by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Martin Shank

Age: 25

Occupation: Quality control/computer game tester

Salary: $8.50 an hour

Bio: This saucy Plateau resident was first introduced to the lucrative possibilities of professional computer game testing through his electronica band, who several years ago had been hired to write a few nifty little ditties for a series of games. First and foremost a musician, but eager to find a career to fall back on should the gods not have him rising to the toppermost of the poppermost in the music industry, he enrolled in a multimedia program, graduated and started his own business designing Web sites. Soon discovering that Web design "was even worse than music" with respect to earning money, he took his newly acquired computing skills to UbiSoft, "the McDonald's of the video game industry," and found himself employed killing computer aliens the very next day.

Do all of his friends believe that he's fallen into the absolute coolest job ever? Yes, many do.

And is it? Certainly not. "Basically you're sitting in front of a computer for eight or maybe even 16 hours a day. It can get very tedious, and after staring at a computer screen for 45 or 60 hours a week you often wind up with some pretty terrible headaches."

How long he may find himself working exclusively on any one game: As long as nine months at a time.

What he looks for: Programming bugs, lapses in logic. "Even if you are in a video game, in a magical universe, things still have to make sense, you know."

Is he one of those computer guys who is at his happiest lecturing people about network configurations and binary codes long after they've fallen asleep on him? No.

Childhood ambition: To become a fighter pilot.

Some people he's in touch with every day: Air pilots, who are showing him the ins and outs of flying for a flight simulator he is currently working on. "It's a nice benefit of the job. These guys are teaching me how to fly."

Have his flying skills developed to the point where he might feel comfortable enough to hijack an airliner and fly it into the National Assembly? Not yet.

Best part of the job: The flexible hours and the "geek" parties the quality control department has where they all sit around, get drunk and play computer games until all hours of the morning.

Worst: The low status accorded to testers within the industry, the stress and the shitty money.

Where he hangs out: Roy Bar, Thompson House.

Drug of choice: Marijuana.

Something else he does: Plays in his band, Dee, an "electronica thing, kind of like a cross between Beck, the Chemical Brothers and the Velvet Underground."

Musical faves: DJ Shadow, Massive Attack, Beastie Boys, Tool.

A recent film he is thrilled about: Dogtown and Z-Boys.

Television preferences: The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park.

Words of wisdom: "If your hips ain't movin', it just ain't happenin'." :

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca