Posts with tag employment

Our good friends Patrick Beja and Shawn Coons (who you've likely heard on our podcast before a few times) have posted the very last episode of the popular and excellent How I WoW podcast. Both Turpster and I have appeared on and enjoyed the show, as we've said before, and they're calling it quits -- the final episode features Scott Johnson of The Instance podcast (who was also on the very first episode, so that's fitting), and besides saying goodbye to their audience, the three guys talk very insightfully about the WoW community and its podcasters, and the kinds of ties we create as players in places as varied as the game, the online community, and real-life events like BlizzCon.

The show is ending (temporarily, perhaps -- Shawn hints that he may revive it, or help someone else to do so) mostly because Patrick Beja, as we heard at the very end of BlizzCon, is off to work for Blizzard in their Paris office. Unfortunately, he says he won't have a very public face at the company, but he's excited to have the position, and we're obviously very happy for him. He won't be able to podcast about World of Warcraft or Blizzard at all, so as Shawn says in the final show, there will definitely be a Patrick-shaped hole in the community. He won't be gone completely, though: he says will be able to continue his other podcasting work, including on The Movielicious podcast with our very own Turpster.

We wish Patrick and Shawn the best, and if you haven't yet tuned in to How I WoW, definitely go give it a listen while the archives are still up -- it's a very interesting take on some of the more familiar faces in the community at large. We'll miss the show for sure.

In the midst of recruiters being told not to send WoW players to job interviews, BusinessWeek wrote an interesting piece about how World of Warcraft promotes innovation. The articles examines how Blizzard had designed a game that could probably be mimicked by any corporation looking to innovate. It's an interesting analysis of the game, with BusinessWeek saying that its players are motivated to achieve and solve tasks.

Although some readers counter that the achievement-oriented environment is normal for MMOs, one key insight is how WoW reduces barriers to entry and early advancement. More than most MMOs, World of Warcraft is easy to access -- it's easy to level and there are no harsh penalties for dying (unlike some MMOs where death results in a sharp XP loss, sometimes to the point of losing levels). In fact, some might even say that WoW is a little too casual-friendly. Even then, there's a lot in the game that drives people to perform.

The article recommends that corporate leaders take a look at the game and see how it creates a motivational environment. It even goes so far as to laud the gamer disposition, something that players have or develop. It's certainly a refreshing counterpoint to the idea that gamers (or WoW players, in particular) "cannot give 100%" to their jobs. So even though some companies might think that WoW is bad for their employees, BusinessWeek says it just might be good for the bosses.

Thanks, Cahu!

We've covered the IBM/Seriosity study before -- that's the one that said players who are able to organize and lead guilds can use those same skills to succeed in the workplace. Just recently, Computerworld sat down to chat with Seriosity co-founder Byron Reeves, who's since used his research to actually develop ways for companies to use MMO-style gameplay in the workplace, including creating a currency system to develop and manage interactions between employees.

It's very interesting stuff. Reeves says that MMO games and the leaders in them are a prime example of the environment creating the leader, not necessarily the talents of the person themselves -- when a game gives you the tools and influences necessary to have you leading a guild, you'll do a good job at it. He also says that the speed of online games can be a huge benefit to workers -- when you need to organize groups fast ingame, those skills will directly translate to running groups in real life.

Not everything is the same -- Reeves admits that the risks are much smaller when running around a virtual world (no one loses their livelihood if you don't down a boss), and there's a lot more transparency in games -- you can know characters' levels and specs, but you can't really know exactly how much experience your employees have or what they're really good at just by looking them up in the Armory. The interview is definitely an interesting read for anyone who's ever lead a guild or a workplace -- it's becoming more and more apparently that there are many lessons to be learned across both.

I do a lot of checking the Blizzard Job Opportunities page, even though I'm fully aware I don't have much of a chance of landing a spot on their team. A shame, really, considering how sexy and charming I am! And such a hard worker, too!

Erm. Anyway. I check the job opportunities page all of the time, because really, who wouldn't want a shot at working for Blizzard? I know a lot of my guildmates do the same, though not necessarily for the same reasons. Me? I'm all about creative writing and I'm a huge lore buff. No matter the game, if I'm playing it, I want to know all about the lore and backstory of the world. I even take that nerdity a bit further, and spend a lot of my free time brainstorming lore for my guild. For example, my guild's backstory is based in Northrend, so on and off I've been preparing for an intro to Wrath of the Lich King for us. It's an RP server, so it's not too bizarre to have a detailed behind-the-scenes story, and it'll give the guild's roleplay a bit of a jump start when the time rolls around. Fuel for the collective creative fires and all of that.

So needless to say, I would jump all over a creative writing, quest design, or really any other lore-centric opportunity that came my way. Unfortunately, I don't really have the professional experience necessary, so it'll be a good long time before I have a chance higher than zero. Regardless, I check at least once a week simply to stare longingly at the Job Opps. Guildmates of mine do similar with things like programming and graphic design. Some days I think we're obsessive, but most of the time I just pretend we have high aspirations. It makes me feel better when I do.

Who else is with us on this? I'm sure most people have at least thought about working for Blizzard once or twice.

Edited for clarity.

You've thought about it, come on, I know you have: slipping onto the other side of things and working for Blizzard. I know I have, and have honestly applied to half a dozen jobs at the company over the last two years. My friends that have worked in the industry maintain that if you spend all day working at something you love, you will lose that love. I'm not so sure. Just because I worked a summer at Walt Disney World doesn't mean I'm jaded against the park; I still love the Tower of Terror just as much.

But again, I know I have applied multiple times to positions that my resume screams competency for and gotten not even so much as a sneeze from the Blizzard HR. So I guess my question is this: Have any of you out there applied to a Blizzard job and received a reply, perhaps even an interview? What exactly is the secret to getting your resume seen in that mountainous email pile of theirs, even when you follow all their submission suggestions to the letter?

A long-standing bug regarding Shaman having difficulty curing Rogue poisons will finally be squashed, though not until 2.1.0. From Ommra:

Ok, so I had the wrong information on when this bug was fixed. Apparently it didn't get fixed in the last patch (as you noticed), but will get fixed in 2.1.0 instead.

The change will be that the difficulty of dispelling the rogue's poison is based on the level of the player instead of the level of the weapon the poison is applied to.

That makes sense, but I have trouble seeing how weapon level is ever going to be higher than player level, making this almost look like a nerf on the face of things. I'm sure it's not, though -- anyone want to explain?

In other news, perhaps Blizz took my jab at their web design on Sunday a little too seriously -- they're now on the lookout for a new web designer:

Blizzard Entertainment has an immediate opening for a Web Designer. The ideal candidate is well versed in HTML, JavaScript, and Photoshop and experienced in all manner of web-design elements, such as the design and layout of buttons, links, menus, and text. The Web Designer's primary duties will be to help design and implement the HTML pages for our growing websites. A lot of focus will be spent on supporting existing and future Blizzard titles. The Web Designer will also be responsible for daily web updates and maintenance of existing Blizzard sites. The ideal candidate will also have a strong working knowledge of Blizzard games. For more information on this position, please view the job description at: http://www.blizzard.com/jobopp/web-designer.shtml

If you, like me, have a lifelong dream to play video games & get paid for it, then you may be interested to know that Blizzard is currently looking for experienced players to be WoW Game Masters (or, Customer Service Representatives, as the official title goes). The job is full time, on-site at their Irvine, California offices, so if you live in the area & are interested, visit this link for more information on how to apply.

I'm not sure I could ever be a GM; I get enough people complaining & making me feel guilty before I even log onto the game...I don't need it there, too.