Hero Games Job Opening

[Steve Long]

That's right, folx -- you, too, could enter the fascinating world of roleplaying game creation!

Hero Games is seeking another employee to join our creative department. He needs to be able to both write/edit and do layout work -- and of course a thorough knowledge of the HERO System rules is essential.

You can read the details here:

http://www.herogames.com\news\news20030415JobAd.htm

[SuperPheemy]

It's really heartening to see Hero doing so well and looking to expand the creative team. How much travel (conventions, trade shows, appearances, etc...) will the selected candidate be asked to do?

You've offered a very exciting opportunity for us to take advantage of. Thank you.

[Hermit]

I wish I could qualify for this, but sad, my spelling is not so goodly
;)

(That, and I wouldn't know how to the layout work if it bit me)

Still, nice to see the DoJ grow.

[Steve Long]

How much travel (conventions, trade shows, appearances, etc...) will the selected candidate be asked to do?

We try to make sure each employee gets to go to at least one major show a year. But he doesn't have to. Andy and Ben, for example, both had to bow out of GenCon this year. Andy's got some family thing, and Ben has this ridiculous idea about getting married or something. ;)

[Talon]

Heh, yeah, layout skills != me.

Not that I would give up my job as an undercover agent for Professo--oops, gotta go!

[Monolith]

Life is just not fair to those of us who have no writing or graphic design talents. :(

[BobGreenwade]

Originally posted by Monolith
Life is just not fair to those of us who have no writing or graphic design talents. :( Or even some of us with those talents, but limited resources with which to pursue them (in my case, no way to run InDesign or anything similar because my computer is so bloomin' primitive). :(

[Monolith]

Originally posted by BobGreenwade
Or even some of us with those talents, but limited resources with which to pursue them (in my case, no way to run InDesign or anything similar because my computer is so bloomin' primitive). :(
You probably did not want to move to Greensboro anyway. :)

[misterdeath]

Originally posted by Monolith
Life is just not fair to those of us who have no writing or graphic design talents. :(

What about those of us with no discernable talents at all, huh? I demand justice for people like Morningstar. :p

D

[TechnoViking]

Sigh...
It is days like this I was I had some writing/design talent :)(of course if I could move to NC, I could probably get a job in my field).

I would love to hear the interview questions for this position, especially to see if the person knows the Hero rules.

Good Luck,
Mike

[BobGreenwade]

Originally posted by Monolith
You probably did not want to move to Greensboro anyway. :) I'd be willing to consider it, actually. The real problem would be financing said move.

[Lord Liaden]

When I first heard that DoJ was planning to publish eighteen books in 2004, I had a feeling that something like this had to be in the offing. That, or Steve Long had volunteered for human cloning trials.

Steve, with another writer/ editor on staff, do you anticipate being able to pace yourself a little more lightly work wise? Your recent output of quality product has been prodigious, but I don't think I'm the only fan with concern that you have a breakdown or an aneurism in your future if you don't slow down a bit. :(

[SuperPheemy]

Thanks for fielding my question. I've got a couple of follow ups, which I will post as I think of 'em. Does DoJ provide any health bennies? (My kids are looking at braces in a couple of years). Also, if relocation is necessary, will DoJ help with the move (even if it's getting Darren to do the heavy lifting for a candidate in the Bay Area)?

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by SuperPheemy
Also, if relocation is necessary, will DoJ help with the move (even if it's getting Darren to do the heavy lifting for a candidate in the Bay Area)?
Maybe Darren could contact HeroMan :).

Mike

[lemming]

Originally posted by Steve Long
That's right, folx -- you, too, could enter the fascinating world of roleplaying game creation!

Hero Games is seeking another employee to join our creative department. He needs to be able to both write/edit and do layout work -- and of course a thorough knowledge of the HERO System rules is essential.

You can read the details here:

http://www.herogames.com\news\news20030415JobAd.htm
You might want to flip your \ to / in your url.
http://www.herogames.com/news/news20030415JobAd.htm

[Steve Long]

At the present, Hero doesn't provide any health benefits, though we're looking into it.

I'm not sure if our budget would allow for any provision of relocation expenses, but we could certainly talk about it.

[Steve Long]

Steve, with another writer/ editor on staff, do you anticipate being able to pace yourself a little more lightly work wise? Your recent output of quality product has been prodigious, but I don't think I'm the only fan with concern that you have a breakdown or an aneurism in your future if you don't slow down a bit.

I appreciate the concern, LL, but I don't anticipate much slowdown on my end, if any. I wouldn't mind a little more free time, but the truth is I'm a workaholic who loves his job, so no worries. No breakdowns on the horizon. ;)

In any event, I'd probably just use my free time to write other books. ;)

[JohnTaber]

You're a nut Steve...just thought I'd let ya know... ;)

I'm just really glad your OUR nut...not some other game companies nut... :)

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by Steve Long
At the present, Hero doesn't provide any health benefits, though we're looking into it.

Would the Hero Health plan be called the BODY and STUN Aid plan :).

Mike

[Crimson-Hawk]

Originally posted by JohnTaber
I'm just really glad your OUR nut...not some other game companies nut... :)

Yeah, he tried that, with three companies. Two (LUG and Decipher) was worthy of his efforts, IMHO, and the other (WotC) simply abused him (again, IMHO, not necessarily Steve's). ;) I'm glad he's our nut now. Makes me really, really happy.

Sadly, I am underqualified for this job opportunity at this moment, due to lack o' skill in InDesign 2.0. Something I am now quickly considering rectifying, in the hopeful event that a similar opportunity opens again in the future.

(I've entertained fantasies of someday becoming the editor in charge of the Hero Plus line and whatnot. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done such.)

Does anyone here know of any good resources for LEARNING to use InDesign 2.0? Though I will certainly consider books, CD tutorials, and so on, I'm especially looking for good tutorials on the Web. I will score myself a copy of InDesign 2.0 to practice with, but a tutorial will help a lot.

[SuperPheemy]

Go to the Adobe site. Their training section has a few links to help start your search.

There I go again, succumbing to my Psych Lim: Boy Scout Code of Ethics and Fair Play (Common, Strong). It comes with the shield.

[Steve Long]

Virtually every good layout guy (or gal) I know learned in the same way most of us learned gaming -- by having someone else teach them. Beats me why, though I know my own attempts to teach myself PageMaker failed miserably due to the crappy quality of the manuals.

[Dynamo]

Booyah!! I'll be proofing a couple writing samples and optimizing my resume tomorrow morning (or tonight after class).

Steve, should I just point to the Genre by Genre document in my email, or do you want another copy of the PDF for a sample of my layout skills? Can I use the kind words you sent me as a reference? :)

I've downloaded a 30-day trial of Adobe InDesign 2.0. Tomorrow, I start familiarizing like mad. (I was meaning to do this anyway, so thanks for the impetus at the very least.)

:) oh boy :) oh boy :) oh boy :) oh boy :) oh boy :) oh boy :)

[BobGreenwade]

Originally posted by Crimson-Hawk
I'm glad he's our nut now. Makes me really, really happy. Ditto. :D
Sadly, I am underqualified for this job opportunity at this moment, due to lack o' skill in InDesign 2.0. Something I am now quickly considering rectifying, in the hopeful event that a similar opportunity opens again in the future. Another ditto. As mentioned above, I'm not even able to run InDesign on my current computer, but I do want to get it -- and not just so I can get the next opening at Hero Games. I'd like to write a few books of my own, and make them look like the Hero Games stuff in layout. (These wouldn't necessarily be for publication... though they might.)
(I've entertained fantasies of someday becoming the editor in charge of the Hero Plus line and whatnot. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done such.) If not the same fantasy, something similar. I'd be very happy to be the editor in charge of a particular setting, like The Interstellar Age or even just Mon'dabi space. ;)

[Steve Long]

Steve, should I just point to the Genre by Genre document in my email, or do you want another copy of the PDF for a sample of my layout skills? Can I use the kind words you sent me as a reference?

No worries. Your work is remembered. ;) What I'm more interested in at this stage is the writing sample. That's the first thing to look at for all the applicants.

[AlbertDeschesne]

Originally posted by Steve Long
That's right, folx -- you, too, could enter the fascinating world of roleplaying game creation!

Hero Games is seeking another employee to join our creative department. He needs to be able to both write/edit and do layout work -- and of course a thorough knowledge of the HERO System rules is essential.

You can read the details here:

http://www.herogames.com\news\news20030415JobAd.htm

Steve -- you need to fix the above link in your original post... the slashes are wrong after the herogames.com portion, the link should be:

http://www.herogames.com/news/news20030415JobAd.htm

Or was that the first test?

[Blue]

The backslashes worked for me anyway. Guess my browser is smartrer than I expected.

I'm so envious right now. I know in my heart I could do the writing, and I've got lots of experience with layouts in CorelDraw, but that's a different animal. But I couldn't in good conscience say I'm experienced in InDesign, and my knowledge of the Hero System is dwarfed by some of the folks on this board. Oh well, I'd have had to move and take a pay cut... but it would have been to do something I love to do. Guess I'll go weep now :(

[Crimson-Hawk]

Originally posted by AlbertDeschesne
Steve -- you need to fix the above link in your original post... the slashes are wrong after the herogames.com portion, the link should be:

http://www.herogames.com/news/news20030415JobAd.htm

Or was that the first test?

Damn! Albert's already passed the first stage! The rest of us are now going to have to work double-time to catch up with him! :D

The competitiveness of this opportunity is emotionally overwhelming, I tell you what! :D

[Susano]

Well Steve... I sent my resume in. Hope you like the writing sample.

And no, the included character isn't the one with 101 uses for a giant scrotum.

(See here for more: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2776 )

[lemming]

Originally posted by Crimson-Hawk
Damn! Albert's already passed the first stage! The rest of us are now going to have to work double-time to catch up with him! :D

The competitiveness of this opportunity is emotionally overwhelming, I tell you what! :D
Well, you could take heart in that the slash reversal was already pointed out closer to the beginning of the thread. he says, tooting his own horn
Then again, I'm not even thinking of applying for the job. The only layout I do is for a newsletter for a cat shelter. (Issue #5 is available via the House of Dreams link below.) toot toot toot :D

[AlbertDeschesne]

Originally posted by lemming
Well, you could take heart in that the slash reversal was already pointed out closer to the beginning of the thread. he says, tooting his own horn
Then again, I'm not even thinking of applying for the job. The only layout I do is for a newsletter for a cat shelter. (Issue #5 is available via the House of Dreams link below.) toot toot toot :D

D'OH! That's what I get for not reading every post... :D

[Dynamo]

Well, my efforts have been delayed by a day after spending all night in the ER with my wife. She's OK and sleeping it off, but I'm whupped.

Which leads to a question, Steve. What's the closing date for applications for this particular position? I doubt you're running a speed contest, and you'll have my package by Friday, but the job posting (http://www.herogames.com/news/news20030415JobAd.htm) doesn't mention it. Open until filled?

And an unrelated question while I'm choosing a writing sample to submit. If a given work is already available on the web, would you prefer an attached file or just the url? Just trying to spare your inbox/bandwidth a little. ;)

[Steve Long]

It's open until filled, really, but out of fairness we'll probably leave the application period open for at least another week to allow people time to pull writing samples together.

I would prefer writing samples sent to me, not URLs.

[John Desmarais]

Pity it's a full time position, it would be a whole lot of fun as a part time job (thus allowing me to keep my much higher paying full time gig).

Sigh...

John Desmarais

p.s. to Michael Surbrook
Does this mean you're looking to move down here into Carolina-land?

[Susano]

Originally posted by John Desmarais

p.s. to Michael Surbrook
Does this mean you're looking to move down here into Carolina-land?

Uhm....

[Dynamo]

Originally posted by Steve Long
It's open until filled, really, but out of fairness we'll probably leave the application period open for at least another week to allow people time to pull writing samples together.That's great, because Monday is looking more realistic for my application package to hit your inbox.

Thanks.

[AnotherSkip]

Hey guys, Esp, Steve that sticky post did no hit all the borads. Some of us guys just hang around for the FH and SH stuff we're no ALL about Superheroes......

Dam but i Don't want to move to NC......

Now, if it was to Dallas........................

[Gannok]

To bad there aren't any jobs at HERO HQ in SF. That's a commute I wouldn't mind. Of course, traveling short distances for dream jobs are always well worth it.

[AlbertDeschesne]

Originally posted by Steve Long
Applicants should send a resume and writing sample to HERO System Line Developer Steven S. Long at SteveL@herogames.com (please title the e-mail “Responding to Job Advertisement”). The writing sample should be at least 2,000 words long, and should include a full write-up of a HERO System character according to the Writer’s Guidelines available on the “Submissions” page of the Hero Games website (www.herogames.com).
Steve, just a quick clarification. Does the 2000 words include or exclude the character sheet with origin, background, yada yada? Is the 2000 words a prose sample like the flavor text for a supplement like MC?

[Steve Long]

The 2000 words can be whatever you want. It can be a description that accompanies the character sheet, or something else. Whatever you're most comfortable with that you think will appeal to us the most. ;)

[Steve Long]

Just a quick update to let y'all know that we'll probably start reviewing the job applications this Friday (the 25th) or Saturday. So, if you plan to apply for the job and have not yet done so, please get your application in soon.

[MarkusDark]

Originally posted by Gannok
To bad there aren't any jobs at HERO HQ in SF. That's a commute I wouldn't mind. Of course, traveling short distances for dream jobs are always well worth it.

Thank the gods for BART because even a dream job in SF would be HELLACIOUS if I hadta struggle with traffic along the 80/580 interchange and the dang bay bridge. Get on the road by 7:30 to make it by 9am to a job that is only 11 miles away. ;)

[HeroTina]

Originally posted by MarkusDark
Thank the gods for BART because even a dream job in SF would be HELLACIOUS if I hadta struggle with traffic along the 80/580 interchange and the dang bay bridge. Get on the road by 7:30 to make it by 9am to a job that is only 11 miles away. ;)

I do that drive everyday. Traffic isn't too bad (most days) since we at Hero West don't start til 10. BTW Markus, it sounds like we could be neighbors.

T.

[MarkusDark]

Originally posted by HeroTina
I do that drive everyday. Traffic isn't too bad (most days) since we at Hero West don't start til 10. BTW Markus, it sounds like we could be neighbors.

T.

Possibly. I am actually in Point Richmond myself. Not bad if you don't mind having to plastic bag yourself twice a year when the Chevron Refinery plant goes BURP! And the 10am start time does take alot off the edge of the commute, also if you don't leave work until around 7pm or so.

[HeroTina]

Originally posted by MarkusDark
Possibly. I am actually in Point Richmond myself. Not bad if you don't mind having to plastic bag yourself twice a year when the Chevron Refinery plant goes BURP! And the 10am start time does take alot off the edge of the commute, also if you don't leave work until around 7pm or so.

I live in Richmond Annex (these are just fancy names for "not quite the hood"). Just far enough from the refineries, to not have to "Shelter-in-Place"