Working in football video games
Ever wondered who makes sure your footy video games are great? This guy!
CJ works as an associate quality assurance manager on the video game Football Manager. His team test the game to make sure everything works, and collaborate with the developers to create the most realistic simulation of football.
CJ:
Working on one of the world's biggest football video games is the perfect combination of my two biggest passions, gaming and football.
I'm CJ Ramson. I work on the creation of football video games. I work on Football Manager as an associate QA manager. QA stands for quality assurance.
We're the ones that test the game. We make sure everything works, and we work closely with the developers to try and make the most realistic simulation of football.
Growing up, I loved football, whether that was playing football or playing football video games with my friends. I'd always be doing one or the other. With the video games, the thing that really drew me to them was I've always been into the tactical side of the game, either being able to control the players or create your own tactics.
So a typical day for us, we'll get a new build in from the developers. We'll test it as a QA team, and we'll look for either bugsor ways that we can improve the game. That can be anything from the runs that players make, to decisions they make on the ball, what the team instructions and tactics do. So there's a lot of areas for us to cover. Our final goal is to make it as realistic to real football as possible.
So even though my background was in coaching, there was a lot of transferable skills that I learned and developed through my time coaching that I managed to transfer into this. So whether that's being really analytical and having a good eye for detail and knowingwhen to pick things out and what to look for, or it could be things like timekeeping and making sure things run perfectly on time, and working with other people as well. So social skills where you have to work within a team or even lead a team.
CJ to colleagues:
The animation he makes, and the ball physics as well, where the ball goes off after the save."
CJ:
So as much as I loved playing football, I realised quite early on I probably wasn't going to be a professionalfootballer. But I wanted to work in football and find. So at college, I studied sports science, and that's where I found my love of coaching. I did my FA Level 1 and then went on to do my FA Level 2. After I left college, I got a job at Arsenal, which was unpaid, working with them, learning how to develop my coaching skills. Which then led to me having a full-time paid job at Fulham Football Club, working with the youth teams, working with the academy teams. And then that eventually led to me going to an event. I saw an opportunity where you could apply for a job in Football Manager. It was something that naturally I was interested in, had a conversation with them, and realised it was definitely something that I would love to do.
So I went to the networking event at Kick It Out, and that was an opportunity for me to network with other football coaches, other people within the gaming industries, and have a really good insight to different jobs in football gaming. Without doing that, I wouldn't have the opportunity to meet the people at Football Manager and see a new job in gaming, which I wouldn't have beenaware of.
One of the highlights of my career so far is working on the in-and-out-of-possession system on FM 26. This is something we see in real football all the time, so being part of the team that brought that to life and brought it into the game was super cool.
Working within the football industry is a dream come true. Being able to work on something that I'm passionate about, that is played and enjoyed by millions of people, is an amazing feeling for me and an amazing opportunity that I have. And yeah, I love it.
To find out what other jobs you could have in football, explore the BBC Bitesize Follow Your Passion collection.
Working on one of the world's biggest football video games is the perfect combination of my two biggest passions – gaming and football!
CJ's career pathway
- Grew up loving football and gaming. Realised he probably wasn't going to be a pro footballer but was keen to find other opportunities within the game
- Studied Sports Science at college and discovered a love of coaching
- Completed FA coaching qualifications - FA Level 1 and FA Level 2
- Gained experience in an unpaid role at Arsenal developing his coaching skills
- Got a full-time paid job at Fulham Football Club with their youth teams
- Went to a networking event organised by Kick It Out – who tackle discrimination in sport – and found out about opportunities at Football Manager
- Joined Football Manager, combining his two passions!
What's career progression like in the gaming industry?
There are lots of different ways to progress in the gaming industry.
CJ works in the QA (Quality Assurance) team, testing games. In this team, his career progression has followed this path:
QA tester --> QA lead --> QA manager
His team is just one of the options, though. "There are lots of other roles within the industry too, including production, game design, social media and development, where developers help to code the game," he explains. "Depending on your skills and interests, there are different pathways you can take that you might enjoy and be suited to."
CJ's top tips for getting into video game testing
- Follow your passion: If you’re passionate about a particular game or video games in general, that will help you along the way
- Hone your eye for detail: Attention to detail is key so you can spot where the problems are in games and think about how to fix them
- Work well with others: You’re always going to be working as part of a team, whether that’s with developers, QA (quality assurance) or the social team. Being open to working with different people and taking on new ideas will get you a long way.
How much can you earn in video game testing?
There are different roles in video game testing. CJ notes that: "Salaries can vary depending on your role and the company you work for. They can range from around £20,000 to £50,000 and upwards." The higher salaries in this range could apply when you've gained more experienced and progressed in your career.
CJ is now a quality assurance manager, but he started out as a quality assurance tester. Find out more about the role of QA tester below. This role can have various other job titles, such as games tester, computer games tester, and video games tester.
What to expect if you want to be a computer games tester
- Computer games tester average salary: from £24,000 to £36,000 per year.
- Computer games tester typical working hours: 37 to 42 hours per week.
What qualifications do you need to be a computer games tester?
You could get into this role via a university course, a college course (such as a Level 3 Diploma in Creative Media, an A-level in Computing, or a T-level in Digital Software Development (England only)), an apprenticeship, or applying directly if you have relevant experience.
This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the National Careers Service website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed and the GOV.UK website for more on T-levels.
For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).
Explore more from Bitesize Careers Follow Your Passion
Bitesize Careers, in partnership with The Open University, has launched the Follow Your Passion campaign, exploring how you can draw on your passions and interests to find your future jobs, with the focus on football.
From content creation to computer game design, nutrition to number-crunching, check out the Bitesize Careers Follow Your Passion collection for loads of inspiring careers content.
Bitesize Careers Follow Your Passion
Find more careers in football on the Bitesize Careers Follow Your Passion page.
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