The Game Team - Game Testing All in One - page 68

bragging rights to being the first on their block to see and know all about the
game before it's even been released

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getting real-world game-related items such as free t-shirts

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having their name listed in the game credits, in the game code, and/or in the
printed game manual

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Becoming a Beta tester is a good way for someone who does not have formal training
or game industry experience to build a resume of accomplishments. One way to draw
attention to your work is to find important defects and report them in a professional
manner, as described earlier in this topic. You can go to www.betawatcher.com as well
as game company Web sites to check for the most recent Beta test news and opportunities.

The Art Team
Without the art team, we would only be playing text-based games like Colossal Caverns
or Pirate Adventure . The public's expectation for the artistic experience of the game is
higher than it's ever been. Titles based on movie franchises such as Lord of the Rings ,
Spider-Man, and Star Wars already come with a built-in expectation of a visual game
experience that parallels what you would see in the movie theater. This expectation
spans the realism of the art, character movements, and the camera angles used to ren-
der and present game scenes on the screen.

Art Director
The title and role of art director is sometimes designated as lead artist. This person
provides visual themes and leadership for the game. This usually involves leading the
art team in conceiving, modeling, and evaluating a variety of visual concepts and
models before dishing out specific work to the rest of the art team. The art director
provides direction and standards for which art tools and middleware will be used for
the project.

Storyboards are a vehicle for capturing a progression of scenes that will occur during
the progression of the game. They can be used to lay out the art direction and
sequence for a game with a linear storyline, such as StarWars: Knights of the Old
Republic , or used to plan scenes for other game types, as shown in the sports game
examples that follow. The art director's vision provides consistency and familiarity
when a game is a sequel to a previous story line, follows a movie plot, or is the newest
version of an ongoing franchise. Game testing needs to cause each of the different
scenes to appear in order to ensure they appear in the game and are rendered properly,
according to the art director's intentions.