Fork in the Road

Some big changes are afoot. After nearly two years of writing features, conducting interviews and reporting news, I’m leaving ZAM at the end of the week. There are a handful of interviews from Gamescom to wrap up beforehand though, so keep your eyes peeled for them!

So what gives?

Writing professionally about video games has always been a hobby for me. It’s meant some incredible things – I’ve travelled to places I never thought I’d visit, met and interviewed some incredibly talented people from the MMO scene (including some personal heroes), and had the privilege to share it all with a global audience. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for any riches you could offer.

Unfortunately, it was also part-funded by a day job. During the daylight hours, I’d design new products and services for the mobile/cellphone market at a leading telco here in the UK. I’d start with an idea, then lead a team through building, testing and launching it to millions of customers. I’d worked on things like remote device management, cloud-based support platforms, and integrated sales systems.

It meant that during the daylight hours, I’d be toiling away on some kind of massively multi-user online system, then come home at night and write about massively multiplayer online games. Working on one helped to understand the other – a gamer-centric and customer-centric mindset are very similar.

At the end of this month, I’m being made redundant from that day job. It’s not the end of the world, but it does mean I need to focus heavily on finding a new one. In order to get the time I need to do this, I’ve also taken a step back from ZAM. I will occasionally still write here and there – I enjoy it immensely and find it hugely rewarding – but my main focus is going to be on finding a new job.

So, want to help me with the job hunt? Excellent! If you’ve got any leads, suggestions or advice then please let me know! I’m based in southern UK, but I’m open to the idea of travel.

• I’ve got a general portfolio/résumé site up at Gazimoff.com, where you can find out more.
• You can find me on LinkedIn here.
• I can be reached by email at me@gazimoff.com
• Or you can ping me on Skype at Gazimoff (please include some details when you add)

At the moment, nothing is off the table. Roles similar to what I’m doing at the moment, the occasional freelance gig and so on would be great. Heck, I’d even consider working on developing games themselves if the right opportunity came up.

Finally, thank you all for your support. To everyone who’s read and enjoyed an article of mine, to ZAM for giving me the opportunity in the first place, and to every developer and industry insider that I’ve worked with, it has been both a pleasure and an honour. Fingers crossed, our paths will cross again sometime soon.