The biggest failure for me about DDI is that there are so many powers that players will be staring at their PHBs or creating their own power cards just to be able to run their own characters. The Character Generator needs to be live ASAP.
Chief Technical Officer
|
What kind of order-of-magnitude are we talking about here?
For this position, more than any other, it's dependent on how closely you align to what we want. If you're the perfect candidate, with actual professional WebObjects experience, you could be one of the highest-paid employees in the company. But at this point, we're willing to entertain entry-level folks, who would be paid, well, entry-level wages. (Either way, we're talking 5 digits, not 6.)
|
Chief Technical Officer
|
Maybe this is a strange question... but with all of the available communication methods available nowadays do you really need this person to move to Seattle?
Yes. Telecommunication still presents a barrier to real communication, and a lack of communication often results in a lack of quality. (Personally, I'm annoyed that Erik's office is down the *hallway* from the editorial folks.)
Also, frankly, one of the most valuable aspects of this job is that you get to learn from Gary. That doesn't work so well if you're not actually there.
Plus, we also want a third person who can kick the servers on a Saturday afternoon if need be.
|
Chief Technical Officer
|
If you're the perfect candidateWhat would you consider to be the perfect candidate?
Essentially, somebody that can complement Gary so well that our to-do list can get done at double the current rate. It's a subjective assessment, but, objectively, if you can say yes to everything listed as "a plus" in the job listing, you'd be well on the way.
My big question with the delay of the DDI is...
Was this even in developments along side of the 4.0 game itself?
Same with the GSL, we're getting it next week, instead of the game release date.
Did they have the legal and tech departments working on the ruleset instead of their respective projects?
|
What kind of order-of-magnitude are we talking about here?For this position, more than any other, it's dependent on how closely you align to what we want. If you're the perfect candidate, with actual professional WebObjects experience, you could be one of the highest-paid employees in the company. But at this point, we're willing to entertain entry-level folks, who would be paid, well, entry-level wages. (Either way, we're talking 5 digits, not 6.)
How are you looking? My wife was a recruiter here in Seattle and knows all the tricks. What sites have you posted on? Have you tried a headhunter?
Also: WebObjects? Eh? What do you develop on, Mac's? I remember those from the NeXT days. (I *loved* that box!) What sort of platform do you guys use?
I will say that my company has had good luck with outsourcing, actually. I've got a team of folks in India that I work with on almost a daily basis. You sometimes have to clean up some of their stuff a bit but it gets done on time.
I'd go and find some books on WebObjects and study up, but unfortunately that last part regarding numbers of digits (5 vs 6) is a bit of an issue with the kid in college and the daughter getting married... Heavy Sigh.
-Pete
Plus, there's the fact that the earliest you can get someone with an H1-B visa to start would be October 2009, assuming your person is one of the 30% who gets their visa awarded to them through the lottery.
I was going to mention this but felt no need to press the issue.
TO be perfectly honest, I don't think hiring someone from overseas is hard. Paperwork and bureaucratic worship is easy - it's the wait that's the problem. I mean, who wants to wait a year or more to get the wrong employee?
Anyway. Good luck guys.
Someone needs this job. We all want to see it filled.
|
Chief Technical Officer
|
How are you looking? My wife was a recruiter here in Seattle and knows all the tricks. What sites have you posted on? Have you tried a headhunter?
As I mentioned above, because the pay is below industry scale, we need somebody who'll do it for love more than money, as it were, so we've been working close to home. Our biggest push has been to our own mailing list. That said, I know Lisa had it on craigslist for a while as well.
Also: WebObjects? Eh? What do you develop on, Mac's? I remember those from the NeXT days. (I *loved* that box!) What sort of platform do you guys use?
It's all Mac. Our servers are mostly xServes.
If I had any outrage left on this topic, I'd be happily venting it, but after the horrible awful very-bad no good launch of eDragon and eDungeon, my expectations have been so dramatically lowered that I am only mildly annoyed. The one thing that made it possible for me to stomach the cancellation of Dragon and Dungeon was that I believed WotC would stun us all with the amazing quality of their online replacements. In a way, I guess they have succeeded in stunning us all, but sadly, it is with the magnitude of how terrible their launch of this online product has been.
End of the day, regardless of the success or failure of 4e, the person in charge of it should be fired and with a quickness. Insufficient resources were allocated to the roll out of 4e and whoever set the deadlines completely failed in their job if any part of their duties required them to manage and accomplish the goals of the project within the time frame given. They should've either pushed back the timing of the release of 4e, thrown sufficient bodies at the problem to make the roll out a success, or released realistic deadlines they could actually meet.
The decision maker that decided to cancel Dragon and Dungeon stands head and shoulders above the general incompetence and should be fired as well. When his employment is terminated, he should be shown the success that the magazines enjoyed in prepping people for 3e, he should be forced to explain the poor quality online version approved in its stead, and he should be required to account for each and every single person that is choosing to go with Pathfinder over 4e because if he had not made the brilliant decision to can the magazines, chances are extremely good there would be no Pathfinder.*
Hmmm...I guess I have some disgust. Is that close enough to outrage?
*Note that I'm not saying I wish there was no Pathfinder, but that the person who is responsible for its genesis over at WotC clearly did not think his cunning plan all the way through.
Sebastian, I have never been sadder to agree with you. Completely. The cancelling of the mags put a terribly bitter taste in alot of people's mouths about 4E before it was even announced. Then they promised the moon as its replacement and they did not do so. Instead, they could have people excited about the exclusive preview content that would only be found in dragon or the adventure that featured a dragonborn or relatively low level characters going to the shadowfell (and showed how it was different then the plane of shadows) in dungeon. They could have taken people step by step and showed them how 4E was so much a better game then 3E.
They could have done so much with those two mags at their disposal for teasers and all they would have to do was write one article and one adventure per month. Instead they made themselves incharge of the whole ball of wax. They added to much responsibility for themselves. They tried to do to much in to short a time with to little manpower.
Now they just assume people will buy it because of the brand name. Instead, I feel that their reliance on the brand name carrying them made the brand name worthless.
Remember what we were promised in the promotional vid?
"This, I will pledge to you. While there will be room for refinement ... the game, will remain the same. The game will remain the same!"
D&D and its history of incorporating electronic tools ...
.... the game remains the same, folks.
The next one will be wonderful! :)
Moving?
PAIZO, you can do it!
|
CEO
|
Moving?The next one will be wonderful! :)
Yep, next summer. Our lease goes through August 2009 and the Bellevue market is one of the hottest in the nation right now, with rents doubling in the last two years. Doubling right out of our price range. With Microsoft, T-Mobile, and other big tech companies gobbling up space here in Bellevue, it is hard to compete. Besides, we need much more warehouse space for our evergrowing line of products. Much more than we have here in our small, crowded warehouse. :)
-Lisa
Next PaizoCon on moving day? (Gamers make good movers, but they're easily distracted)
Are Yall going to stay in the Seattle area or can we start looking for a place for you in our neighborhoods?
Any idea where you'll be moving to?
|
Moving?The next one will be wonderful! :)
Yep, next summer. Our lease goes through August 2009 and the Bellevue market is one of the hottest in the nation right now, with rents doubling in the last two years. Doubling right out of our price range. With Microsoft, T-Mobile, and other big tech companies gobbling up space here in Bellevue, it is hard to compete. Besides, we need much more warehouse space for our evergrowing line of products. Much more than we have here in our small, crowded warehouse. :)
-Lisa
If you move across the country to the CT/MA/RI area you got your programmer right here *jumps up and down*
<Wonders in a smurfy manner if it would be possible for Paizo to buy themselves their own ship as their new offices, and could then tour the world to attend conventions.>
Edit:
Too much to hope that Mr. Logue is going to be dispatched to establish the HQ of the Pathfinder Society as a bridgehead in the UK, and so that the rest of Paizo can move in next year? :D
Lords, gods and minor deities.
Moving right around convention season? Blech.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
<Wonders in a smurfy manner if it would be possible for Paizo to buy themselves their own ship as their new offices, and could then tour the world to attend conventions.>
Not sure how well that would work given that Gen Con is located in a land-locked state (plus or minus a small slice of Lake Michigan). What they need is a jawa sand crawler. That would do the job.
Move to the good 'ole South (my entirely biased opinion would be Birmingham, AL in specific...) and you can probably double your space for the same cost!
Of course, it's 96 degrees right now and we haven't even started the hot months yet...but you can also get IT resources cheaper here!
Next PaizoCon on moving day? (Gamers make good movers, but they're easily distracted)I can just see Lisa's strategy now for cheap labor, an offer of 10% off all Paizo stuff if you come help move all the boxes and furniture (and Mike McArtor).
Works for me, I've been paid in beer and pizza for helping friends move. Gaming product is even better. :D
Not sure how well that would work given that Gen Con is located in a land-locked state (plus or minus a small slice of Lake Michigan). What they need is a jawa sand crawler. That would do the job.<Wonders in a smurfy manner if it would be possible for Paizo to buy themselves their own ship as their new offices, and could then tour the world to attend conventions.>
That sounds a brilliant idea! I'm sure that there's someone on these boards who knows where Paizo could buy a slightly used sand crawler, complete with Jawas to maintain it.
Charles Evans 25 wrote:
<Wonders in a smurfy manner if it would be possible for Paizo to buy themselves their own ship as their new offices, and could then tour the world to attend conventions.>Not sure how well that would work given that Gen Con is located in a land-locked state (plus or minus a small slice of Lake Michigan). What they need is a jawa sand crawler. That would do the job.
I was going to make the obligatory 'shipping' company pun, but I got nuthin for 'jawa sand crawler'. Maybe 'Jawana park dat somma else? I unnersand its only got a crawler gear, but mov outta da shipping lanes.'
|
|
Moving?The next one will be wonderful! :)
Yep, next summer. Our lease goes through August 2009 and the Bellevue market is one of the hottest in the nation right now, with rents doubling in the last two years. Doubling right out of our price range. With Microsoft, T-Mobile, and other big tech companies gobbling up space here in Bellevue, it is hard to compete. Besides, we need much more warehouse space for our evergrowing line of products. Much more than we have here in our small, crowded warehouse. :)
-Lisa
Yah, I hear ya. We looked for space for new digs last year. It was to the point where we finally gave up and stayed where we were at in Bellevue(Overlake) because the employees rebelled at driving that far north or south.
|
Chief Technical Officer
|
As I mentioned above, because the pay is below industry scale, we need somebody who'll do it for love more than money, as it were, so we've been working close to home. Our biggest push has been to our own mailing list. That said, I know Lisa had it on craigslist for a while as well.Are you amenable to additional suggestions along these lines?
Possibly. Our last push netted us a couple of possibilities that Gary will be examining this week... but if that doesn't pan out, drop me a line!
I think you guys should move here to Florida.
That way the Paizo chats can occur before my bedtime. :)
|
|
I can just see Lisa's strategy now for cheap labor, an offer of 10% off all Paizo stuff if you come help move all the boxes and furniture (and Mike McArtor).
Are you sure you want the hardcore fans moving stuff for the company? Nameplates, stationery, pens, anything with a Paizo logo... it'd all "fall off the truck" midway through the move. :)
grrrrrr grrrrrrr mumble grumble hasbro upset head hurts WoTC nooo grrrrr please not 4E D&D pain pain!!! ahhhh PRPG pain relief.
Too bad you don't work with .NET technologies. I'm a Microsoft 4 stars .NET developer from Argentina. It would be awesome to participate in something so wonderful.
|
[moved to website feedback forum]
Charles hit the nail on the head—we have a lot of great ideas, but we've got one programmer to do them (see our job listing), and the stuff we *need* to do keeps getting in the way of the stuff we *want* to do.
Why don't yu solicit a bid from a developer and enter into a partnership. Shared IP would have some weight based on the strength of your brand.
Move to the good 'ole South (my entirely biased opinion would be Birmingham, AL in specific...) and you can probably double your space for the same cost!
Of course, it's 96 degrees right now and we haven't even started the hot months yet...but you can also get IT resources cheaper here!
From the Seattle area? They'd all wilt like flowers and die.
I can just see Lisa's strategy now for cheap labor, an offer of 10% off all Paizo stuff if you come help move all the boxes and furniture (and Mike McArtor).Are you sure you want the hardcore fans moving stuff for the company? Nameplates, stationery, pens, anything with a Paizo logo... it'd all "fall off the truck" midway through the move. :)
Thats right! Every single thing that said either Paizo or had one of the employees names on it would vanish without a trace. Gary Teeters lunch (with his name on it) would become the centre piece to some gamers basement gaming altar.