Bungie job ads hint at RPG mechanics

By Robert Purchese Published 5 May, 2010

Is the maker of Halo pursuing an MMO?

New Bungie job posts have offered a glimpse at what the studio may be making next.

Of several vacancies, a player investment designer catches the eye most.

"Do you dream about creating worlds imbued with real value and consequence? Can you find the fine line between a reward that encourages players to have fun and an incentive that enslaves them? Can you devise a way for a player to grow while preserving the delicate balance of an action game?" asked the job advert.

"A Player Investment Designer develops a robust and rewarding investment path, supported by consistent, rich and secure incentives that drives player behaviour toward having fun and investing in their characters, and then validates those systems through intense simulation, testing and iteration."

"If you accept our challenge, you will be responsible for design and implementation of multiple large, awesomely innovative features," added the senior server programmer vacancy.

Bungie's Brian Jarrard, who spoke to Eurogamer following the Activision announcement, was cagey about whether the game might be an MMO.

"I can't get into specifics, but we're definitely looking at building a universe that people want to spend time in," he said. "Much like Halo but we have much more grandiose vision here, so it's a long-term partnership for us.

"We're really embarking on something that will be a significant undertaking for the studio that will involve multiple games set inside this brand new IP and universe."

Activision and Bungie announced a 10-year publishing partnership last week. For now, however, Bungie is focusing on Halo: Reach.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (16) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #1 2 years ago

    Imagine the potential of an Action game with RPG dynamics! It's amazing that nobody has ever thought of that before, eh Eurogamer?
    Edited by 1 at 05/05/10 @ 09:52

  • Eraysor #2 2 years ago

    Epic job title.

  • AllenSpawn #3 2 years ago

    Halommo?

  • Negotiator #4 2 years ago

    Bungie are nothing without Halo, in fact Halo is Bungie, it's sad that the team who created Halo cna no longer make games in that universe. I'm just waiting for Reach and then its on to Microsofts Halo team to create the next milestone in FPS.

  • Negotiator #5 2 years ago

    Bungie are nothing without Halo, in fact Halo is Bungie, it's sad that the team who created Halo cna no longer make games in that universe. I'm just waiting for Reach and then its on to Microsofts Halo team to create the next milestone in FPS.

  • 00.00.01 #6 2 years ago

    "...an incentive that enslaves..." and "...drives player behaviour toward having fun and investing in their characters." Double confirmation of Acti's maximum intentions to empty wallets.

  • Distributor #7 2 years ago

    Definately an MMO

  • Yossarian #8 2 years ago

    That job posting has been there for some, some time.

  • Dizzy #9 2 years ago

    Fallen Lords RPG?

  • geeza2020 #10 2 years ago

    didnt we already know this was happening? The question is will this actually be any good? I personally dont think Bungie are capable of making a decent mmorpg. But hey, I live to be proven wrong.

  • Brainboy #11 2 years ago

    As Yossarian pointed out, that posting is quite old. 'Player investment' is also the name of Bungie's credits and reward system in Halo: Reach. Nothing to see here, really.

  • dl0ad #12 2 years ago

    Reinforcing what a few others have pointed out: That job listing is really quite old - several months old, in fact.

    Any chance Eurogamer will have a job posting for a US news writer soon? This American Anglophile could certainly do better than Robert Purchese is.

    I watch Doctor Who regularly, live near Disneyworld, and take the time to properly research a news item before submitting it for publishing.

  • SAMagic #13 2 years ago

    Despite whatever people may think about Activision, I think it's refreshing to see a developer leaving a publisher after a game is finished, rather than the current trend of a publisher closing them after they complete a title.

  • cozeny #14 2 years ago

    MMNO!, say I. MMOs are for aspie no-lifes.

  • Jackface #15 2 years ago

    "I can't get into specifics, but we're definitely looking at building a universe that people want to spend time in," he said.

    It's an MMO.

  • felastica #16 2 years ago

    I can't wait to spend time in a universe full of shouting ten year olds and obnoxious Americans telling me I'm crap cos I stole their kill or didn't drive them around in a warthog!