The Trenches is a webcomic from the guys behind Penny Arcade and PVP about the video game industry and, more specifically, the video game testing industry. It’s about the horrors and disrespect experienced by the people at the very bottom of the gaming industry. The long hours, the windowless rooms, the constant turnover. And the monotony. Oh, the monotony.
What testing a baseball game for the PSP looks like
It’s not as fun as it sounds.
To emphasize just how horrible this kind of life can be, each Trenches comic is accompanied with a “Tale from the Trenches” -- real-life, anonymous stories detailing the weird hell that those stuck in the job have lived through.
Today’s tale is about working on an unnamed baseball video game for the PSP. The whole thing is good, but here’s the juiciest part:
Of course, none of this even came close to a certain task we had to do. The goal sounded simple at first- you have to take into account a few things to realize the torture that lied ahead. The objective? Hit a home run, aimed specifically at the top edge of the outfield wall between second and third base. It required a degree of precision that would make even Golgo 13 blush. Getting the ball to go right where you want it to go is next to impossible in a baseball game. Is a simple toss from Home Run Derby good enough to do it? Does leaning the control stick even WORK in home run derby? Do we have to tough this out in a real match and risk getting struck out as a result, forced to either restart the match to bat again or pitch our way to a new inning? Is the physics engine going to let us do what we want? Is a PSP even capable of this sort of precision guided batting?
No thank you. According to Gamespot, there have been roughly 14 baseball games released for the PSP. One of those games owes this guy a beer or something.
See More:
