3. The Turning

Telling the contestants that two will be let go in the opening of Season 3 was an interesting snap decision and for a second my head lit up and made me glad the series wouldn't be too long. 


This is a simple tactic that every reality show employs to create "natural" drama. While most reality shows are scripted, it's a bit more difficult for people who either A) Can't follow a script or B) Never acted in their life. The way Arin Hanson, aka EgoRaptor, was pitted against the rest of the group and eventually knocked off in the third episode of the current season, was planned to say the least and whether or not Hanson or Sony has learned from the experience, one thing should be noted. You probably shouldn't push the fan favourite off the cliff.

If YouTube hits are anything to judge by, the loss of Mr. Hanson diminished incredibly after his departure. The viewing figures dropped by more than 50%. The following ep even more so. The current stats don't lie in terms of viewing figures and with little to no hype outside the Playstation Community, I'm not sure what they will do for a fourth season to drum up any sort of interest...maybe have me on the show.



How to Fix This: I know what we see on the screen is more often than not scripted and the biggest error came in lying, not only to the contestants but the audience. Now I love Egoraptor with all my heart, but after the first episode, they had instantly put him in a situation where tension and fighting would be initiated.  Maybe they should have help that for later in the series...


4. Very few contestants feel real


The problem with reality shows in general is the amount of reality that goes into them. Almost every show will have a series of fights, every show will have characters pitted against each other, it's a competition. But even social reality shows, such as the artistic work of the members of the Jersey community will still be hard pressed not to find an ep where they aren't fighting...not have a good reason to.

The show's current season has...sorry, had, a goth chick, an overly excited Asian girl, a momma's boy and a still image of other prospective cliche's. They just do not feel real to me. It's as if they ran with one attribute and have been doing so for years, which if that is their personality off screen, I weep for their prospective partners and family.

The third season has one of the most tragic moments at the end of the third episode, right before EgoRaptor is let go from the competition. The competitors vouch for Arin and condemn another player for her atrocious behaviour and lack of teamwork, despite Arin making an error earlier in the episode, which he admits to, they still vote him off. 

When I say real people, all these people are real and they get emotional, but due to editing and the ignorance of the judges, they too believe the cynical audience reaction of them just being cardboard cut outs. The third season proved to me that these people really enjoy games, love them, however, some are still here to play the reality show game and it is frustrating to see them screw up time and time again and stick around...but that is sometimes how the world works.

How to fix this:  The show would be better if the contestants were chosen out of those with the best qualifications over who was the fan favourite; sorry Arin. The show should be about people who are more into it for the experience and wanting to make a good game, rather than just being a fanboy and being fairly lucky. A new form of admission process would be good to see.

5. It's still a reality show

The show may be about gamers, the show may be about Sony, but the show, in it's genre and format is still a reality show, through and through. From the stereotypical characters, to the staged fights, to the judging panel, the show is still a mess of a format and it doesn't work for me.

I've stated before about my enjoyment of some reality shows and while competition reality shows are not particularly my thing, The Tester could be a lot better...if it only it weren't a reality show.



How to Fix This:  A documentary show about the inner workings of a game company or even a series of developers would be more interesting. With the work of 2P Productions and Indie Game The Movie, it's hard to stray from the fact that documentaries and media that actually provides insight into the work of developers and game creators is ten times more interesting than a bunch of people acting like The Sims for seven to eight weeks.

The Tester is ultimately a weird experiment that Sony has continued and whether or not the show is profitable after this year is a question the higher ups should be asking. I am aware that my advice was completely unsolicited but after burning through a lot of the episodes in the past week, I realise that at ad nauseum, this show is at worst a demonstration of the lengths people are willing to go for a job, but also how people can be exploited for the things they truly love.

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