19 thoughts on “This is SEGA TEST (1996) – Sega of America Game Tester video de treinamento”
This is Conan Tigard. I worked in SEGA test for 3½ years. I tested hundreds of games and led 16 products through the test cycles. It was fun and exhausting at the same time. When I started in '91, we had about 16 testers. When I left in '95, we had about 180 testers. We were open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. This was during the heyday of SEGA. During the Christmas rush, which started in the end of summer, we generally worked 80+ hours a week. It was not easy. It was great to see everyone in this video again. I hope all are doing well.
Sega was a shit show in 96. too many skus, bad decisions , and a parent company in Japan , literally not caring about your division. I dreamed of working at Sega but I would have only wanted to do it with the Master System, and maybe a few years into Genesis.
I know I couldn’t do it. I love gaming but when I have the freedom to do what I want for as long or as short as I want. To be told to play the same level of a game, over and over and over and over and over again just in slightly different ways for days on end doesn’t sound like fun. I’m sure as they were all young and ambitious they were prepared to put the long hours in for not much money to move up in the company but it would have driven me insane.
And here is another important thing about the layoff that I was in at SEGA. It was a sick thing. I remember one dear girls crying her eyes out when she learned about the layoff (they gave us only a few days notice). And you can blame Steve Patterson and Kalinske for that. And he is free to comment here with counter information, account for it brother. So people needed to pay rent and they loved their jobs, and SEGA manage took sick advantage of it. By not giving at least 2 weeks notice, it tells you everything about the mentality of that company. And they knew they were going to do a layoff. They could have given everyone 2 months notice. But Steve Patterson, Tom Kalinske kept their mouths shut, and that shows one thing about them, money tops all.
I worked at SEGA, as a tester, from 93-94, when SEGA hit a billion in sales. Unfortunately the lawyers required they clean out the contractors every so often, in order to prevent having to give us full benefits. I tell you something, no one asked for benefits, and if not for that clear out, I would have stayed there too long, maybe until the company practically failed thanks to the overbearing hardware sales requirements of the Japanese arm.
But my pay has gone skyward since then, I own a house here in Silicon Valley. There was a firm foundation given for writing bugs, this video doesn't show this, there was a document (they called it redlining, if I recall correctly).
Testing games was great fun, and finding bugs is still a big part of my development job. So in a way, it's a good thing the bean counters canned everyone, and from what I understand (talking with one Dianna Boundy), the only reason I had an opportunity was that a previous crew was also canned.
I am not going to glorify SEGA's test department, it was poorly run. There was an evening when a producer came in, shouting at the top of his lungs, (just before the big layoff, no one in test knew about, that tester must stay, he needs to pay rent to me.) That was the low point, right there. Numerous sick jokes were also played no credit to the management style of Steve Patterson.
Let me tell, you I will always call it as it is, and I don't play politics. But because of that, no way could I be allowed to stay in that test department, I don't pinch or handout cigarrettes. But I thank God, for everyday I have in software development, and I thank God for idiots that ran SEGA, thank you for firing me and the whole crew that spring season. Without that firing, I would probably have stayed on for a minute or longer than I did.
This is Conan Tigard. I worked in SEGA test for 3½ years. I tested hundreds of games and led 16 products through the test cycles. It was fun and exhausting at the same time. When I started in '91, we had about 16 testers. When I left in '95, we had about 180 testers. We were open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. This was during the heyday of SEGA. During the Christmas rush, which started in the end of summer, we generally worked 80+ hours a week. It was not easy. It was great to see everyone in this video again. I hope all are doing well.
Sega was a shit show in 96. too many skus, bad decisions , and a parent company in Japan , literally not caring about your division. I dreamed of working at Sega but I would have only wanted to do it with the Master System, and maybe a few years into Genesis.
This is cool to see. I didn't show up until 97.
Awesome video, I'm glad they were able to get The Beatles, "Magical Mystery Tour" song.
I know I couldn’t do it. I love gaming but when I have the freedom to do what I want for as long or as short as I want. To be told to play the same level of a game, over and over and over and over and over again just in slightly different ways for days on end doesn’t sound like fun. I’m sure as they were all young and ambitious they were prepared to put the long hours in for not much money to move up in the company but it would have driven me insane.
And here is another important thing about the layoff that I was in at SEGA. It was a sick thing. I remember one dear girls crying her eyes out when she learned about the layoff (they gave us only a few days notice). And you can blame Steve Patterson and Kalinske for that. And he is free to comment here with counter information, account for it brother. So people needed to pay rent and they loved their jobs, and SEGA manage took sick advantage of it. By not giving at least 2 weeks notice, it tells you everything about the mentality of that company. And they knew they were going to do a layoff. They could have given everyone 2 months notice. But Steve Patterson, Tom Kalinske kept their mouths shut, and that shows one thing about them, money tops all.
I worked at SEGA, as a tester, from 93-94, when SEGA hit a billion in sales. Unfortunately the lawyers required they clean out the contractors every so often, in order to prevent having to give us full benefits. I tell you something, no one asked for benefits, and if not for that clear out, I would have stayed there too long, maybe until the company practically failed thanks to the overbearing hardware sales requirements of the Japanese arm.
But my pay has gone skyward since then, I own a house here in Silicon Valley. There was a firm foundation given for writing bugs, this video doesn't show this, there was a document (they called it redlining, if I recall correctly).
Testing games was great fun, and finding bugs is still a big part of my development job. So in a way, it's a good thing the bean counters canned everyone, and from what I understand (talking with one Dianna Boundy), the only reason I had an opportunity was that a previous crew was also canned.
I am not going to glorify SEGA's test department, it was poorly run. There was an evening when a producer came in, shouting at the top of his lungs, (just before the big layoff, no one in test knew about, that tester must stay, he needs to pay rent to me.) That was the low point, right there. Numerous sick jokes were also played no credit to the management style of Steve Patterson.
Let me tell, you I will always call it as it is, and I don't play politics. But because of that, no way could I be allowed to stay in that test department, I don't pinch or handout cigarrettes. But I thank God, for everyday I have in software development, and I thank God for idiots that ran SEGA, thank you for firing me and the whole crew that spring season. Without that firing, I would probably have stayed on for a minute or longer than I did.
This is awesome, I miss this era. Sega made my childhood amazing. So many great memories. Im glad I still have my genesis, saturn, and dreamcast 💙SEGA
Acknowledge the A-Team van in the parking lot in the first minute of the video
pp poo poo check
Pp
This was likely made shortly before the fall of STI and its replacement with SegaSoft.
And just think everyone, at the time this was recorded, people still thought Enron was profitable.
They had the black stunner guns! Almost too much to say about this video. It’s extremely neat to see this stuff
Back when games where actually tested…
Nowadays it feels like we're paying to be the testers…
Great upload but at 9:04 two guns shooting but only in one player mode ha 😁
thanks for sharing Gray Fox
this is so dope. Hi8 is the shit.
I would have signed up for this job xD