Company News Would you like to work with Jason Anderson...

[Elwro]

Tags: Interplay; Jason Anderson

...and have your salary paid by Herve Caen? That's right, Interplay is now <A HREF="http://jobs.gamasutra.com/jobseekerx/ViewCompanyProfile.asp?CompanyProfileID=3198">hiring</A>. The openings are for an <A HREF="http://jobs.gamasutra.com/Jobseekerx/ViewJob.asp?JobID=CjiKfiE0WcDZYYI6xXV%2FQYQoFJA2">Environmental Concept Artist</A> (important since he "will assist in defining the 'Style Guide' for the visual direction of the project"), a <A HREF="http://jobs.gamasutra.com/Jobseekerx/ViewJob.asp?JobID=NTl0lDuhtioCiAO4sZQVl3vC6N6y">Content Designer</A> and a <A HREF="http://jobs.gamasutra.com/Jobseekerx/ViewJob.asp?JobID=hWgBmQ7%2B5nlzZlBKYIlEJZS7kHsD">System Designer</A>. This last bit is of SPECIAL importance:
<br>
<blockquote>
<br>
Wouldn’t Hurt to Have:
<br>
(...)
<br>
• Familiarity with the Fallout universe and SPECIAL system
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
According to the <A HREF="http://jobs.gamasutra.com/jobseekerx/ViewCompanyProfile.asp?CompanyProfileID=3198">message about job openings</A>, the person to contact is Jason Anderson. All this talk of the SPECIAL system and "being a fan of PAW" (Post-Apocalyptic World?) makes one wonder if Mr. Anderson is really <A HREF="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16236">working on something else than the Fallout MMO</A>. Of course, it could be that Interplay does not have enough employees yet to manage hiring new ones.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPG Watch</A>

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Well, they could be developing two post-apoc MMOs at once. Sure, they would compete with each other, and the server maintenance cost would be skyrocketing, but that's Interplay for you.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Would you like to work with Jason Anderson...

Yes.

...and have your salary paid by Herve Caen?

No.

Familiarity with the Fallout universe and SPECIAL system

Something weird is going on here.

 

[NiM82]

What's Herve going to pay them with, bottlecaps?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

With food.

 

[MountainWest]

With the souls of his former employes.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

With the souls of his former employes.

Fuck. Scary.

 

[Noceur]

Will any experienced game developers actually seek employment there? I mean, only someone really desperate to work with games would do it for free.

Actually, after reading through the job requirements I'm under the distinct impression that they're kind of desperate. Usually one of the requirements are 3 to 5 years of experience working with games.

 

[Elwro]

"Requirements:
• 4 plus years experience in game design, with a detailed understanding of RPG dialog and quest systems." (Content designer)

"Requirements:
• 4 plus years experience in game design, with an intimate knowledge of game system concepts and how they all interact with each other." (System designer)

 

[Shagnak]

I'm still amazed Jason Anderson is involved. If he is, it no longer seems impossible that others with the required experience will be.

Edit: mind you, post-Troika he did get into real estate, a bullshitter's domain. Maybe he and Herve have had a meeting of minds.

 

[Noceur]

"Requirements:
• 4 plus years experience in game design, with a detailed understanding of RPG dialog and quest systems." (Content designer)

"Requirements:
• 4 plus years experience in game design, with an intimate knowledge of game system concepts and how they all interact with each other." (System designer)

Sorry, mate! I only read the the Enviromental Concept Artist one. Out of habit, I might add. So I guess was slightly correct anyway (Companies usually have the same requirements for artists when it comes to experience).

 

[Au naturel]

Maybe Herve has been reading the Codex, and since decided that with all the money he got from the Fallout sale, he wanted to take Interplay back to its roots and create a new RPG, designed according to the Codex wishlist.

With this, he will claw his way ever so slowly back to the pinnacle! Never to return! And interplay will rule the roost of RPG games from now until forever, with Jason Anderson as his head choice and consequence man!

Mark my words, the Revolution is on brothers!

 

[Jasede]

So how -does- one get hired at all in the industry if everyone is looking for people with "3-4 years experience"?

How does one get those years if they all already require 3-4 years experience?

 

[abstract]

Make your own games, I guess. Help with indie/community products. Isn't this the case with all job positions, though? Ideally you should be 25 years old, have a higher education degree and 10 years experience and know three foreign languages fluently. Oh, and of course we'll pay you 10% over the minimum wage. Cunts.

 

[Brother None]

I'm still amazed Jason Anderson is involved. If he is, it no longer seems impossible that others with the required experience will be.

Edit: mind you, post-Troika he did get into real estate, a bullshitter's domain. Maybe he and Herve have had a meeting of minds.

No he didn't. His wife did and still does real estate, Jason D. Anderson took care of the kid and worked as a handy man.

As for all the "what will he pay 'em with", it is already more or less confirmed that Herve got 1 million out of a European investor and has other investors interested. His immediate debts are mostly paid off, and while he does not have an office at the moment, he's got dough.

Something weird is going on here.

Not really, it just looks like Gamasutra's earlier report was wrong, which isn't that surprising 'cause why would Interplay want to work on an original IP when they have Fallout? So Jason, as HR manager, project lead and division head of BIS, is working on FOOL

'k then.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Herve got 1 million out of a European investor and has other investors interested.

Madmen! Madmen, I say!

 

[dagorkan]

While you guys were busy whining I got the job. $150k a year and no it's not an MMO...

 

[Au naturel]

A prostitute?

 

[Brother None]

While you guys were busy whining I got the job. $150k a year and no it's not an MMO...

 

[Otingocni]

As for all the \"what will he pay \'em with\", it is already more or less confirmed that Herve got 1 million out of a European investor and has other investors interested. His immediate debts are mostly paid off, and while he does not have an office at the moment, he\'s got dough.

Fuck, it\'s Herve Caen, the man who put Interplay into a death spiral nearly immediately after becoming CEO. The man who only was only able to save some meager scrap of Interplay because he can ransack the IP library Interplay built up prior to his completely inept stewardship. The man who refused to pay employees, and tried to screw them over in various ways, when the money became tight.

And he still finds investors? What a fucking industry, when so many innovative or quality projects flounder, a human waste of space like Herve Caen can still drum up funding.

 

[Brother None]

Fuck, it\'s Herve Caen, the man who put Interplay into a death spiral nearly immediately after becoming CEO. The man who only was only able to save some meager scrap of Interplay because he can ransack the IP library Interplay built up prior to his completely inept stewardship. The man who refused to pay employees, and tried to screw them over in various ways, when the money became tight.

And he still finds investors? What a fucking industry, when so many innovative or quality projects flounder, a human waste of space like Herve Caen can still drum up funding.

Well, to be fair, Interplay wasn't well off before he became CEO.

But yeah, it is pretty typical of the industry. They love investing in old names, including company names like Atari or Interplay. Saves the trouble of being creative and building your own consumer base.

 

[MLMarkland]

So how -does- one get hired at all in the industry if everyone is looking for people with "3-4 years experience"?

How does one get those years if they all already require 3-4 years experience?

* Start a mod team or an indie game studio
* Work for a mod team or indie game studio as a designer, writer, producer, programmer or artist

Those seem to be the best paths into the industry from the outside.

Alternatively:

* Work in QA

 

[Nael]

So how -does- one get hired at all in the industry if everyone is looking for people with "3-4 years experience"?

How does one get those years if they all already require 3-4 years experience?

It's called "Internship". Basically your training involves learning how to pour coffee into thin paper cups that burn your hands. Have no fear, as your cries of pain will be recorded and placed in the game and everytime you see your character in that game cry out with your voice in pain you can smile and think back about those 3-4 years of Hell.

 

[Claw]

All this talk of the SPECIAL system and "being a fan of PAW" (Post-Apocalyptic World?) makes one wonder if Mr. Anderson is really <A HREF="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16236">working on something else than the Fallout MMO</A>.

You misread. It clearly says "It wouldn't hurt to have a fan of PAW" - so logically, we have to consider this a warning of the non-existant air conditioning in IPlay's offices, hence an employee would be well advised to bring his own fan - preferably from PAW, world famous maunfacturer of first class fans.

 

[Shagnak]

I'm still amazed Jason Anderson is involved. If he is, it no longer seems impossible that others with the required experience will be.

Edit: mind you, post-Troika he did get into real estate, a bullshitter's domain. Maybe he and Herve have had a meeting of minds.

No he didn't. His wife did and still does real estate, Jason D. Anderson took care of the kid and worked as a handy man.

Then I demand you go and fix this page. The integrity of lazy journalists are dependent on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_D._Anderson
(it uses The Escapist as a reference, possibly part of the problem :wink