1 - Video call with recruiter
2 - Video call with technical producer
3 - Take home test of 4 hours!
Step 3 is where the problem arose.
I should never have agreed to a 4 hour take home test (they say applicants take 4 hours on average, but we all know that's just a number they throw out there).
They ask you to refactor/find bugs in the design and implementation of a simple game.
So, 1 hour to look over the code, understand it, and see how things generally work.
2-4 hours to dig deeper into C++ coding standards, see what they applied (or didn't apply), refactor the code, and improve it for future usability/scalability.
That's 5 hours used already, and that's with hoping you found all the things they wanted you to find (they don't tell you ANYTHING else except to just refactor it).
As programmers know, solving a problem sticks in your head even after you leave your PC, so those 5 hours probably turned into 6-7 hours of work time.
Don't forget, this is all unpaid work too.
Are you getting the feeling that this is too much work within the given time?
Don't worry!
Another viable option they give you is that you can rewrite the ENTIRE game within the 4 hour average, with C++ best practices and so that it's extendable for the future, and, also don't forget, that you have to make it work exactly the way it did before.
After those 5 hours (6-7*) were up, I stopped working on it, as I was not willing to sacrifice more of my time for this.
What do I get back in return?
The recruiter telling me "Sorry, the team does not give feedback on these tests, but they found your code was not strong enough to move forward"
So...after all that wasted time, they couldn't even be bothered to explain to me what I missed or didn't do, or explain why I wasn't selected so I can improve for future interviews?
How kind of them (Ironic considering one of their pillars at the company is "Kindness").
What I suspect, is that this is a filter to see which candidates take a long time, meaning their own time, to fully complete the test properly but who say they did it within the allotted time frame, which translates to how you will be treated on the job. IE, bust your butt nonstop, take your own time after work to solve issues, and be grateful you work here.