Given that Crystal Dynamics hasn't done much of anything other than Tomb Raider since 2005, and given that Eidos/Square Enix have telegraphed a "reboot" of the Lara Croft franchise, sounds like it's a good bet that's your prestigious AAA franchise. Unless they're referring to Legacy of Kain, of course.

The ad listing mentions multiplayer maps, which indicates competitive online, not just cooperative campaign support.

Next Tomb Raider has Multiplayer? [CinemaBlend via Joystiq]

A tipster to Joystiq pointed out the advertisement for a "Senior Online Level Designer," and it's set off alarms all over that you'll be doing some strategic dismemberin' with and/or of your friends in Dead Space 2.

The person hired for this job must "own the level design for the online game [and] be able to work collaboratively with Creative Director and Online Producer to create extremely fun, satisfying and polished multiplayer levels," according to the ad.

For those of you not qualified for this job (like me), the rest of the listing gives up some details on where the game stands as of now.

The game is in the later stages of pre-production, ready for production in the next few months, with many of the navigational and combat mechanics in place. We have complete autonomy and creative control over our own decisions. The Games Label at EA is 100% committed to this IP, and has already worked on IP extensions such as comic, animated features, and action figures.

EA Job Listing Hints at Online Multiplayer for Dead Space 2 [Joystiq via VG247]

Video game tester Kelly Watkins is 20 and hopes to break into the industry.

Watkins has already mastered the art of not naming the secret game he or she is working on — as well as the art of working long hours if need be:

When you are really busy, how much do you work a week? It could be up to seven days for 12 hours a day. Twelve hours a day is kind of pushing it, but once you get up to 14, that's tough. But people do it. It's just part of the industry. If (a game) has to go, you have to put in the time to get it out as quick as possible.

She says the pay is $9 an hour, $13.50 for overtime. More details in the brief Q&A. Click over and support a newspaper, why don't you?

How I got that job: Kelly Watkins, 20, Mpls. [Star Tribune]

[PIC]

Got a list of things you think need fixin' on our sites? Well so do we, actually! And we're looking for a little help with it. Gawker Media is currently seeking a QA Analyst to join our Tech team. Job responsibilities include monitoring site performance, managing bug reporting and resolution, and conducting both manual and automated site testing.

Do those activities sound oddly satisfying to you? If so, please email techjobs@gawker.com with a brief description of yourself and your relevant work experience. This job is located in New York City.

That means you might be able to rub elbows/receive abuse from Kotaku's own Stephen Totilo! You don't know the thrill of performing QA until you've been verbally thrashed by a Kotaku editor because comments are malfunctioning. But we can make that happen! Best of luck!

[Image via Dork Yearbook]

If so, Microsoft has a job for you. As previously reported, the first stores in Microsoft's grand plan to battle Apple on its mall-space turf will likely open this fall. Earlier this week (Monday, to be exact) the company posted a listing for a store manager - but not location specific, so we don't know where the first store will be.

You can read the full requisition here. If you're interested, know that you will be required to "protect company assets including people, merchandise, facilities and money." Sounds like they're looking for Dwight Schrute.

Store Manager - Microsoft Careers [careers.microsoft.com]

Hit the jump for the second two videos and remember, jerky talks at Insomniac.

Murray first joined the team at the tail end of Halo 2's development. He described it as a "big disaster." Everyone who's ever worked in production knows that when morale is through the floor and the ship date's been pushed into the next year, it's usually the producer's fault.

"But," says Murray. "If you have a good crunch, everybody did it. It's a team effort."

This philosophy Bungie has adopted toward production post-Halo has seven main principles:

Ensure Bungie remains creative — Having a little discipline shouldn't ruin the fun-loving atmosphere of the place.
Put quality and people first — Make sure the game you're making doesn't suck and make sure the people working on it don't start to suck.
Know that the producer is flexible and adaptable — Shit happens, people get sick, dates get moved around; Bungie can deal.
Take pride in applying a methodology to production — Schedules and accountability are not totalitarian tools of the Devil.
Know that the schedule is a means to an end, not the end itself — Knowing when and where your milestones is coming up is half the battle; finishing the game is the other half.
Empower and enable the team to take ownership of their schedule — If the art guy says it takes seven days, he should get seven days, not five.
Set dates and ship on time — Amen.

Murray wrapped up his talk by encouraging everyone to apply to work at Bungie, presumably on their hush-hush new project that isn't Halo 4.

2K Boston itself is touting this push pretty hard. Back in February people spied some job listings on Gamasutra that shed some light on this new game, mostly that they're "betting big on multiplayer." The jobs to be filled run the spectrum - programming, design, production, art, audio.

If you are at the Game Developers Conference, look for 2K Boston reps wearing "brightly colored 'Be Big in Boston' t-shirts." Stop by and say hi, I'm sure they'll at least give you a ballpoint pen or something - which you can then use to sign your NDA should you be hired to join this ultra top secret badass project.

This is the back of a promotional postcard they put out (the front is above), drawn up by Nate Wells, the designer who came up with the Big Daddy.

"The BioShock team is betting big on multiplayer and plans to stay at the top of the charts," says the job listing for a multiplayer lead engineer, which went up on Gamasutra. 2K Boston's also looking for a multiplayer lead designer. Pretty sure there are more than a few resumes coming in for this one.

BioShock of course had no online multiplayer component, not that it prevented the title from being 2007's game of the year for many. BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams has been confirmed — it's scheduled for release in the last quarter of this year on the same three platforms. Bioshock also used Unreal 2. But I dunno, if the sequel's betting big on multiplayer, would they just now be getting around to hiring its key architects? That's not a rhetorical question, I'm just wondering aloud.

Edit: Doh. I didn't RTFA. 2K Marin is developing BioShock 2. God, that was stupid of me.

2K Boston’s Next- A First Person Shooter/Multi-(Player/Platform) Focused [V for Videogames]

Forum poster Tale over on the f13 forums relates an experience with a recruiter in the online media industry, who reacted negatively to his conversational admission that he had spent too much time playing MMORPG games.

He replied that employers specifically instruct him not to send them World of Warcraft players. He said there is a belief that WoW players cannot give 100% because their focus is elsewhere, their sleeping patterns are often not great, etc. I mentioned that some people have written about MMOG leadership experience as a career positive or a way to learn project management skills, and he shook his head. He has been specifically asked to avoid WoW players.

Having been a major MMO player for the better part of the past 8 years, I can't help but agree with the prospective employers' concerns. I myself had a job I was frequently late for due to me spending all night playing the original Everquest, eventually quitting the job rather than show up late for the umpteenth time in a row.

Of course there are folks who can play MMORPG games in moderation, so we can't lump them all into a general category. Still, it's probably best if you left your MMO experience out of the job interview. Sure, it's a major thing in your life, but it shouldn't have bearing on your work performance...unless of course your work leaves you alone for long periods of time with a networked gaming PC. *whistles innocently*

Recruiter told not to hire WoW players [F13 Forums via Massively]

If you're a programmer with a Bachelor's Degree, a proficiency in C/C++, a nose, and at least one Xbox 360 game under your belt, they're looking for you. Just think, you could be working on The Bouncer 2!! Let's hope not, but that's a potential nightmare scenario you should think about.

Square Enix [Gamasutra Jobs via GameSpot]

No, what is interesting about this is that the job poster is Cryptic Studios - home of quality MMOs Champions Online and Star Trek Online that - thus far - run on PC & Xbox 360 platforms.

"We have developed a flexible, cutting edge MMO platform to power games like Champions and Star Trek Online. It runs on PC and XBOX 360 - now we want to support PS3 too"

If you were thinking of applying (you will need to know about "Exploiting SPU parallelism", so don't bother if you glaze over even thinking about what that might mean) please remember that it is NOT Ok to contact Cryptic about other services, products or commercial interests.

Full Time PS3 Engine Programmer Needed – Game Studio [Craigslist - thanks to Traitor Jack for the tip]

DP: Let's look several years into the future for a moment. Should I even bother learning today's skills? Surely they'll have completely changed by the time I get out of college? What kinds of jobs are absolutely 'rock-solid', and will undoubtedly still be around five to 10 years from now? And what new jobs do you think might exist that nobody has quite pinned down just yet?

GN: Specialization and hierarchy are the norms in film production, and are antithetical to what needs to happen in the games industry. The reason for that distinction is that the game industry is more focused on invention than on repeatability/measurability. Programmers that can draw are going to be in much better shape than an animator specializing in putting talking mouths on cats. The solutions of tomorrow are not going to fall into the production or organizational categories of today.

It's a quick read and has some worthy tidbits if you're aiming for a development career.

Valve's Gabe Newell on Becoming a Game Developer [GameCareerGuide]

The surge in interest has led schools to add games to their menu — but not always to the benefit of its students. Recruiters say they often see "mills" that run around-the-clock sessions to quickly churn out as many students as possible. Other programs teach specific skills but not how games are pulled together.

"It's a very hot academic growth area," said Colleen McCreary, who runs EA's university relations program. "I'm very worried about the number of community colleges and for-profit institutions, as well as four-year programs, that are using game design as a lure for students who are not going to be prepared for the real entry-level positions that the game industry wants."

I was up at USC yesterday for a non-game related workshop and had dinner with a friend who is in USC's Interactive Media MFA program; I continue to be impressed with USC's record of success and the students that go through the program. It's a shame — but not a surprise — that the field is getting cluttered with programs that simply don't have the resources, know-how, or curriculum to help place graduates in the industry. While it often seems like 'academic gaming' and 'real-world gaming' will never quite meet, this is one point that the industry as a whole should have more discussion about. The other two articles of the LA Times series are worth a read, as well.

Majoring in video games [LA Times]

For our industry to continue to grow at its current rate of acceleration, we need to attract talent from other industries as well as more new graduates. The industry has become overly reliant on playing recruitment chess - taking employees from one competitor and then losing their own in return. This never ending game benefits no one, results in stalemate and does not meet the industry's needs for fresh perspective and growth.

A simple Google search for “games industry” reveals a number of preconceptions of what working in gaming is like. Today I'd like to acknowledge common perceptions and break through some of these myths. Together, we can debunk these myths and grow the industry with a new generation of talent.

Top Myths About Working In Gaming

- Work Hard/Play Hard
- Getting Lost In The Crowd
- Jobs, Not Careers
- Old Demographic Paradigms

It's an interesting little piece, more so if you're dying to get into the industry, I'm sure. I'll take the shark-infested waters of academia any day, but that's just me.

Making The Game Industry An Attractive Place To Work [GameCareerGuide]

Crytek is currently working on something for the PlayStation 3, which has been rumored to be an "enhanced" version of Crysis, that may also be multi-platform. Whether that's a PSP spin-off or something totally new altogether, we'll have to wait to find out.

PSP Programmer [Crytek - thanks, Andrew & EN!]

"The Cryptic team has a great following among MMO players and their creative plans for the space are really pressing the genre forward," said John Needham, newly appointed CEO of Cryptic Studios. "I look forward to working with the Cryptic team to lead the company into its next phase of growth."

Needham was also once the VP of finance for Telemundo Networks, so you know he'll really appreciate his new office at Cryptic's The Cats, California headquarters.

June 2, 2008 6:00:00 AM

John Needham Named CEO of Cryptic Studios

Former Sony Online Entertainment Executive and Industry Veteran to Lead Independent MMO Publisher and Developer

LOS GATOS, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — 06/02/08 — Cryptic Studios(TM), one of the leading independent developers of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), announced today that John Needham has joined the company as its Chief Executive Officer. Needham joins Cryptic from Sony Online Entertainment, where he served as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Operations.

"John Needham's proven leadership in the MMO space makes him a dynamic fit for heading up Cryptic's new corporate direction. As an SVP of Sony Online Entertainment he has contributed greatly to the growth of the industry and we're excited to combine his operational experience with our vision for the future of online games," said Michael Lewis, president of Cryptic Studios.

"The Cryptic team has a great following among MMO players and their creative plans for the space are really pressing the genre forward," said John Needham, newly appointed CEO of Cryptic Studios. "I look forward to working with the Cryptic team to lead the company into its next phase of growth."

Cryptic Studios announced in February that the first title in its new product line-up is Champions Online, based on the popular pen-and-paper Champions RPG. Champions Online will allow players to create their own hero and explore vast, richly detailed 3D environments while keeping the forces of evil at bay. Champions Online is slated for release in Spring 2009.

John Needham has been with Sony since 1994. During the first half of his career at Sony, John held many positions in the television division of Sony Pictures Entertainment including Director of
Corporate Development and Vice President of Finance, Telemundo Networks. Since joining Sony Online Entertainment in 2001, Mr. Needham served as CFO and SVP of Business Development for 5 years until recently taking a new role as SVP of Business Development and Operations. As SVP of Business Development and Operations, John managed business development and strategic initiatives for SOE, as well as international operations, customer service and quality assurance testing. John is a graduate of San Diego State University and began his career at Arthur Andersen & Co.

For more information about Champions Online or Cryptic Studios,
please visit www.crypticstudios.com

Tom's Games points out that the company posted three job listings over at JournalismJobs.Com from Feb. 15 through Feb. 27 for copywriter; associate editor, reviews; and associate editor II, PC previews and reviews.

Hit the jump for some of the responsibilities for each job. On a side note, I was a little disturbed to read that their copywriter position might include the unholy wedlock of advertising and editorial, with the person being responsible for writing banner ads, print ads and, perhaps, headlines?

Update: I hear from friends over at GameSpot that the copywriter job is in fact advertising and marketing only and that there will never be any editorial hanky-panky. Good to know.

Associate Editor, Reviews
The associate editor will be responsible for 3-5 regular game product review assignments per week in a timely manner.
The associate editor will be expected to contribute to the reviews editing process both by receiving and giving feedback on his/her own reviews, as well as reviews written by other editors and staffers.
The associate editor will be expected to contribute to additional review-related duties, such as appearing in video reviews or potentially helping to compile game assets.
The associate editor will be expected to contribute to GameSpot's editorial product in other ways, such as attending press events, covering games for previews, and contributing to editorial features.

Associate Editor II, PC previews & reviews
The associate editor will be responsible for 3-5 regular PC game preview and review assignments per week in a timely manner, and potentially some console-related coverage as well.
The associate editor will be called on to interface with game industry contacts and attend game-related industry events and may be required to travel, schedule appointments, manage press assets, and keep track of deadline and designated publish dates.
As part of the process of contributing to reviews, the associate editor will be expected to contribute to the reviews editing process both by receiving and giving feedback on his/her own reviews, as well as reviews written by other editors and staffers.
The associate editor will be expected to contribute to additional review-related duties, such as appearing in video reviews or potentially helping to compile game assets.
The associate editor will be expected to contribute to GameSpot's editorial product in other ways, such as attending press events, covering games for previews, and contributing to editorial features.

Copywriter
Write banner ads, landing pages, print ads, ads, microsites, videos, and, of course, email. Work autonomously with partner designer during concept development and design. Integrate the brand personality into all consumer communication and maintain a consistent look and feel that reinforces and builds the brands as innovators.

Work with Marketing, Product and product design teams to understand our customers, the nuances of the product and the key strategies for each project. Attend user lab studies to witness consumer experience with the product first hand in order to better understand their motivations, stumbling blocks, etc. Develop a strong command of our brands, their positioning and detailed product features.

Like Video Games? Cnet/Gamespot Going Hiring Crazy (must Like Eidos) [Tom's Games]

These aren't entry-level positions, you should have solid PR experience already, you should live in or around these cities and you should be awesome.

Please take note of all these, especially the last one. Non-awesome people need not apply. You can see a complete description of each job and it's requirements after the jump.

LA Job:
GolinHarris is a leading international public relations firm and winner of PRWeek's 2007 Editors' Choice, Large PR Agency of the Year 2007, The Holmes Report, PR Agency of the Year 2007, and numerous PRWeek Awards.

Our Los Angeles office is currently seeking an ambitious PR professional with 3-6 years of PR agency experience to join our Interactive Entertainment practice area as a Senior Account Executive within the Nintendo team, an award-winning group recently acknowledged by PRSA as "The Best PR Team" in Los Angeles, responsible for driving one of today's most successful and popular consumer brands.

This Senior Account Executive will need to quickly develop an intimate level of understanding of the account, its business, products, markets, personnel, outside influences, etc. The Senior Account Executive will perform fundamental PR tasks and serve as a day to day client contact. S/he must also have strong research, writing and editing skills, and the ability to continue developing media contacts/relationships and pitch client's top tier, non-traditional, and new media. S/he must have a solid grasp of all basic public relations' tools and how they affect the client.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

* Manage multiple projects for Nintendo client from concept to completion on time and within budget
* Proactively generate new ideas and opportunities to ensure client program success
* Conduct and manage the flow of research
* Maintain media contacts/relationships
* Participate in client meetings and presentations as well as proposals
* Contribute to plan development processes and budget management
* Understand industry issues that directly and indirectly affect the client
* Generate creative ideas for PR programs
* Demonstrate sophisticated media pitching and tour scheduling skills
* Proof and edit client related documents as needed
* Serve as a role model to other team members and delegate work appropriately
* Assist with supervision and development of junior team members
* Supervise reports on monthly client billing process
* Contribute to program planning and account management by researching budgets, attending brainstorms, and facilitating the purchase order process
* Track/enter time with precision and on a day-to-day basis

Practice Group/Specialty Area Competencies

Video games, consumer products, consumer technology, entertainment

QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's Degree, 3-6 years related professional experience. Candidate must have PR agency experience, be proficient in Microsoft Suite, Internet, on-line services and new media, as well as a defined interest in the video game marketplace. Candidate should possess a complete understanding of all job tasks, an understanding of basic public relations tools, ability to develop strong working relationships with media, ability to solve problems, experience with staff supervision and budgeting, strong desire to progress in day to day responsibilities, and have a track record of consistently meeting deadlines.

We offer a great workplace, culture, competitive salary, health care (medical, dental and vision insurance), 401k and more. Please send resume (IN WORD FORMAT), with cover letter and salary requirements, via email to aweatherbee@golinharris.com

SF Job:
The San Francisco GolinHarris office is currently hiring a Senior Media Specialist or Media Manager to work on the Nintendo team.

The individual is responsible for planning, managing, implementing and measuring ongoing corporate and product media strategies and outreach for Nintendo of America. This person is a proactive thinker who develops strategic and creative pitch angles and story ideas, contributes media-savvy ideas to plans, has experience working with traditional and new media and has an excellent understanding of news, media trends and media opportunities.

The individual is responsible for developing and growing top-level media relationships and for pitching feature, trend, product and corporate stories to these outlets. This person is responsible for prepping Nintendo executives before interviews including contributing to key message development and positioning. This position also is responsible for on-site management of Nintendo executive interviews.

The individual is responsible for developing strategies for dealing with media issues and crises, giving input to media materials (statements, releases, Q&A, etc.) and managing interview requests and information distribution.

The individual plays a key role in managing the team's media outreach — training, mentoring and directing account team members' ongoing proactive outreach. In addition, this position serves as media lead on numerous programs and product launches. Media lead responsibilities include contributing media input to plans as well as planning, managing and implementing media tours. Media lead responsibilities also include managing all of the media outreach for product launch programs and trade shows (media strategy, story placement, event media coverage, interview requests, etc.).

Please submit your cover letter and resume as a Word document to westcoastjobs@cmgrp.com or apply online at the GolinHarris Web site.

GolinHarris is an Equal Opportunity Employer.