So You Want to Work at a Game Company?

I wish I lived in Washington. I'd apply in a heartbeat if I did.

So if I made a very big bold and grand suggestion you would try to fit it together with the current schedule, but it would just be sitting on a back burner for a long period of time if it got noticed at all, and we wouldn't know either way? Or would someone jump up and down and do the hula headstand to let everybody know there was a huge breakthrough? because the notion I have is pretty significant in scope, A whole new direction for the company to publish in as a matter of fact. And on the face of it I can't for the life of me imagine why nobody has done it yet! But that still begs the question of response style. (leaving aside the fact that if I simply hand the ideas over for somebody else that it abandons half a books worth of material that I already have. Not that I'm saying I wouldn't just to see the idea published and in print for everybody to enjoy!)

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

Possibly so, but if the material were reviewed they would likely act on it quite quickly. I would settle for just seeing the idea make it's way into print as a cohesive and complete part of the pathfinder system.

I...I feel this urge to create a Pathfinder Society faction run by a flumph. And create new archetypes that allow characters to be more flumph-like. And pitch a 64-page module in which flumphs play a central role. And write part of a future Player Companion entitled People of the Flumph.

People of the Flumph. Oh my, yes. :D

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

TOZ doing customer service?

Customer: And by the way, I think Monks are OP.
TOZ: Your mom is OP, Monks are weak.

Possibly so, but if the material were reviewed they would likely act on it quite quickly. I would settle for just seeing the idea make it's way into print as a cohesive and complete part of the pathfinder system.

Paizo does not accept or even open any unsolicited material. As Gorbacz stated, it's a very serious legal matter.

TOZ doing customer service?

It's part of my cunning plan.

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

I also have a devious plan in play. If for instance I got the ear (or eye as it were) of one of the staff, they might just ask about the alluded to idea and thus any info I divulged would, per definition, become solicited. "best evil laugh"

Gorbacz wrote:

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

I also have a devious plan in play. If for instance I got the ear (or eye as it were) of one of the staff, they might just ask about the alluded to idea and thus any info I divulged would, per definition, become solicited. "best evil laugh"

Not how it works, sorry. :-)

Gorbacz wrote:

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

I also have a devious plan in play. If for instance I got the ear (or eye as it were) of one of the staff, they might just ask about the alluded to idea and thus any info I divulged would, per definition, become solicited. "best evil laugh"

Enter RPG Superstar. Write for third party publishers. Write for Wayfinder.

If you want to be noticed or solicited, show you're worth being noticed or solicited.

Gorbacz wrote:

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

I also have a devious plan in play. If for instance I got the ear (or eye as it were) of one of the staff, they might just ask about the alluded to idea and thus any info I divulged would, per definition, become solicited. "best evil laugh"

If only there was a contest where by proving your chops as a developer and designer, you could get your foot in the door on a contract basis with Paizo as a reward, and be proven to be something like a superstar of the RPG world

we can dream, I guess

tl;dr - I am a giant hypocrite

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

Hey, it worked for me! :D

Hey, it worked for me! :D

I know! Just have to wonder what traps you left behind to discourage copycats. :)

Lithovore wrote:

Gorbacz wrote:

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

I also have a devious plan in play. If for instance I got the ear (or eye as it were) of one of the staff, they might just ask about the alluded to idea and thus any info I divulged would, per definition, become solicited. "best evil laugh"

Enter RPG Superstar. Write for third party publishers. Write for Wayfinder.

If you want to be noticed or solicited, show you're worth being noticed or solicited.

To echo Liz--hey, it worked for me! :D

Gorbacz wrote:

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

I also have a devious plan in play. If for instance I got the ear (or eye as it were) of one of the staff, they might just ask about the alluded to idea and thus any info I divulged would, per definition, become solicited. "best evil laugh"

If you are actually serious about this, the professional way to approach it would be to send a concise, well-written e-mail to the appropriate person at Paizo, summarizing what you are proposing ("I have an idea for a new campaign setting"; "I have an idea for a new video game based on Pathfinder" ... or whatever your big idea is)

If Paizo happened to be interested enough, they might opt to pursue things with you, after the appropriate contracts and other legal matters were resolved.

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

Hey, it worked for me! :D

And your secret Gninja skills had absolutely nothing to do with your employment, of course!

Liz Courts wrote:

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

Hey, it worked for me! :D

And you secret Gninja skills had absolutely nothing to do with your employment, of course!

The question you might ask is if I had those *before* or *after* my employment here, or whether they've been carefully cultivated and pruned after posting for over five years on the messageboards before being hired. :P

Liz Courts wrote:

Hey, it worked for me! :D

I know! Just have to wonder what traps you left behind to discourage copycats. :)

Traps? Now why would I leave traps... ;-)

I somewhat expected something along the lines of "what gninja skills? *poof*" :P

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

Hey, it worked for me! :D

Screw that wussy humanity rating, Path of Lilith is da best.

Liz Courts wrote:

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

Hey, it worked for me! :D

Screw that wussy humanity rating, Path of Lilith is da best.

Caveat: Path of Lilith might lead to diabeetus, what with all the cookies and brownies.

Rysky wrote:

Liz Courts wrote:

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

Hey, it worked for me! :D

Screw that wussy humanity rating, Path of Lilith is da best.

Caveat: Path of Lilith might lead to diabeetus, what with all the cookies and brownies.

Hmm diabetic vampire. "I only feed on people with high sugar intake".

Lithovore wrote:

Gorbacz wrote:

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

I also have a devious plan in play. If for instance I got the ear (or eye as it were) of one of the staff, they might just ask about the alluded to idea and thus any info I divulged would, per definition, become solicited. "best evil laugh"

If you are actually serious about this, the professional way to approach it would be to send a concise, well-written e-mail to the appropriate person at Paizo, summarizing what you are proposing ("I have an idea for a new campaign setting"; "I have an idea for a new video game based on Pathfinder" ... or whatever your big idea is)

If Paizo happened to be interested enough, they might opt to pursue things with you, after the appropriate contracts and other legal matters were resolved.

The best and most professional way to get writing gigs at Paizo is to follow the FAQ we have to specifically address this: How can I start writing for Paizo?

As others have noted repeatedly, we don't accept unsolicited work.

Traps? Now why would I leave traps... ;-)

Survival of the fittest, of course!

I heard a rumor that the interview process at Paizo is just a double jump rope elimination match against Cosmo aka Jumpman. If you stop the rope, he summons his magic and teleports you outside the office with cab fare and a free toke bag. But this is just a rumor....

Seeking position as raptor handler/wrangler. Extensive experience with beef cattle. Will provide own stock prod. Contact if interested.

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

You wouldn't just be following Liz. There are a number of Paizo employees who've started in customer service and moved up in the ranks (notably our COO Jeff Alvarez). That being said, customer service is not an "entry level" job that just anyone can do, CS does require a certain level of skill and patience and Paizo customer service specifically is not your average CS department.

I heard a rumor that the interview process at Paizo is just a double jump rope elimination match against Cosmo aka Jumpman. If you stop the rope, he summons his magic and teleports you outside the office with cab fare and a free toke bag. But this is just a rumor....

I can neither confirm nor deny these rumors. However, I have heard from several people interviewed for customer service in the past that they have never had an interview quite like a Paizo interview :D

Lithovore wrote:

Gorbacz wrote:

I guess that the first thing they do is to dump any unsolicited material in the trash bin, likely without reading it. Sounds harsh, but the very last thing a publishing company wants is to have someone sue them over a manuscript/idea which was sent to them over 10 years ago and now by chance or by parallel design made its way into print.

I also have a devious plan in play. If for instance I got the ear (or eye as it were) of one of the staff, they might just ask about the alluded to idea and thus any info I divulged would, per definition, become solicited. "best evil laugh"

Enter RPG Superstar. Write for third party publishers. Write for Wayfinder.

If you want to be noticed or solicited, show you're worth being noticed or solicited.

that's all fine and good but the entry is over. that means a year of waiting before even the chance to stick a toe out there, much less get it in the door. and when I found out about the contest, specifically the starting phase, I nearly cried. I have a few of the most original and awesome ideas that several longtime game-masters have ever seen. but alas I was days too late to enter. Curses, foiled again! But if the interest isn't there, I obviously can't force it, or can I? MUA HA HA

Possibly so, but if the material were reviewed they would likely act on it quite quickly. I would settle for just seeing the idea make it's way into print as a cohesive and complete part of the pathfinder system.

It sounds like you have quite an ambitious suggestion. As has been mentioned, we cannot, for many reasons, open any email or attachment that could be construed as an unsolicited submission. If, however, you really feel that Paizo needs to hear your suggestion, please post it on the messageboards. If we did see it and later acted on it, we would be on much sturdier legal ground than if you sent us an email stating the same thing. Even then, we likely wouldn't reveal our intentions to act on such advice until we announced the associated product(s), which would be years down the line at the earliest, given how far out our schedule is already locked in.

As people have said, there are other channels (see Sara Marie's link above). You can write for third-party publishers, you can answer the open call for Pathfinder Society scenarios, or you can simply begin publishing your own material using the Compatibility License.

I did not know of the other methods of gaining notice nor did I find the thread about different ways to get noticed. It was however my plan to find these things out by chat, so my idea worked, ha ;-P

As people have said, there are other channels (see Sara Marie's link above). You can write for third-party publishers, you can answer the open call for Pathfinder Society scenarios, or you can simply begin publishing your own material using the Compatibility License.

This last statement intrigues me beyond measure, I assume that "Compatibility License" is not in reference to the standard OGL? If this is the case could you perhaps link the terms of said license, Pretty please with sugar and faeries on top?

Jessica Price wrote:

As people have said, there are other channels (see Sara Marie's link above). You can write for third-party publishers, you can answer the open call for Pathfinder Society scenarios, or you can simply begin publishing your own material using the Compatibility License.

This last statement intrigues me beyond measure, I assume that "Compatibility License" is not in reference to the standard OGL? If this is the case could you perhaps link the terms of said license, Pretty please with sugar and faeries on top?

The Compatibility License can be found here.

Wow Lithovore! For your first 7 posts ever on these forums (all 7 of which seem to be in this very thread) you certainly have made a splash!

... That being said, customer service is not an "entry level" job that just anyone can do, CS does require a certain level of skill and patience and Paizo customer service specifically ...

I survived posting on pathfinder general, rules, advice and suggestions forums for a few years without being banned, does that count?

You wouldn't just be following Liz. There are a number of Paizo employees who've started in customer service and moved up in the ranks (notably our COO Jeff Alvarez). That being said, customer service is not an "entry level" job that just anyone can do, CS does require a certain level of skill and patience and Paizo customer service specifically is not your average CS department.

While I feel my time on help desk and tech support for the military is relevant experience, I do recognize that CS for a publisher and storefront is a different animal altogether.

Sara Marie wrote:

You wouldn't just be following Liz. There are a number of Paizo employees who've started in customer service and moved up in the ranks (notably our COO Jeff Alvarez). That being said, customer service is not an "entry level" job that just anyone can do, CS does require a certain level of skill and patience and Paizo customer service specifically is not your average CS department.

While I feel my time on help desk and tech support for the military is relevant experience, I do recognize that CS for a publisher and storefront is a different animal altogether.

Although I'm pretty sure Civilian CS would love to have a few Drones on standby :3

While I feel my time on help desk and tech support for the military is relevant experience, I do recognize that CS for a publisher and storefront is a different animal altogether.

Hmm, military training might be useful for when the cave raptors escape...

that's all fine and good but the entry is over. that means a year of waiting before even the chance to stick a toe out there, much less get it in the door. and when I found out about the contest, specifically the starting phase, I nearly cried. I have a few of the most original and awesome ideas that several longtime game-masters have ever seen. but alas I was days too late to enter. Curses, foiled again! But if the interest isn't there, I obviously can't force it, or can I? MUA HA HA

Actually, you're in one of the best places to be as far as becoming a potential writer for Paizo goes. You have a front-row seat to the ongoing RPG Superstar competition, and can study the failures and successes of this year to know what to expect for next year. Paizo staffers and readers alike have already compiled numerous resources for aspiring RPG writers, and you have ample time to research and internalize these valuable fonts of advice.

In addition, you've clearly already started thinking about next year's contest and what kinds of magic items, monsters, and so on you'd probably submit. You have whole year to refine and polish your entries before you submit them (which is far longer than you'd have for any writing assignment here), so it's the perfect time to shine! One of the biggest mistakes an aspiring writer can make is jumping the gun and not putting one's best foot forward. A year of preparation should be plenty of time to make your best first impression.

If you're interested in participating in the contest, I would highly recommend perusing the submission forums and voting on the magic item entries to see what other people are doing (voting ends soon!).

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

You wouldn't just be following Liz. There are a number of Paizo employees who've started in customer service and moved up in the ranks (notably our COO Jeff Alvarez). That being said, customer service is not an "entry level" job that just anyone can do, CS does require a certain level of skill and patience and Paizo customer service specifically is not your average CS department.

*Burns all of the resumes sent in but his.*

I am counting on it.

Jessica Price wrote:

As people have said, there are other channels (see Sara Marie's link above). You can write for third-party publishers, you can answer the open call for Pathfinder Society scenarios, or you can simply begin publishing your own material using the Compatibility License.

This last statement intrigues me beyond measure, I assume that "Compatibility License" is not in reference to the standard OGL? If this is the case could you perhaps link the terms of said license, Pretty please with sugar and faeries on top?

If you want to break into RPG writing I can give you some help. I have some suggestions, links, and I may have the ear of a 3PP if you are good enough. Send me a PM and we can talk about what to do next.

Persistence is a quality that can help you, but beware: too much can hurt you.

Lithovore wrote:

that's all fine and good but the entry is over. that means a year of waiting before even the chance to stick a toe out there, much less get it in the door. and when I found out about the contest, specifically the starting phase, I nearly cried. I have a few of the most original and awesome ideas that several longtime game-masters have ever seen. but alas I was days too late to enter. Curses, foiled again! But if the interest isn't there, I obviously can't force it, or can I? MUA HA HA

Actually, you're in one of the best places to be as far as becoming a potential writer for Paizo goes. You have a front-row seat to the ongoing RPG Superstar competition, and can study the failures and successes of this year to know what to expect for next year. Paizo staffers and readers alike have already compiled numerous resources for aspiring RPG writers, and you have ample time to research and internalize these valuable fonts of advice.

In addition, you've clearly already started thinking about next year's contest and what kinds of magic items, monsters, and so on you'd probably submit. You have whole year to refine and polish your entries before you submit them (which is far longer than you'd have for any writing assignment here), so it's the perfect time to shine! One of the biggest mistakes an aspiring writer can make is jumping the gun and not putting one's best foot forward. A year of preparation should be plenty of time to make your best first impression.

If you're interested in participating in the contest, I would highly recommend perusing the submission forums and voting on the magic item entries to see what other people are doing (voting ends soon!).

Oh, a chance not to be missed I assure you! I have been voting prolifically since the discovery of the contest. I actually have always had a soft spot for the magic items.

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Hmm, perhaps I should follow the path of Lilith and work on customer service skills here on the forum. Then when I have finished my IT degree I will be doubly employable. :)

You wouldn't just be following Liz. There are a number of Paizo employees who've started in customer service and moved up in the ranks (notably our COO Jeff Alvarez). That being said, customer service is not an "entry level" job that just anyone can do, CS does require a certain level of skill and patience and Paizo customer service specifically is not your average CS department.

How many spanish-language calls do you deal with? If need be, I'd be more than happy to help!

(About moving to Seattle, though... -_-)

Paizo has hired a number of people who weren't local to Seattle at the time of their hiring. Rob moved from Prague; I moved from New York; John and Mike both moved from Atlanta; Adam moved from Austin. It's ideal for an employee to already live here so that they can start as soon as possible, but if you're the right candidate for the job and you aren't local (but could be), then go ahead and apply. Just know that if you can't actually make the move, there aren't remote positions available.

Writing for Paizo is really a very different subject than working at Paizo in the roles outlined in the blog post. If you'd like to keep discussing how to write for Paizo/Pathfinder, please move that discussion into a separate thread. Thanks!

While I feel my time on help desk and tech support for the military is relevant experience, I do recognize that CS for a publisher and storefront is a different animal altogether.

Actually, help desk/tech support experience is very relevant to Paizo Customer service and is part of what I was aiming at with "not your average CS department." In our case, having experience with that kind of stuff is useful for interacting with our internal CS toolbox.