Steph McStea 🏳️🌈
@TeaAndMonsters
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QA Lead @DoubleElevenLtd | She/Her | @GIBiz 's 100 | #TheGameAwards Future Class ‘22 | @GameDevHeroes QA ‘21 | #SPG100 ‘22 | #BAFTACrew | 🏳️🌈
Joined July 2012
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CDPR blaming their QA team for "not finding the issues" in CP2077 makes me so, so angry.
How DARE you try and pin the blame on a department that will have found these issues tenfold and let you know about them, spending hours upon hours nailing down causes.
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Is QA a crucial part of the gamedev process?
yes yes yes
👇 👇 👇
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“Departments ranging from art to production were impacted, but the majority of those laid off worked in quality assurance testing.”
STOP TREATING QA AS SUCH A DISPOSABLE RESOURCE I AM SO TIRED
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I think one of the saddest things about the way QA are treat in our industry is the fact that so many of us go to events and are afraid to let people we meet know that we do QA out of fear of rejection. (1/?)
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everyone please adopt this term immediately
Proposed software term: a ladybug -- a glitch that clearly isn't a feature, but is harmless and sparks joy so it is allowed to stay
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Got a few unfollows from that last tweet so let’s just make something clear:
✨QA deserve respect and I’m going to shout loudly about it until we get there. If you don’t like that then you are part of the problem ✨
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How DARE you try to pin the blame on a department that is already struggling to get the credit it rightly deserves in our industry. Suggesting that QA 'didn't find' the bugs and so are the cause of YOUR decision to release this game when it wasn't ready is shameful.
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not to be that person but "even the most entry-level QA tester" really gets on my nerves. I'm tired of QA being treat like bottom of the barrel, and like we're somehow not worthy of being treat the same as others in this industry.
"If this week does not show us that our industry colleagues -- even the most entry-level QA tester -- need true support and baseline protection, I can't imagine how much worse it will have to get"
-- Jeff Strain, Undead Labs
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@cube
Hahaha I hadn't even considered your username being a target when I saw the Hyuna/EDawn news. Hopefully it isn't too bad!
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Talking from experience I know for a fact that these issues would have been VERY well known of and desperately brought to the attention of all who needed to hear it. Greed and pressure from gamers to get it out of the door are what failed here, not QA.
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I'm upset, angry and disappointed that such a large studio would take such an unfair scapegoat and my heart goes out to all of the CDPR QA team. Your work shouldn't go unrecognised and you didn't deserve to be thrown under the bus like this.
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QA are an absolute necessity to our industry and every time someone pulls a move like this to try and save their ass, it damages the work that so many of us are putting in to get QA the recognition that it deserves. Do better.
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Hello, just a friendly PSA that it is completely valid to pursue a career in QA without intentions to move into any other department. Not everyone in QA wants or needs to move into other departments, and staying in QA does not make you any less of a dev. ❤️
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Reminder that QA is not just a stepping stone into the industry and is a valid career path. People join the industry via QA and move out of it - that is totally fine! But please don't refer to working in QA solely as a way to get a foot in, it its own, valid, gamedev department.
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Studios NEED to stop treating their QA as such disposable resources. It takes years for a tester to truly nurture their skills, and if you rip that out of your studio you are immediately putting your games at a disadvantage.
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The next time someone asks me why I’m so passionate about standing up for QA I’m gonna direct them to the fact that there are people in this industry who will literally compare us to office furniture to avoid including us as part of the dev team.
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Games would not be what they are without QA. Myself and others in QA have found and prevented bugs that could cause Epilepsy issues from going into a release candidate. If we had no QA these issues would not be found, and they'd be going out into the wild. (5/?)
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QA have as much right to be in a studio and have access to facilities as any other department. There is nothing cool about looking down on those who are there to make games - just as you are. If you have a QA team I am begging you to appreciate them. Stand up for them.
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So please - let's work together to make this industry welcome to all areas of gamedev. No more elite club for certain specialisms, it's time we treat one another with respect. At the end of the day we all have the same passion - making games. That's what should matter. ♥️ (7/7)
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Important PSA for students (or anyone who needs to hear it):
QA is a valid career path and anyone telling you otherwise has outdated views that should never have been welcome in our industry. Do what makes you happy, if that’s QA then you’re just as valid as any other dev. ❤️
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I can see it in their eyes - that respect they may have had for me thirty seconds ago has gone and they're itching to get away because oh, god, they're talking to QA. Yet if I were of literally any other gamedev role it wouldn't have made the slightest bit of difference. (3/?)
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We need to erase this mindset that QA is of some kind of lesser importance in our industry. Games are amazing because of the work that each and every member of the team does - regardless of department - and QA is very much a part of that process. (6/?)
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I've experienced it first hand - I've been chatting at an industry event and it's going great, they're kind and happy to talk but then they ask the question "what do you do?" and my heart drops because as soon as I mention QA I see their interest immediately disappear. (2/?)
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✨NEW QA JOB OPPORTUNITIES✨
I’ll be updating this thread with any QA roles I see open! If you have vacancies at your company, or find any elsewhere that sound cool, please feel free to message me or reply to this thread with links. 😊
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Not everyone is like this of course, and I've met some truly fantastic people at events who have taken the time to show an actual interest in what I do, but there is still a definite lack of care and respect for QA mingling in our industry and we have to change it. (4/?)
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@sueperkins
@michellevisage
@courtneyact
Seeing you dressed as a big gay dragon absolutely made my day so I made some fanart. I hope you like it! 🌈❤️
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People often say “did QA even test/find this” when games release but people rarely think of the bugs they DON’T see because QA found them and they were viewed as important enough to fix. We save you all from some horrors let me tell you now lmao
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Reminder that unfortunately the awful QA pay issue doesn't stop with Blizzard. Many of your favourite "we're a family!" publishers and studios are very much in the same boat of not paying QA a fair wage and it has to change.
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Resident QA Lead chiming in here - a high detailed GDD is ESSENTIAL. QA need to know as much about how a game is designed to work as possible in order to accurately test, otherwise there’ll be bugs going in for things that are intended. Detailed GDDs save time in the long run
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How is this fair? What possible benefit could there be to anyone by forcing QA to work an extra day a week while everyone else gets to rest? If it were another department there would be outrage but because it’s QA that somehow makes it okay? No.
I am hearing from numerous folks in private that this naturally doesn't apply to the QA staff who are not technically Eidos Montreal employees despite working in the same building.
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I would like to take a moment to apologise to everyone I’ve ever said “ofc” to because I’ve just learned that it apparently doesn’t actually just stand for “of course”
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Today’s my first day as an Associate QA Lead at
@DoubleElevenLtd
! Looking forward to working on cool games and meeting cool folks. 😊
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Working in games is wild because you can be chatting with a colleague and then all of a sudden they'll casually reveal that they worked on a franchise that changed your life
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✨ QA is a valid and worthy career path and if you disagree you can get in the bin ✨
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£69 MILLION in profit yet couldn’t have the heart to keep on the (badly paid) staff you wouldn’t have made a fraction of the money without. Absolutely livid for my T17 friends today.
Significant job losses are expected at Worms publisher Team17, sources close to the company have told Eurogamer
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@NotSoLittleC
@PlayOverwatch
Chris I swear you joining the team has been one of the best things to happen to OW all of these changes have been ace ❤️
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I don't have the biggest Twitter following going but if you are Non-Binary and work in games, drop a link on this tweet showing off who you are and what you do. I'll RT and help spread the word. It's time to make sure that you are getting the visibility you deserve. ❤️
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Those in other disciplines - please stand up for your QA peers if you see/hear folks talking down on it.
There is only so much people will listen to us, but if other industry disciplines make it clear that QA is valued then hopefully we’ll see less disrespect to the specialism.
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I have made an irresponsible purchase but I regret nothing
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QA when the programmers ask how the new build is looking
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Solidarity with those who neglected their sleeping pattern during the Christmas break and failed to fix it in time for returning to work tomorrow
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It makes me laugh when gamers pipe up about how QA ‘should’ be done because buddy if you could see the amount of nasty bugs and irritating issues you’re not running into BECAUSE OF HOW WE DO QA you’d lose your mind
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So this still feels super surreal but it’s official and out there - I’ve been chosen to be part of this year’s
#TheGameAwards
Future Class!
It’ll never not be wild seeing my face there next to folks who inspire me, and I’m honoured to have been chosen.❤️
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So I’ve just been sent this photo by
@AttackonNikka
… to let me know that I won the QA award for this year’s
@GameDevHeroes
?! Completely gobsmacked, blown away and immensely thankful!! Thank you so much to whoever nominated me and to the judges for choosing me!! 😭❤️
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I passed my probation! Ol' Teacake here is now a fully fledged member of the Double11 crew! 🥳🎉
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Fun fact, if you open the coffin you can see this guy’s career
People with this mindset make me FUME. What a shitty, shitty, SHITTY take.
Women in game dev have to work so much harder to prove themselves. ESPECIALLY POC women in dev. Pft.
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Hello! My name is Steph, I’m a QA Lead at Double Eleven. 😊 Outside of work I’m a huge advocate for QA, and I am also a part of this year’s
@thegameawards
Future Class! Have a great day. ❤️
#WhatAGameDevLooksLike
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First day of my new job tomorrow! It’s my first time switching companies in the games industry and I am ✨ VERY ✨ nervous so any nice words of encouragement would be hugely appreciated 🥰
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I am so furious at this industry for its constant lack of care and respect for QA. Your games would be a steaming pile without the testers who work on it, why are you so dead set on treating them so badly?
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I'm so excited for
@OHooleyandTidow
's
#GentlemanJack
tour that I couldn't resist drawing some fanart! I wonder if
#AnneLister
would have come along to play some flute? 😊
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Sleep well my sunshine boy. I love you more than words can say and will miss you more. Thank you for saving me. ❤️
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I'm tired of going to events, having great conversations with fellow devs and then seeing their entire mood shift the second I mention that I'm in QA. I'm sick of this kind of mentality being spread by those who think they're superior. We need to change.
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Males of the industry - if today's news has horrified you (which it should), then take this as opportunity to assess how women and NB folk in your work place are treat. Been glossing over some stuff that feels a bit odd? Now's the time to change that. We can't do this alone.
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This is a doomscrolling checkpoint - the world is scary and it is very easy to get sucked into constantly refreshing social media, but please look after yourself. Take a second to do the following:
❣️ Drink some water
❣️ Put your phone down/leave the PC and stretch
❣️ Breathe
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If you run a studio then you have a responsibility. A responsibility to ensure that your studio is a safe place. A place to nurture your employees while providing them with an environment that is not toxic or dangerous. Failure to do this makes you a failure of a leader.
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One of the most crushing things I’ve experienced in this industry is when I’ve been having a great convo with someone at a conference, but then seeing the interest literally flick off like a switch once they learn I’m in QA.
I love animation and people in this industry but it’s an absolute bummer when people only talk to you exclusively as a possible step ladder to something/somebody else and drop you the moment they get it or better. I know the hustles real but so is my heart common 😭
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UHHHH SURANNE IS HOLDING THE THANK YOU BOOK I SENT HER WHILE DRESSED AS ANNE LISTER I'M GOING TO CRY
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Next week will be my last week working at Team17.
More to share on my next adventure in the coming weeks, but before then I’m looking forward to a having break and to finally getting back to Shibden for a visit!
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Wait… what?! I’ve been shortlisted as a finalist in the QA category of this year’s
@GameDevHeroes
awards!😭❤️
Thank you so much to whoever nominated me, it means the absolute world and I’m going to continue pushing for QA to be treat right in our industry. We will get there. ❤️
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For anyone who missed it as a lot of people seem to not have seen - “Our testing did not show many of the issues you experienced while playing the game”. Take from it what you will, but to me (and many others) it very much reads as them blaming testers for not finding issues.
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she beats up bad guys but buys flowers for her gf on her way home
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Anxiety got the better of me and I bailed, off back home now.
QA deserve to be treat the same as all other disciplines in industry spaces. Don’t care if you’re at events to get yourself a job, don’t be a dick to people. Thanks to those who chatted and were genuinely lovely.
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If anyone is looking to get their Sally Wainwright fix now that
#HappyValley
is finished I’d wholeheartedly recommend
#GentlemanJack
. Same humour, same phenomenal writing, same (slightly older) Halifax. ❤️
#HappyValleyFinale
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The fact that people think there is no need for QA just shows how important a good QA team is - they’ve saved you from having to play a broken game. If the QA process were removed it would be an entirely different story.
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honestly if Steph from a few years ago saw herself now she would lose her tiny mind
I finally feel like I’m me
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'That Wizard Game' is not, and never will be, more important than the lives and safety of trans folks. Play something else, it's not like there is a shortage of video games.
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@_mjwills
I love that this story seems to have spread through QA departments in the industry, I remember getting told this not long after I started at my old place 😂
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Refusal to listen to your staff regarding poor wage is one thing, refusing to listen to them regarding severe environmental impact is another. This is not the studio I used to love.
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My tweet about QA is getting a bit of traction so just a friendly PSA for anyone stopping by - QA are a valid and crucial part of dev and deserve to be treat with respect.
Look out for your QA peers and show them that you appreciate the work they do as it’s often overlooked. ❤️
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My girlfriend’s little brother is staying with us for a video game weekend and excitedly told me about the game he’s been playing lately with friends - Prison Architect. I wish I could have taken a photo of his face the moment I told him I lead the QA team for it. 😂
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My heart goes out to those affected in other departments too, of course. The whole state of the industry at the moment is shameful and exhausting and everyone deserves better
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I somehow made it onto the She Plays Games 100 list for 2022! I nominated myself for this as a long shot so it surprises me to no end to actually see my face in the list. 🥰
Use this as reason to nominate yourself for things - make yourself known! ♥
THE
#SPG100
2022
As nominated by you all, here is our list of Oustanding Women in the Games Industry for 2022 ✨
#womeningames
#gamedev
#streamer
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QA folks - knowing what you do now, what piece of advice would you have given yourself when you were just starting your first QA role?
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ehehehe
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My interview with MCV is up! Very thankful to have been asked to talk about the world of QA for their QA interview series. If you’ve got a few minutes and fancy a read please do take a look! ❤️
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Reflecting on this year and… I actually achieved quite a lot that I’m super proud of:
- Got to be on a BAFTA Games Jury
- Gave advice to several folks who landed QA jobs
- Got promoted to QA Lead
- Got chosen to be in
#TheGameAwards
Future Class
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Got to work today and this was my desk… I have the sweetest team of friends 🥺❤️
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Please remember that real people with real feelings work on games. They put emotions, energy, time and effort into making them.
Constructive critique and feedback can be good and useful, straight up shitting on the hard work of those who just want to make nice things is not.
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This is
#WhatAGameDevLooksLike
!
I’m Steph, Associate QA Lead at
@DoubleElevenLtd
. 😊 Always happy to give advice and guidance to anyone wanting to get into QA, or to any indies who need help getting QA resources together for their game. ❤️
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And to any QA reading this - you DO belong at industry events. Don't let anyone make you feel unwelcome, it is your space as much as it is any other dev's. Go to the thing, meet fellow devs in your industry and be proud of what you do. ♥
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Also a reminder to higher up folks who see QA as disposable - having a team of experienced testers compared to a team of fresh faced testers every few months is like night and day. Cycling out your QA teams WILL impact your product, and not in a good way.
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The information that has come out over the last week is horrific and should not be endured by anyone, which, believe it or not, includes QA. We have a right to be treat like humans and including us as an "even you" isn't doing us the favour you think it is.
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It’s my birthday today! Birthdays are strange because there’s always a lingering sadness from being left alone for most birthdays as a kid, so it is an odd one, but I’m happy to be in a place where I can start having birthdays for both present and past Steph. I’m healing. ❤️
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