It’s tiiime for another Meet Squanch! Today, we’re speaking with two rock stars from our QA team, Mr. Samuel Gonzalez and Mr. William McGough.

You know them for their passion for quality assurance, and by definition “the maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service or product, especially by means of attention to every stage of the process of delivery or production.” (Thank you, Google dictionary)

But we here at Squanch, know them for so much more. From Sam’s love of statues and tech, to Will’s love of his pup and the outdoors - read on to learn more about Sam & Will!

Samuel Gonzalez, QA Lead

What do you do at Squanch?

My role is to be the champion of the people! The protector of the consumer! The harbinger of quality! In all seriousness, part of my responsibility includes working with Production, Art, Animation, and Tech to help establish the quality bar for our games. This involves creating processes and procedures with my team to help track and reach the target quality bar throughout every stage of development.

What got you into the industry?

Passion for all things gaming. My goal was always to carve out a career doing something that I am passionate about. For me this was either going to be something in gaming or the music industry. In the end my passion for video games won out.

What’s the best part about being in QA?

Problem solving! QA is like an always evolving puzzle. Nailing the right balance of process, tools and man power to maintain the most lean and efficient department is key to a small studio doing big things. Figuring out which strategies work best to accomplish each goal, implementing them, and seeing the successful outcome is very rewarding.

What’s the funniest bug you’ve ever seen in a game?

Oh man, they are too many! Well there was a recent one in Trover: Saves the Universe. In Trover we had a small floating character named Mr. Popup. His role was to give the player a Popup ability and then teach the player how to use it. Well on this particular day Mr. Popup decided to pop onto the players face and remain there while obstructing the player’s view. All this while continually repeating the line “F you I’m going inside” over and over again.

What game had the biggest impact on you?

Everquest! This was the first time I interacted with other players in an online environment. I had no idea what I was doing. One occasion, a Dark Elf Enchanter came into Qeynos disguised as a Human. This Dark Elf convinced me to follow him out of town and then proceeded to transform back to his true form, he then yelled some derogatory insults at me, then killed me and looted my corpse. Scarred me for life!

What is your favorite vacation spot?

Norrath followed closely by Azeroth.

Would you ever swim with sharks?

Only if my bones were laced with adamantium.

If you were made of cheese, what kind of cheese would you be?

Sharp cheddar! Because it is both delicious and associated with money!

What’s your favorite bad joke?

What's Spider Man's side job?

Web developer

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself?

I am an avid audiophile, home theater enthusiast, statue / Hot Toys collector, and gamer. My wife and I share a love of music and it has been great watching and helping her tweak her system to get the most out of it. My kids are all gamers, but they are into different genres. From The Sims, to Roblox, to clicking heads in CoD and Overwatch we run the gamut. Unfortunately, we haven’t yet found the one game that we all enjoy regularly playing together. My goal is to, one day, find that unicorn of a game so that we may all enjoy the same game at the same time… One day!

William McGough, QA Analyst

What do you do at Squanch?

I am a QA Analyst, which means I am responsible for communicating the status of the game day to day. My work at Squanch is to be aware of the current status of the build and be knowledgeable for what works and what is broken.

What got you into the industry?

From a young age, I have always enjoyed working with art and technology. I get to be creative with my testing approach and feedback, while working with the latest technology for game development.

What brought you to Squanch specifically?

I was looking for something in the area and found a game company that created games based around humor. This interested me because I thought it would be a unique opportunity to experience in the video game industry.

What’s your favorite video game of ALL TIME?

Stardew Valley is my favorite video game of all time. I enjoyed the discovery and playing it gave me a sense of enjoyment that made me feel like a child again. Clearly a passionate game made by a passionate developer and that is why it’s my favorite.

Are you able to turn your “QA Brain” off when you play other games?

When there are only a few issues visible I am able to turn it off and just experience the game without lessening the experience. It’s when several issues keep occurring or major issues are showing up that it takes over and feels like I am working.

What’s the funniest bug you’ve ever found in a game?

An item was to fall from the sky and players would have to chase it down and fight over it. These events were designed to occur rarely. Well some numbers got mixed up and the whole sky was filled with these items falling. It was mass chaos and hilarious.

What are you doing in your spare time as of late?

Spending time outside as much as possible. I am fortunate enough to live near a nice trail system and spend a lot of time on it. My beagle has been quite the fan.