Job seekers required to have worked on critically acclaimed game as according to the review score aggregation site
A new job listing for Bioshock developer Irrational Games requires applicants to have worked on a game that has received a score of 85 or above on Metacritic.
The ad, which details the role for a design manager, states job seekers must be credited on a least one well-reviewed game, as according to the review score aggregation site.
In the past developers have been handed controversially handed bonuses depending on how games have fared on Metacritic, with Bungie reported to be awarded $2.5 million if its first game published by Activision receives a score of 90 or higher on GameRankings.com
Obsidian meanwhile allegedly missed out on bonuses from Bethesda after RPG Fallout New Vegas missed its average review score target by one point, gaining a total of 84.
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Well, I guess they're not called Irrational for nothing, then.
They have effectively shrunk their recruiting pool to almost nothing: 85 metacritic, design managers experience, etc. They should expect to pay out the nose for whomever they eventually find. Dumb.
it is not necessarily a bad thing. not only they shrunk the pool, but also reduced the effort to swim through it, and also target more efficiently the desired candidates for this position. i don't think they care to save 50k a year if that could cost them a lot more by experimenting on a product with the wrong people.
this specification of course leaves people like me out, but business is business.
"...been handed controversially handed bonuses depending..." - Don't think it's possible to be "handed controversially handed", but I could be wrong.
I honestly don't see what the problem is, they are looking for a manager with three plus shipped titled. This person will be a core pillar of the design of the game. Its really not someone you don't have high expectations of.
It's not uncommon to see rediculous job adverts that incredibly, unrealistically written incredibly specific.
My impression, is that they've written this one because they know which applicant they want, and need to disqualify a bunch of people they don't. (This happens a lot in the university where my girlfriend works - many times the chosen applicant comes from within, but they are legally obliged to advertise as well in order to cover due dilligence)
Douche move from them. I know games with phenomenal soundtracks or that were well-coded, but received low scores due to certain design choices made by someone higher up. It doesn't even make sense, as anyone other than the designer isn't responsible for how the game turns out really, like one programmer getting the job because he worked on Halo or whatever despite never having the ability to make design choices. Ridiculous.
