Senior Flash Developer
Posted on 07. Oct, 2011 by admin in Developer, Jobs
We are seeking an entrepreneurial Senior Flash Developer to join our rapidly growing technology team. This managerial role bridges the creative and technical aspects of project delivery— with little supervision the Senior Flash Developer develops and implements designs technically according to creative and art direction already established. As such, the qualified candidate must be able to work in and bridge the creative with the technical across a variety of platforms and frameworks.
Yes, this is a position in a startup!
We’re well funded, and we can pay you. We even have an awesome office in the heart of San Carlos, CA near great shops, restaurants, and bars. But like most start ups we are looking for individuals with a clear sense of individual responsibility and adaptability. We believe in work/life balance and having fun but do have the occasional crunch to get something launched.
Job Description
Responsible for designing and developing highly interactive flash applications for social media applications
- Manage a small local team of Flash Developers and give direction to our outsourced Flash team
- Responsible for executing through code complex designs that reflect the creative and art direction provided within the established technical framework
- Shift between a creative and a technical focus depending on the project need and/or the type of project
- May need to rapidly produce interim deliverables (such as style guide components, technical specifications, prototypes, proofs of concept, etc.) in addition to the final live application.
- Participate in scoping and planning work
- Participate in writing detailed level technical and functional specifications documentation
Job Requirements
- At least 4+ years experience hand-coding Flash
- Superhero skills in Flash development (CPU / memory optimization, Javascript / Flash bridging, Cross-browser compatibility, Flex, AIR)
- ActionScript3, XML, MXML, CSS, Eclipse / Flex Builder/ FDT, SVN, Design Patterns including MVC
- Experience in the development of Flash Applications with heavy server communication (Remoting, Sockets, JSON)
- Experience developing large-scale applications supporting millions of users
Pluses
- Game addiction and understanding of back-end and database technologies
- Facebook ActionScript API, experience in low-level (bytes level) development.
Send resumes and inquiries to jobs@hivemedia.tv
Marketing Manager
Posted on 27. Jul, 2011 by admin in Jobs, Marketing
Hive Media®, Inc. creates social media games that allows fans to live their favorite TV shows, films or sports. Hive is a well funded startup based in San Carlos, California.
Our first game Deadliest Catch the Social Game is a Facebook game based on the popular Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch®. Our user base is rapidly growing and monetizing well. We have many other games in the pipeline which will allow Hive Media to become a major player in the social game space.
Job Overview: Manage the marketing and customer acquisition channels for our Facebook games to drive more users as well as their friends to the games. Work with our content partners to spread the word about our games and establish a communication plan for keeping our players and fans engaged. Manage all aspects of how we communicate with new and existing players, what vehicles when, the message, the look and feel and to who the communication goes. You’ll play a key role in working with designers and developers to come up with game features that take the best advantage of social network communication channels.
Key Accountabilities: % of Time
1. Responsible for managing viral marketing (customer acquisition and retention) for our games using communications channels on Facebook, email, and the web – 40%
2. Responsible for managing the relationship with the content partner; providing game updates, coordinating marketing activities and game results and metrics – 10%
2. Partner with game designers & developers to build game features that best take advantage of social engagement features on Facebook – 20%
3. Measure & report efficacy of viral acquisition and retention – 20%
4. Keep abreast of current trends in the gaming marketplace and changes to Facebook – 10%
Education: 4 year degree
Requirements:
- Strong passion for social games
- 2 + years Online marketing experience
- Understanding of consumer segmentation and online targeting
- Deep knowledge of CPI, CPC, CPM, ARPU and LTV
- Ability to write ad copy and to conduct A/B testing to establish highly optimized campaigns
- Experience with metrics-driven decision making
- Highly responsible, self-directed, detail oriented problem solver with a desire to contribute to a creative environment
- Ability to work effectively in a team setting
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
- Working knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint
- Understanding of what makes marketing games on Facebook successful
Preferred:
- Background in viral marketing and customer acquisition
- Experience with A/B testing
- Familiarity with standard graphic design packages
Send resumes and inquiries to jobs@hivemedia.tv
Unity and C# Developer – Social and Mobile Games
Posted on 28. Jun, 2011 by admin in Developer, Jobs
Job Description
There are plenty of social game companies out there, but how many are working with Hollywood (Michael Bay and Scott Gardenhour at theinstitute.tv), The Discovery Channel and others? We are a Branded Social and Mobile Game company in San Carlos, CA, that is building games for entertainment brands to engage more deeply with their fans.
We are looking for Unity Developers to join our team to work on existing and new exciting projects. The Game Programmers will work directly with the Lead Programmer, the Executive Producer, and with our partners. The developer will be responsible for the overall implementation of all game-play mechanics. The ideal team member will have prior game development experience, have formidable verbal and written communication skills, be well-organized, and have an excellent analytical sense.
Job Requirements
Prior game development experience with a strong background and understanding of 3D programming, physics, mathematics, and OOP design & approach. Implement game functionality as per design document and specification (character control, AI, game GUI and other game elements). Communicate with other team members to establish pipeline and integrate media assets Give regular feedback to project lead as to implementation issues and possible improvements to game design. Address bugs and other technical issues identified for subsequent release
Essential Skills & Experience
- C# programming experience
- Self-motivated with a strong desire to learn and stay abreast of game developments/standards
- Experience with version control software
- Ability to work independently, and in a team
Pluses
- Unity3D development experience
- Facebook application development
- Experience with iPhone, iPad and Android game development
- Experience with other scripting languages such as JavaScript, LUA and Python
- Experience with 3D packages such as Maya
Send resumes and inquiries to jobs@hivemedia.tv
Facebook Application Gating and Gifting Features Shift to Fit Changing Platform Policies
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by admin in Blog, Blog Category 1
When Facebook announced these policy changes we knew that things were about to get interesting: No one was sure how stringent some of the changes would be. They haven’t attempted to enforce the gating until now. yet I would guess they have seen the back and API chatter drop down enough from the other changes that they do not feel they need to enforce the no gating. Perhaps they are even rethinking this to allow some gating!
Social Games See Just 1-3% of Players Convert to Paying Customers, says CrowdStar
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by admin in Blog, Blog Category 1
An increasing number of people are talking publicly on the Social Depth vs Game Depth. Peter Relan, chairman of social games company CrowdStar comments on the risks involved in migrating console games over to a social game environment.
Social Game Revenues To Hit $1.3B In 2010
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by admin in Blog, Blog Category 1
“The analyst also warned against application fatigue, citing it as a “key risk” for social game developers and publishers to keep in mind. “Given the relatively simple game play, the sometimes fickle users, and the social dynamics of the game play, application fatigue is a key risk for social game companies unless companies focus more on innovation and game quality,” he said.”
This ties back to one of our last blog posts on the whole issue of game play being on or off the rail so to speak. For now though players seem content to move from one game to the next. I am not seeing any trends where their movement is due to game play as of yet. As new games come out with deeper game play we may start to see an overall trend. Even with this warning however there are big projections on revenue from social gaming which is great news for all the players.
Victory: A ranking system for what makes a social game into a blockbuster
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by admin in Blog, Blog Category 1
The premise of this ranking is promising, but as it stands now, there are a few issues. There is not enough information on what constitutes a high mark in the more subjective categories, i.e., judging cooking competitions. Their judges however are told what a should receive a high mark. It would be helpful if they released more details about their categories. Secondly, for comparison purposes samplings from more average and bottom applications should be included, not just the top applications. Otherwise, the understanding of the impact each of these metrics has on the MAU/DAU/FB app Ranking is limited.
Ethical Design: Are Most Social Games Just Virtual Slot Machines?
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by admin in Blog, Blog Category 1
With a phenomenal year in Social Gaming behind us only time will tell what 2010 has in store for players. This article touches on an interesting topic that really has nothing to do with gambling, but instead highlights that many social games have the player running along a very narrow rail with only the slightest bit of free choice. The first phase of social gaming took advantage of the many people who, whilst unwilling to play traditional games, will play social games. But this year marks the next evolution of the social gaming space and will see deeper game play appear in many games.
What do you think? Are players simply looking for the next click here masterpiece or do they want something more?
User-Driven Development & Lessons from the fbFund
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by admin in Blog, Blog Category 1
This is a great post extolling the virtues of collecting and taking action based on metrics. While this article is referencing Social Applications and their need for metrics the lessons also apply to really any business. Much like the social space where we must figure out where the break down is for user conversion traditional software sales must do very much the same. Their process is slower and they do not tend to have the wealth of metrics that we can gather.
What Are Game Players Looking For Next?
Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by admin in Blog, Blog Category 1
Are they ready for more advance game play or are they simply looking for that next click here?