Diablo 3 may not have received universal acclaim, but let's be honest, there's no way that its stumbles are going to drive a stake through the heart of the franchise—or a soulstone into its forehead, I suppose. And in case there was any doubt, Blizzard is now searching for a game director for an unannounced project that will “lead the Diablo series into the future.”
The successful applicant will “be the vision holder for the franchise, setting the creative goals for the team,” and “direct game design while successfully partnering with the production director to deliver and maintain an epic gaming experience.” He or she will be “knowledgeable and passionate about Diablo games,” and (this is where it starts to get tough) have a minimum of five years experience directing game development, with multiple triple-A products shipped.
The search was triggered, Blizzard explained, because current Game Director Josh Mosqueira is moving on. “With Diablo III in a good place at this point, Josh felt that now was a good time to pursue other opportunities with minimal impact to the team. We'll be filling the director role either from within Blizzard or externally,” a rep said. “Josh made many contributions during his time here, and we loved working with him. We wish him all the best and look forward to his future work.”
Even so, the presence of the words "unannounced project" in the listing is undeniably intriguing. Also interesting is that the the list of responsibilities states that the game director must “maintain an awareness of global player behavior and customs to ensure that design decisions are relevant for international regions," and that “international game experience” is a plus. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but to my eyes that suggest something a bit beyond the conventional action-RPG experience. DiablOBA, anyone?
