A Gamer's Dream Come True: Becoming a Character in a Video Game

How I Became a Video Game Tester for Test Drive Unlimited and Scored a Part in the Game

I am spoiled.

I can't tell you how I got into my privileged position except I found a link on IGN.com that changed my life. I didn't believe it until I got a letter telling me I was heading for Oahu with a $150,000 stipend.

Upon arrival in Hawaii, I found myself behind the wheel of a sexy rental supercar, a ruby-red Ford GT. It was my dream come true. 

After driving the rental around the winding coast of Hawaii - still not believing my luck - I visited a Chevy/Saturn dealership to buy wheels. I chose a blue Saturn Sky. I was sold after my test drive, and paid cash.

Now? I'm a member of an Oahu car club, and to advance in rank you'll have to outdrive me. Well, not me, but my likeness.

Welcome to the world of "Test Drive Unlimited."

I've been a gamer most of my life - from the days of the Commodore Vic-20 and "Gorf" to "Gears of War" on the Xbox 360. I love transforming into Walter Mitty, spending a couple hours a week in a fantasy world where blasting aliens and running over baddies get you achievement points instead of federal investigations.

And I'd always wanted a chance to develop games, test them and look for glitches - what's known in the gaming world as "beta testing." But as a married man and father of two, I thought my days of beta-testing were gone before they ever arrived.

Until last summer.

I saw an advertisement on IGN.com that said Atari was looking for game testers. I shot off an e-mail, figuring I wouldn't make the cut. But within a couple weeks, Atari said I was selected to participate in a private PlayStation 2 beta test for the game "Test Drive Unlimited."

I was shocked. I had been following the game on the Xbox 360 and I had the demo already, so I had a pretty good idea what to expect.

In the demo, players can choose a car or motorcycle, and they are assigned a house. The player can take part in online races against other players or compete offline against the computer. In the retail version of the game, players can choose several different types of cars, motorcycles, houses and clothing.