This is Platform Biased, a podcast about all things Xbox 360 and Games for Windows. We are all Software Development Engineers in Test at Microsoft Game Studios.
We’ve been listening to podcasts for quite some time, but we feel like there is a whole lot of outside-the-industry podcasting going on, and not much from the inside. We want to provide our listeners with a perspective that isn’t covered too often, that of the professional Test Engineer. We do testing a little different in the Games Test Organization of MGS, and we like to talk about it.
Our intent is not to sell you anything, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit that we’re a little biased towards one platform.
Hosts:
John Noonan has been at MGS for four years. He was an SDET on Crackdown and Scene It?® Lights, Camera, Action. Most recently he was the Test Lead on Scene It? Box Office Smash! and Crackdown 2. John is currently working on a Kinect title. Favorite games include Half-Life 2, Super Mario Kart, Mass Effect 2 & Grand Theft Auto IV.
Chris Chamberlain started gaming in 1979 with the Intellivsion system and a huge love of arcade games, but became a true addict around the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System days. He currently owns most import and domestic systems from about 1985 to present along with several arcade machines. Chris started in the Industry at Looking Glass Studios in 1999, but has been working in MGS since 2000, with Rare from 2002 – 2010, and now with Epic in 2011. He was a Software Test Engineer on Crimson Skies (PC), Oni (PC), and Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox) before becoming a Lead Software Development Engineer in Test and working on Blinx: The Timesweeper (Xbox), Kameo: Elements of Power (Xbox 360), Viva Piñata (Xbox 360), Viva Piñata: Party Animals (Xbox 360), Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360), and Kinect Sports (Xbox 360). Chris is currently Test Lead on Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360) which is planned to ship in Fall of 2011. Chris also enjoys collecting high definition movies, anime, heavy metal music, and copious quantities of action figures in his spare time.
Bex Bradley is a music gamer extraordinaire and has an unparalleled love for Sonic the Hedgehog – the blue haired wonder is the reason she is now working in games! She has been with Microsoft for nearly 5 years and at MGS for 3 years. She was an SDET on Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties, and all of the LiPS franchise releases from Version 1 through to Party Classics. She is currently an SDET on Age of Empires Online and is the Test Lead for the LiPS franchise.
Greg Hjertager (and or Porkfry) has been working in the Games Industry for 11 years. He started working for a company called Humongous Entertainment who made kids games (Pajama Sam, Backyard Sports titles, Spy Fox, etc…). Once the Parent Company GT interactive was purchased by Infogrames many opportunities were opened up to work on non-kid titles. That’s where he cut his teeth as the Multiplayer Test Lead for Unreal Tournament for the Dreamcast as well as Independence Wars 2. After leaving Humongous he came to Microsoft where he started as a contract tester on the Dungeon Siege Franchise, as well as being on the Ascheron’s Call 2 Live team. He became a full time employee at Microsoft 5 years ago and in that time he’s owned everything from Setup for Zoo Tycoon, to item and quest verification for Vanguard and Mass Effect. Most recently he worked with Turn10 on Forza 3 where he owned all Functional Game play testing. He is currently the single player lead on Gears of War 3.
Charles Porter has been a gamer for as long as he can remember; like many others really got into gaming seriously with the 8-bit NES and has been going strong ever since. The introduction of Achievements with the 360 has taken this addiction to the next level, and for about a six month period he had the highest Gamerscore at Microsoft (he was the second MS employee to 100k Gamerscore, 23 minutes after the first). Charles has been at Microsoft since 1999 working on Windows Networking, then moved to Office Live Meeting and finally got into games working as the test lead of Xbox Live Primetime’s 1vs100. Since then he’s worked on Full House Poker for XBLA, and now is the Test Lead for upcoming Rare titles.
Producers:
Bruce’s first gaming console was the NES which he played religiously until it broke. He then went through several years playing whatever games came with his parents’ computer… which was barely more than a word processor. His favorite PC game from his youth was a classic called Nethack (imagine Diablo with Ascii characters). Bruce has been in the gaming industry for 11 years working on everything from PC games to DVD based Trivia games to Online Flash based games. He started out his career as a Contractor at Microsoft for 5 years and worked on Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion, MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, MechWarrior 4: Black Knight, MechWarrior 4: Clan Mech Pak, MechWarrior 4: Inner Sphere Mech Pak, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, Fable (Xbox), Rise of Nations, Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots, and Dungeon Siege 2. He then spent the next 5 years working at a local gaming company, Screenlife, where he was a tester, an associate producer in their games group and a producer for their marketing group. Some of the products he worked on there are Scene It? Star Trek, Scene It? Pirates of the Caribbean, Scene It? Friends Edition, American Idol DVD Game, and many others. Bruce returned to Microsoft as a contractor in 2009 and began working on Lips: Number One Hits for the Xbox 360 and Age of Empires Online for the PC. In 2010 he became an SDET at Microsoft with all of his time being dedicated towards Age of Empires Online. He is hardcore MMO player and has played Ashersons Call, Dark Age of Camelot, City of Heroes, and World of Warcraft. He also enjoys the casual games on Facebook and his mobile device. His whole family, his lovely wife and 3 adorable kids, all love gaming and it is a something they can all do together, which ever platform they are using.
Juan Sebastian is currently a Software Development Engineer in Test at Microsoft Game Studios. Most recently he worked on Kinect Sports. He is a big fan of Pro Evolution Soccer/Winning Eleven, especially the latest installment in the series: Pro Evolution Soccer 2011.
What is the GTO?
The Games Test Organization is the premiere choice for game development studios and testers from across the world. No other games testing organization anywhere provides more impacting or expert partners to development, or is as attractive a workplace for skilled employees.
Our diverse passions, talents, and continuous improvements earn industry respect, and we advance the craft of games testing through our efforts.
We are the crucial catalysts to development of the world’s best Console, PC, and mobile games, and we find ourselves privileged to be the trusted stewards of quality for customers.
