At the time of writing I am playing what is considered one of the hardest games Dark Souls 3. This game’s reputation is probably due to how often you will die and how the game punishes you for dying. You lose any currency gained, enemies reset and you are returned to your last save point. As a tester I find a common approach to any activity I do. I want to test it. :) Of course I do, it’s now such an ingrained part of my life.

So what do I mean by testing every activity I do. I think back to a memory of trying a rock climbing wall. I don’t just out right trust that the harness and ropes attached will function as expected. So what I try to do is go only half way up the wall and then come back down. Then after I have proven that going up and down is safe and that the mechanics are functioning as expected, this is the point where I climb the full way up with confidence.

Back to the topic of playing a video game as a tester. I am not testing the game to see if it is a suitable product. I am testing the game to see how much I can push forward without being punished with an in-game death. When I see a doorway, I look straight through, ensure no enemy is visible directly at the doorway. I raise my shield and get closer to the doorway. I listen for sounds of enemies. I do another check straight through with a wider view. Then with shield still up I pan the camera around to see if anything is around the corner. If that check passes then I may step around the corner and check if I can now see or hear an enemy. At first playing the game I only was checking side to side, but as the game progressed I found myself looking up. Often to see if I was going to be sneak attacked from above.

With the strategy above I progress forward, making it as far as my risk tolerance will allow. I am keeping an eye on the in-game currency, souls, when I pause in safety. If I see the souls are getting close to the value in which I can trade them in for a character level, I often choose to make my way back to the save point called a “bonfire”. The bonfire is a place to rest which resets my characters health (also resets the enemies back to life). At the bonfire you can choose to travel to other bonfires. These bonfires have become my guiding light, they are the beacon of hope that I am always looking to reach. Every time I activate a new bonfire I get a sense of accomplishment that progress is being made. Here I know I can rest my senses and relax my heart rate from this high stress game.

Here is where the next test comes in. I travel to a shrine that allows me to level up my characters stats. I compare my options for the best stats to help make my game easier. Then I travel off to the same dungeon that has become my go to every time I want to test my new weapons and stats. This level has 4 relatively strong knights. These guys respawn everytime I rest or travel back. So these knights have become my perfect test subjects. By using the same test subjects I can get an accurate idea of my skills for battle improving. I notice the additional damage I am able to dish out and take.

These actions above I repeat over and over again as a make my way through the game. Sometimes though my in game strategy of testing the waters comes to a halt when I run into a large dangerous enemy that I instinctively know will probably have a particular strategy to defeat. These large enemies and dungeon bosses are often deep into levels. At this point my character is probably low on health and high on souls. I have to compromise between making progress overall but also losing progress of the current attempt. The game has a mechanic that rewards you with getting your souls back though only if you can progress your way back to the exact spot where your character died. When possible I take my testing strategy out of game. I search up a walkthrough to gather more details on the bosses and large enemies. This is just like my real life testing and my work testing. Sometimes you got to take a break and research the subject matter. In life often the answer is at my fingertips with a smartphone. At work I might have to reach out to co workers, stakeholders and documentation or oracles of truth. I find video games are no different. There is the argument for going through the struggle and “getting good” at the game. Dealing with the punishment of in-game death and wasted time. I find the game can be punishing enough even with the help.

There are many other aspects to playing Dark Souls 3 that I find myself testing. Even though this game wants to punish me. I have so far put in 25 hours. Enjoying the majority of it. Find myself screaming at the screen the few times my risk analysis and gaming ability didn’t turn in my favor. I think playing video games like this can keep your testing skills sharp. It keeps you engaged, it provides high risk situations, there is puzzle solving and often more than one way to find a solution to the problem ahead.

What I am basically saying is: testing is not limited to work, it can be a useful skill in life and in games. Also… go play Dark Souls 3, it is an amazing game. :)