Adventure Gamers is hiring! announcement
The U.S. Navy offers “not just a job but an adventure.” We can do you one better, as working for us is not just a job but whole LOT of adventures. And we’re hiring!
It used to be that we could easily manage all the new adventures coming out, but sometime around the start of 2016, that number absolutely exploded. Maybe not the kind of high-profile games of old, but more indies, more sub-genres, more styles and just more sheer volume than ever before.
That’s great for adventure gamers, of course. Whether you like old-school retro, cinematic choose-your-own gamebooks, pure explorations, mechanical puzzlers, platforming side-scrollers or anything in between, there’s plenty for everyone.
But you know what more games means for us? More work! Which means either our already-busy staff needs to work even harder than they already do, or we need to add some more dedicated people.
Yes, it’s that time again for Adventure Gamers to expand its roster of willing and able volunteers. As always, first and foremost we’re looking for qualified writers to help with our regular reviews and other ongoing feature articles. But this time around, we’re also looking for support in a few key areas – some new (walkthroughs! video!), some old (daily news), and some a little different than before (freeware) to provide even more and better coverage.
We’re also still in need of additional financial support, for those who missed our earlier appeal. But even if all of the above are beyond your means, there are still ways you can help, through administration, information, screenshots, and more! So read on to learn more about how you can pitch in to help make Adventure Gamers bigger and better than ever.
If interested in joining us, please email AG Editor Jack Allin at jackal@adventuregamers.com to discuss how you can become more involved.
Writers
Written news and reviews will always be the bread and butter of Adventure Gamers, so the more quality writers on the team, the better! You don’t need to be Shakespeare or Hemingway to qualify, either. So long as you’ve got a good grasp of the adventure genre and an ability to articulate your experiences thoughtfully and respectfully, we’ll work with you to smooth out any rough edges.
Oh, and did I mention the free games? We supply the adventures, you supply the ink!
In particular (but certainly not limited to), we’d love people with an interest in the following areas:
Walkthroughs
A long-overdue feature, we are at long last looking to build up an extensive catalogue of walkthroughs… both written and video! New games are of course the priority, but older game walkthroughs are welcome too, particularly with the classics continually being ported and rereleased for new generations. Not necessarily a "staff" position, as freelance contributions are more than welcome. You make 'em, we'll post 'em!
Video creators
Yes, like the adventure genre itself once did, we’re expanding from pure text to more graphic coverage, so if you’re a video hobbyist with a passion for adventure games, this one’s for you! Even beyond video walkthroughs, we're looking for unique genre-related content that will be of interest to the AG community. Whether you’re just starting out or an experienced videographer willing to align your own channel with Adventure Gamers to benefit us both, we’d love to hear from you!
News
Staying on top of adventure game news is a daily part of what we do, so we’d like to construct a team of people to coordinate the research and posting of headline news and links each day, along with related internal tasks like uploading trailers, screenshots, etc. No significant writing involved, just a firm commitment to the cause on your assigned day(s). The more people there are involved, the less work all around!
Freeware
Our monthly “Following Freeware” series had an incredible seven-year run, but now Stephen Brown and Willem Tjerkstra need a much-deserved break. This has put the series on hiatus for the time being, but we hope to relaunch in a somewhat more streamlined format. There are so many promising new games coming out that multiple people will be needed, but those interested will sample all new freeware games each month to determine which are eligible for additional coverage, then provide database administration and a short write-up (much shorter than before) on the latest freeware highlights.
Financial
Many of you will have already seen our earlier appeal for donations, so we won’t belabour the point here except to say that it’s never too late to pitch in, and every little bit helps! Whether through monthly Patreon pledges, one-time PayPal contributions, allowing ads while browsing AG, or using our affiliate links to purchase games you’re going to buy anyway, absolutely every member of our community can be part of the solution in these tough times for online magazines.
Administration
If you want to help out but just don’t have the expertise needed for writing or video, no problem! Site administration isn’t very sexy-sounding, but it’s absolutely integral to the smooth functioning of Adventure Gamers. Various roles include the following:
New Games Coordinator
- Responsible for researching and uploading new game information and helping facilitate announcement articles (does not involve actually writing them, unless so desired).
Release Calendar Coordinator
- Monitor upcoming releases calendar for expiring dates, contacting publishers and developers for new dates when necessary (monthly responsibility).
Crowdfunding Coordinator
- Regularly follow all crowdfunding platforms and upload relevant campaigns to AG admin, as well as updating successful/failed campaigns when campaigns are complete
German translator
- Not needed often, but occasionally called upon to translate written German articles for publishing in English (full credit noted, of course).
Trailer research project
- A tragic number of our old trailer links became broken when YouTube inexplicably (to this day) zapped our account. We're repairing links as we go, but ideally someone will run with the task of finding official replacement links from developers for the remaining lost videos.
Casual Game Contributors
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, casual games are immensely popular and here to stay. We’re looking for a small group of people to play each new "lite adventure" (including hidden object hybrids) demo to determine their possible suitability for the site, taking screenshots as you play and uploading the relevant data to AG admin. Number of games per month will depend on the pool of volunteers involved.
Information Support
Even if you can’t take on a formal role with AG staff, bear in mind that EVERYONE can still be part of the team. Playing a game with a small screenshot gallery? Snap away and send us your pics! See outdated/incorrect information on our data pages? Tell us about it! Hear about a new game we haven’t announced on the site? Let us know! The bottom line is, if you know or have something we don’t, share the wealth! Like any community, things work best when everyone participates whenever and however they can. We're willing to do the work, but anyone can help make our jobs easier.
You can email Jack directly at jackal@adventuregamers.com or use our contact form to submit your questions and information.
Why volunteer?
Good question, because make no mistake: there is real work involved. If AG seems to function like a well-oiled machine, that’s only because of all the blood, sweat and tears that goes into it behind the scenes. Staff positions here may be volunteer, but they aren’t honorary. The site only works if everyone pulls their weight. But the benefits of a job well done far outweigh the investment! Not only will you get to be a part of a dynamic team of fellow adventure enthusiasts (join our staff forums, vote for the Aggies and get some free goodies, including an awesome AG t-shirt!), you'll have the satisfaction of knowing your efforts are enjoyed by many thousands of readers around the world. (Looks good on a résumé, too!)
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thanks in advance to all those who express interest. Happy adventuring, everyone!
