ArenaNet QA Dev Blog Update

QA member Jerramen O’Donnell has penned a piece on the QA department of Guild Wars/Guild Wars 2 creator ArenaNet. It’s an interesting look at the inner workings of the studio even if a bit self-congratulatory.

To build incredible online worlds, ArenaNet starts by hiring incredible people. You’ve seen some of the breathtaking work our artists have produced, and you’ve undoubtedly heard the groundbreaking ideas our designers have incorporated into Guild Wars 2. Well, even though QA isn’t responsible for making art or designing game systems, ArenaNet ensures that our team members are the best in the industry. (Although, I should point out that a lot of our designers, programmers, and other staff got their start in the QA department.) QA team members come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and each person brings a unique set of skills and talents to the table. Some are programmers, some are designers, and some are even editors. This broad range of skills allows us to support the company above and beyond simple bug hunting.

QA is also one of the biggest departments at ArenaNet. Because of our iterative design process, we embed QA members in almost every production team. We have a team responsible for testing each and every one of the hundreds of dynamic events. Another team combs over each map, making sure no seam goes uncovered and no gap goes unfilled. We even have a (mercenary) team, which helps any team or department facing a particularly large workload.

Beyond that, individual QA members serve on ArenaNet’s strike teams. These strike teams, who are assembled from several departments, focus on one specific aspect of the game: crafting, PvP, story, and other cool things that I can’t tell you about yet. By concentrating our efforts like this, we’re able to provide insightful, well-informed feedback that we couldn’t give otherwise.