Early in the recession it seemed as though the video game industry would never be affected. Traditional game publishers were busy selling their wares to the unemployed and hiring to keep churning out games—so there were plenty of entry level jobs in video games. Things seem to have slowed down over the past year, but I think it’s more about a change in the games that people play than macroeconomic conditions. Facebook and the iPhone have created new markets for cheap and free (ad-supported) games to gain a lot of traction. There are a ton of gaming upstarts entering the market, and traditional publishers are changing the platforms that they develop on. One of the upstarts is Watercooler, a Redwood City, CA based social games developer that has already reached “over 25 million application installations.” The company started as a network of online fan communities focused on sports and TV, but they’ve switched focus and used their “social product expertise to create innovative and engaging social games.”

Hang at the Watercooler

Watercooler’s games include Kingdoms of Camelot, Fantasy Football, $20K Football Challenge, 2010 Bracket Challenge, and Epic Goal. I haven’t played any of them, but they certainly look like they could be pretty addictive (and that’s exactly what social gaming companies want). Watercooler has already raised $9.5 million in venture capital, so they’re certainly in a growth stage. This is also becomes evident when you look at their Jobs page. They have a ton of positions open, and there are plenty that might be appropriate for new or recent grads. These include 2D Game Artist, Flash Animator, UI/Visual Designer, Analytics Engineer, Back-end Developer, Flash Developer, Front-end Developer, Online Marketing Analyst, and Player Experience Jack-Jill of All Trades (indicated as entry level). Lots of opportunities, so check them out!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• Watercooler-Inc.com
• Jobs at Watercooler
• About Watercooler
• Management at Watercooler
• Watercooler’s Games
• Watercooler News

Have you played any Watercooler games.

We've identified Watercooler as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• analyst
• analytics
• animation
• arts
• California
• design
• engineering
• flash
• marketing
• social media
• social networking
• software development
• video games
• web development

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