is realistically not going to have the decision making authority in a structured company to dictate game/balance design.

While anything is possible, it just isn't realistic. Keep in mind you do have someone who is a developer in this very thread who's said it's not likely either, and who's addressed your thinking directly.

QA testers HAVE had impacts on balancing decisions before in NRS games though, like I said earlier in this thread. I know this for a fact. Maybe the testers they brought in for MKX were different than your average QA testing job, especially since it was temporary. But yeah, I know of at least one tester who had a direct impact on a balance change. And I assume it wasn’t just that one person and one change. Also like I said, this could’ve been a more unique situation where they weren’t just your average QA testers and they were testing balance, since most if not all were known top or good players in the previous NRS games. But I imagine they’d still take input from the players they have employed who they know are top players or at least used to be. In fact, It’d kinda be stupid to not get their input and take it into consideration. Would literally be a wasted resource. ¯\(ツ)/¯

 

[Juxtapose]

QA testers HAVE had impacts on balancing decisions before in NRS games though, like I said earlier in this thread. I know this for a fact. Maybe the testers they brought in for MKX were different than your average QA testing job, especially since it was temporary. But yeah, I know of at least one tester who had a direct impact on a balance change. And I assume it wasn’t just that one person and one change. Also like I said, this could’ve been a more unique situation where they weren’t just your average QA testers and they were testing balance, since most if not all were known top or good players in the previous NRS games. But I imagine they’d still take input from the players they have employed who they know are top players or at least used to be. In fact, It’d kinda be stupid to not get their input and take it into consideration. Would literally be a wasted resource. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Assuming we're thinking of the same situation with Mortal Kombat X, that's separate from a normal QA role. That was when they specifically brought in top players of the time to give gameplay and balance feedback for the game. Whether they were called QA or not, that was part of their role for that instance.

In this instance, if Dragon has been hired on temporarily, then it's possible he'll be giving balance feedback that they'll consider (though not necessarily implement). If he's been hired on perma like Stephanie has been, then it's more likely he'll fall into the normal QA role.

While anything is possible, again, we have an actual dev in this thread saying this isn't normally how things work (QA influencing design and balance), and now we've had a former QA tester also state this.

 

[Juggs]

Assuming we're thinking of the same situation with Mortal Kombat X, that's separate from a normal QA role. That was when they specifically brought in top players of the time to give gameplay and balance feedback for the game. Whether they were called QA or not, that was part of their role for that instance.

In this instance, if Dragon has been hired on temporarily, then it's possible he'll be giving balance feedback that they'll consider (though not necessarily implement). If he's been hired on perma like Stephanie has been, then it's more likely he'll fall into the normal QA role.

While anything is possible, again, we have an actual dev in this thread saying this isn't normally how things work (QA influencing design and balance), and now we've had a former QA tester also state this.

Yeah but it’s a far more unique situation when your game is a competitive game, and you’re bringing in successful tournament players from that same franchise. I imagine a portion of their value, why they were even approached and hired to begin with, is precisely because of their background in being a top player. And why would you hire a top player from your franchise and never get balance feedback from them? It just doesn’t make much sense.

 

[Juxtapose]

Yeah but it’s a far more unique situation when your game is a competitive game, and you’re bringing in successful tournament players from that same franchise. I imagine a portion of their value, why they were even approached and hired to begin with, is precisely because of their background in being a top player. And why would you hire a top player from your franchise and never get balance feedback from them? It just doesn’t make much sense.

Again, anything is possible.

Keep in mind though, when it comes to business, lots of decisions are made that never, ever make any practical sense.

 

[Trustful_Whale]

Basically, yes, they would be consulted for their opinion but nothing they say ultimately matters unless a designer chooses to act on their feedback, which they might just not. The reasons for this are countless.
So no, these testers are not going to be the arbiters of the games' balance, even if they hired Sonic Fox by request. They already hired someone to do that.

All I'm saying is getting tin foily about it is very much a waste of time, people who actually work on games see those takes and are laughing, I promise.

 

[Deleted member 5032]

This thread is going off the rails. I'm currently working 6 days a week but will clean it up when I have a sec. Please keep the conversation relevant and respectful or infractions will be issued.