Berkeley Systems specializes in that Silicon Valley phenomenon known as the paradigm shift. First, they forever transformed the humble screensaver into an artistic medium with After Dark and those ubiquitous flying toasters. Then they made trivia games truly interactive with You Don't Know Jack. (Last time I played, the jerky announcer gave me the nickname "loose stool" and asked me why I "sucked so bad.") Now the software-makers are ready to move into the next realm. Only trouble is, they don't know what it is yet. Berkeley Systems needs a visionary.
Despite dramatic changes at Berkeley Systems in the past few months, the company is still dedicated to creating edgy, nonaction games for adults. In April, the company was bought by CUC International - a "membership services company" that made US$2.3 billion last year by offering discounts on hotel rooms and rental cars, among other things. Berkeley Systems now functions as a division of another recent CUC purchase, game-maker Sierra On-Line, relying on Sierra for administrative and sales support. The acquisition slimmed the staff to 80 people, from more than 120 - but the creative-development teams were left intact. "CUC is staying out of the way," insists Martin Streicher, who produced the original Jack and is now working as the director of a new title.
Berkeley Systems is still in the business of developing games for the Net as well as for CD-ROM. Though CUC's quarterly report only mentions plans to sell CDs, and says nothing about multiplayer online games, Berkeley plans to continue producing BeZerk, their free online network. And in the fall, they're releasing a word game all about acronyms, cryptically called Acrophobia.
According to Martin, the eccentric office environment is still alive as well. "People bring their dogs to work; there are pet rats and snakes on some desks. 'Corporate' is not a word that would ever apply here," he says. (There's also a live webcam in the company kitchen next to the slide, but I hear people don't eat lunch there lately because they don't want to be watched.)
Quirkiness aside, Berkeley Systems has to answer to its new corporate parent in terms of productivity - and that means more titles. The company needs another director like Martin to guide it. Leave budgets and staffing to the producers, explains Martin, whose role is akin to a director on a movie set. "There are only three or four directors in the company. You have to carry the whole experience in your head, and make sure it results in a complete vision," he says. "You want users to achieve an adrenaline rush, have a great time, laugh one moment, or be literally afraid while they're playing the game."
Since Berkeley's next big thing will probably continue in this cinematic vein, time spent building computer games isn't a requisite for the director job. Folks in the human-resources department say they're interested in looking at applicants with film or television backgrounds, even experience in live theater. The company is looking for three to five years' experience in one of these areas and demonstrated ability in overseeing large-scale projects and working under deadline. Pay varies wildly, depending on experience and the strength of the idea you bring with you - from $40,000 to more than $100,000. A new director might approach the company with an idea, or might be hired to work on an existing project, but according to one Berkeley employee, the job could even go to a film-school grad with nothing but a plan.
While Berkeley Systems talks about blending software with film, and its PR material calls games "netshows," the company isn't just throwing around industry jargon. BeZerk, which downloads the applications to let you play Jack, is the closest thing I've ever seen to interactive TV. Recently, Hasbro and Sony have caught on to the idea of creating highly produced brain games for adults, but Berkeley clearly has the lead. The game has animated liquor and music ads transitioning smoothly between sessions in the trivia contest. And by the end, I was ready to shoot that announcer. "It's like Natural Born Killers," explains Martin, "the Woody Harrelson character is despicable, but somehow you're interested in him."
This article appeared originally in HotWired.
