Key Takeaways
1. Colin McInerney transitioned from QA testing at Bethesda to founding Pedalboard Games and joining Strange Scaffold.
2. His approach to QA evolved from basic checks to innovative stress-testing methods, particularly for Fallout 4.
3. McInerney emphasized the irreplaceable role of human insight in QA, stating that AI cannot replicate unpredictable human behavior.
4. He developed unique testing techniques, such as manipulating RAM and creating chaotic scenarios to induce crashes in Fallout 4.
5. His testing led to significant findings, including four game crashes, which escalated to the attention of top executives at ZeniMax.
Before starting Pedalboard Games and joining the indie studio Strange Scaffold, Colin McInerney had a background as a QA engineer at Bethesda Softworks during his college years. While he was a QA tester for Fallout 4, he decided to conduct a massive nuke test on the Xbox One, leading to four game crashes. Back in those days, any crashes would automatically generate reports that went straight to the top, reaching people like Robert Altman.
QA Testing Evolution
In a recent interview at GDC, McInerney spoke with GamesRadar+ about how his approach to QA testing shifted from basic publisher checks to more interactive work with the developers at Bethesda. He learned various techniques from the team and began to stress-test Fallout 4 in innovative ways that other QA engineers hadn’t thought of before.
The Role of Human Insight
When the discussion turned to generative AI in game design, McInerney quickly redirected the topic, emphasizing that humans are irreplaceable in the QA field. He pointed out that while AI can recognize patterns, individuals like him introduce unpredictable elements that no automated system could foresee.
Testing Fallout 4
During the interview, McInerney shared insights about his QA testing methods for Fallout 4. He recalled, “At one point, I thought ‘let’s play hot and cold with the RAM’ since we were using Xbox One. With its 8 GB of RAM, anything beyond that would cause a crash. So, I pulled up a RAM monitor and asked myself, ‘How can I make this break?’”
He added, “That idea hit me; nobody else seemed to try that. It wasn’t part of standard testing like ‘How can I cause a memory leak in the game?’”
To find the most chaotic way to crash Fallout 4, he explained, “I ended up using the console to give myself a billion experience points, which shot me up to level 247. I ran around with a special nuke launcher that fired two nukes and had an add-on that created ten more with each nuke. I was basically super-nuking the wasteland and discovered four crashes in just one morning.”
That day, emails about the QA test crashes in Fallout 4 went out to everyone at ZeniMax, including Robert Altman.
He chuckled about the whole experience and his unique approach to testing Fallout 4, concluding, “I am professionally foolish in ways that a machine couldn’t even begin to comprehend.”
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