Lead Designer at HumaNature Studios (MMO design), Author, Game Design Consultant
San Francisco Bay Area
- Current
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- Lead Designer at HumaNature Studios
- Designer at Philomath Games
- Freelance Contributor at Themis Group
- Past
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- Creative Director at Warm and Fuzzy Logic
- Game Designer at 1st Playable Productions
- Assistant Game Designer at Simutronics
- Director of Online Communities at GoPets, Ltd
- Game Designer at Taldren
- Education
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- NYU Center for Advanced Digital Applications
- Mt. Carmel High School
- Odyssey Writing Workshop
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Recommended
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2 people have recommended Erin - Connections
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connections
- Industry
- Computer Games
- Websites
Erin Hoffman’s Summary
So, they talked me into being an employee again. Upstate New York or <1 mile from the Pacific -- what would you do? I don't mind de-icing a car once every three years or so, but honestly... anyway, welcome to my LinkedIn profile, which I take seriously only as long as it's fun.
I believe that artistry, philosophy, engineering, and cognitive psychology come together explosively in modern interactive media, and I'm interested to the point of persistent exhaustion in how that explosion can change the world for the better (and, in select cases, make large piles of cash that can in turn be used to invest in global prosperity). I am a naturalist, a bibliophile, a designer, a communicator, a storyteller, a hedge philosopher (partial to soto zen and existentialism, fair warning), an apprentice accelerator, and too busy for my health. But if you're working on something interesting I'd really like to hear about it.
More boring details are below.
Author (pro-published fantasy/science fiction, & nonfiction) and contract writing and design consultant. Ten years' experience in the games industry. Focus on storytelling, world building, online games, opportunity forecasting, and programmer-artist-licensor-publisher translation and peacekeeping. Always in search of tasty, tasty learning opportunities, which, given its constant state of flux, the game industry provides in frustrating delicious abundance. I enjoy being visionary, in terms of envisioning possible futures and complex systems, but my failure on the visionary label is that I have no problem actually admitting that I have no guaranteed idea what the hell the future will hold (and, probably, neither do you, and that's okay, we can still envision together, and create the future we wish to inhabit).
For further information, including recent publication credits and all that jazz, please see www.philomathgames.com .
Erin Hoffman’s Specialties:
Design, writing, copyediting, editing, 3D, web design, image editing, documentation, massively multiplayer online games, world building, culture design, online communities, word of mouth marketing, kids' games, HR, focus group testing.
Erin Hoffman’s Experience
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Lead Designer
HumaNature Studios
(Privately Held; Computer Games industry)
February 2009 — Present (10 months)
Designing a AAA youth-oriented MMO for an awesomely exciting IP. HumaNature Studios (don't get us confused with the Nexon one -- HNS came first) is a small design think tank based out of Albany, CA. User experience, fun factor, community development, social design, guiding a series of soon-to-be-announced IPs into the ocean of virtual worlds.
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Designer
Philomath Games
(Computer Games industry)
September 2007 — Present (2 years 3 months)
Independent designer and writer available for consultation on various video game and game industry projects. Strengths in online communities, online gaming, casual games, games in academia, serious games, and game analysis. I worked for an assortment of clients in online games, academia, and independent R&D, from a cottage on the banks of an inlet of the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands, upstate New York -- absolutely stunning most of the time (seriously, one of the most beautiful places in the world), buried in ice from November to March.
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Freelance Contributor
Themis Group
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Games industry)
2006 — Present (3 years )
I write feature articles periodically for the fantastic folk at The Escapist, the leading online magazine covering games and modern media. From August 2006-2007 I wrote "The Inside Job", a twice-monthly column on quality of life issues in the games industry. My tag link is here: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/tag/erin+hoffman .
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Creative Director
Warm and Fuzzy Logic
(Entertainment industry)
September 2008 — February 2009 (6 months)
Design lead responsible for guiding creative direction for WFL's cutting-edge online games and social community networks. Writing (pitches, game story, game text), design & market analysis, client support. Worked with some awesome people to build a metrics-focused independent game studio and contract orientation company founded on scientific methods of tracking user flow and activity in massive environments. Coordinated the election of the first player council for GoPets Ltd integrated with a cutting-edge Better EULA emphasizing player investment and stability in the online world.
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Game Designer
1st Playable Productions
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Games industry)
August 2005 — September 2007 (2 years 2 months)
Worked as the lead designer on GoPets: Vacation Island for the Nintendo DS, and assisted with design on other projects including Cabbage Patch Kids: Patch Puppy Rescue, winner of 2006 Parents' Choice, iParenting Media, and Nick Jr awards. Designed minigames, game systems, coordinated kid testing, and worked on numerous proposals for 1P's Nintendo DS focused development.
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Assistant Game Designer
Simutronics
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Games industry)
August 1999 — October 2005 (6 years 3 months)
Designed content for Simutronics's text-based DragonRealms MMO project; world builder. Fictional race culture development, customer service, creature development, language development, in-game book writing, scripting, item creation.
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Director of Online Communities
GoPets, Ltd
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Games industry)
August 2004 — June 2005 (11 months)
Contract position, US/California liaison for Korea-based company; design and various community-oriented and marketing tasks. Produced documentation for review by design leads and executive board. Met with potential investors and presented program, marketing information, and demographics.
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Game Designer
Taldren
(Computer Games industry)
May 2003 — June 2004 (1 year 2 months)
Wrote documentation and worked with documentation, scripts and modules for Shadowbane: The Lost Kingdom for deployment in Korea, redesigning for the aesthetics of an Asian audience; wrote design documents and implemented world design for Black9, a nanotechnology science fiction action adventure for the X-box and PC. Assisted Steve Perrin in the development of a Black9 tabletop roleplaying system. Wrote proposals for future projects and assisted in preliminary design.
Erin Hoffman’s Education
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NYU Center for Advanced Digital Applications
Certificate , Maya 3D, Flint Compsitor, 6 week intensive , June 2001 — July 2001
Six-week intensive, first three weeks spent with instructor Vic Fina on Maya 3D, second three weeks spent attaining proficiency with Flint compsitor. Modeled, rigged, textured, and animated a flying dragon, then added background movement to a still image of the NYC skyline and integrated Maya-animated dragon with it. Various exercises in rotoscoping, color manipulation, and basic MEL scripting.
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Mt. Carmel High School
1995 — 1999
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Odyssey Writing Workshop
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
BS , Electronic Art; Philosophy (dual major); minor in Game Theory
Four-year McKinney Writing Contest winner; one semester study of Japanese; 3.7 finishing GPA; Dean's List; Emily Roebling scholarship; EMAC scholarship; Rensselaer Patroon Scholar; accepted for graduate study at UC Irvine in philosophy/existentialism.
- Activities and Societies:
- Rensselaer Science Fiction Association, Rensselaer Japanese Animation Society, Resident Assistant, VRML Art Show International Student Ambassador, Animation Curriculum Committee, Rhodes Scholarship Candidate, EMAC Student Ambassador, IGDA GDC Student Scholarship, 12 credit hours in computer science.
Additional Information
Erin Hoffman’s Websites:
Erin Hoffman’s Interests:
Music, composition, animal science, cats, parrots, computer mediated communication, string theory, natural science, geology, literature, poetry, philosophy, artificial intelligence, language, avian physiology, 3D animation, cooking, reading, freshwater aquariums, hiking, earth science/paleontology, quotations, wisdom, tea, gardening, fishing, video games, woodworking, digital painting, cognitive science, narrative theory.
Erin Hoffman’s Groups:
GDC Conference Associate 2004, Rensselaer Alumni Association, International Game Developers Association, IGDA Employment Contract Certification Task Force, IGDA Quality of Life Committee, IGDA Writers SIG, IGDA Women in Development SIG, IGDA Student Scholarship Judge 2007, Futureplay Game Competition Judge 2007., Toronto IGC, Casual Connect, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Odyssey Writers Workshop, Livejournal, BetterEULA, The Escapist, Facebook, Homeless Moon, GDC 2008, Games for Health, SXSW, Ion Conference 2008, Virtual Worlds Conference 2008
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Women in Games International -
International Game Developers Association -
Community Managers Group -
LOGIN Conference -
Rensselaer Alumni Association (RPI) -
GamesProducers -
LinkEds & writers -
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) alumni -
Game Developers -
Free 2 Play Assembly -
Tweeple -
Game Writing -
LION500.com (Open Networkers) -
Video Game Marketing Group -
VideoGame Professionals -
Professional Writers -
Virtual Worlds and Gaming Professionals -
Game Based Learning -
VirtualWorlds -
So Cal Action Sports Network -
IGDA Women in Games Special Interest Group -
Board games and game design -
Game Payments -
Games + Learning + Society -
IGDA Flash SIG -
IGDA Online Games SIG -
Social Impact Games
Erin Hoffman’s Honors:
Please see PhilomathGames.com for recent publications and awards; my short fiction and poetry have appeared in a variety of speculative fiction anthologies and magazines, and I write nonfiction (opinion essays, feature articles, event coverage) for Escapist Magazine, Gamasutra's Serious Games Source, Strange Horizons, and assorted others. In 2003 I was Cader Publishing's first quarter Poet of the Year; one fiction anthology in which my work appeared was an EPPIE finalist in 2004. I was the 2007 winner of the Games for Health Open Storyboard contest for my design for _Food Finder and the Quest for the Golden Walnut_, a Nintendo DS game designed to promote healthy eating habits in teens and pre-teens.
Erin Hoffman’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
