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JAMES RICHARD STANLEY
www.jamesrstanley.com
james@jamesrstanley.com

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A videogame producer, project manager and certified agile Scrum Master who is comfortable working with cross-discipline teams on various platforms and in business environments from start-ups to established companies. I’m experienced with scripting, writing, game design, documentation, project management, client relationships, business development and managing onsite and offsite teams.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Executive Producer at Moblyng Games, Redwood City, CA December 2010 – October 2011

• Led cross-discipline team in weekly development sprints to develop HTML5 social freemium games for Facebook Mobile app, mobile web, native iOS, native Android, and Facebook Desktop platforms
• Pioneered agile development processes that moved away from top-down, predictive models
• Created and prioritized user stories, scheduled release planning, and managed user story backlog list
• Managed relationship with vendors and partners such as WeeWorld, Facebook, Vdopia, and Tapjoy
• Participated in weekly management meetings to discuss product updates, strategic company goals, resource needs and conflicts, scheduling forecasts, marketing decisions, and analytical data
• Directed weekly project planning meetings to discuss new feature development and priorities

Produced Titles:

WeeMee Life (Facebook Desktop and iOS iPad)

• Took over production duties mid-development cycle and course-corrected to deliver a shippable product
• Implemented agile techniques such as weekly sprints practices to foster an orderly development pattern while still being flexible to adapt to stakeholder and license holder feedback and requirements

Word Racer Live (Facebook Mobile App)

• One of a select few, HTML5 launch titles for Facebook’s new mobile app platform
• Managed and quickly dealt with numerous challenges of simultaneously developing a game for a a new platform under construction
• Worked closely with Facebook developers beta-testing their features such as Open Graph and other new SDK features

Social Poker Live (Facebook Mobile App, Native Android and iOS Apps)

• One of a select few, HTML5 launch titles for Facebook’s new mobile app platform
• Managed native app porting and feature development while core mobile app was under development
• Managed external developers for sound and native shell feature enhancements such as client versioning detection, network detection, iOS multitasking, and bundling of assets to create a universal build (iPhone and iPad)

Producer at Backbone Entertainment Inc., Emeryville, CA 2003 to October 2010

• Develop games on time, on budget, and to expected quality standards
• Lead internal cross-discipline development teams to ensure effective communication and work flow
• Utilize project management software such as MS Project and agile techniques such as daily stand-up meetings to manage daily workflow and project schedule
• Create staff and budget allocations, milestone schedules, and team lists for produced titles
• Collaborate on game product documents from concept to final phases
• Manage budget and schedule for external contractors for our audio and art departments
• Participate in contract negotiation by reviewing key items such as royalty payments, milestone definitions, localization and milestone approval process

Produced Titles:

X-MEN (Microsoft XBLA / Sony PSN)

• Led internal and external teams on the classic arcade title

Rock Band 3 (Nintendo Wii)

• Implemented and managed action item tracking system between Backbone and Harmonix production teams
• Assisted in art outsourcing process with asset tracking and formalized communication methods

Rock Band 3 (Nintendo DS)

• Mentored and provided assistance to associate producer during preproduction phase so she could assume the leading producer role during the production phase

LEGO Rock Band (Nintendo DS)

• Led internal development team for an ambitious 6-month development cycle from pre-production to simultaneous submission to Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe
• Handled developer communication and interaction with the publishing partners TT Games and Warner Brothers as well as licensors such as LEGO and Harmonix
• Successfully hit targeted retail release date thru risk management, prioritization, scope management, and close communication with all stakeholders
• Title received numerous high ratings and awards such as IGN’s Award for Excellence in Sound and 2009 runner-up for Best Music Title on the Nintendo DS

G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra (Nintendo DS)

• Led internal development team for a 11-month development cycle from pre-production to simultaneous submission to Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe with first pass approvals
• Managed developer communication and interaction with the publisher Electronic Arts and licensor Hasbro
• Managed external contractors for audio and art assets
• Design responsibilities included handling music and sfx integration and level and character scripting

Death Jr.: Root of Evil (Nintendo Wii)

• Managed 9-month development cycle from pre-production to simultaneous submission to Nintendo of Europe and Nintendo of America with a first pass approval from both parties
• Directed voice recording sessions for main characters
• Managed publisher communication with Eidos UK producers and 3rd party partners such as iBeta QA, Babel Media localization, Dolby Digital and RAD Game Tools
• Design responsibilities included rebalancing difficulty levels, enemy and weapon tuning

Halo 3: 1st Bonus Game Disc (Microsoft X360)

• Led internal development team in the production of the Halo 3: 1st Bonus X360 game disc in a tight 5-month schedule which featured video / audio calibration tools, interviews from the Bungie team in 720P, screensaver program, and mini-game

Yaris (Microsoft XBLA)

• Managed external development team of Castaway Entertainment for their first title
• Communicated with Microsoft and Saatchi LA as the main developer production contact
• Succeeded in releasing the title on a short development schedule of 8 months to coincide with Toyota’s marketing campaign with Yaris

Death, Jr. 2: Root of Evil (Sony PSP)

• Led 32-person team from early concept stage to SCEA first party release approval
• Responsible for maintaining and fostering close relationship with our publisher, Konami
• Negotiated with and managed multiple quality assurance, audio, and art contractors
• Interfaced with Konami PR and Marketing to deliver marketing material such as gameplay video, screenshots, website material, and box art designs
• Managed European localization efforts and received a first pass through Sony Europe

World Poker Tour 2K6 (Nintendo GBA)

• Managed relationship with 2K Sports publisher
• Led internal and external development teams through entire project cycle

Fantastic Four (Plug & Play TV Games)

• Led external development team of Santa Cruz Games while managing a small internal 2D art team
• Managed relationship with JAKKS publisher

World Poker Tour (Plug & Play TV Games)

• Managed relationship with JAKKS publisher
• Designed user interface, scripted tutorials, and determined the AI characteristics for JAKKS World Poker Tour TV Games

Grand Theft Auto Advance (Nintendo GBA)

• Managed relationship with Rockstar production team to ensure that there was an open line of communication and that their feedback and suggestions were acted upon in a timely manner
• Created and wrote original story based in the GTA world
• Designed game play mechanics and vehicle physics
• Designed and scripted all story and side missions
• Managed the internal Backbone and the external Rockstar databases so that bugs were resolved and features implemented effectively

Assistant Producer at Electronic Arts, Redwood City, CA 2003

•  Managed onsite QA team and triaged bugs for development team
•  Active participant in cross functional operations meetings to manage the project against a timeline

Produced Titles:

• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Sony PS2)

Lead Tester at Electronic Arts, Redwood City, CA 2001 to 2003

• Created test plans, managed database, delegated responsibilities to a team of testers
• Led functional testing for localized languages

Tested Titles:
LEGO Football Mania (PS2), Battlefield 1942 (PC), Road to Rome (PC expansion pack), Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (PC), Cel Damage (NGC), James Bond: Agent Under Fire (PS2), LEGO Island 2 (PC), LEGO Creator Harry Potter (PC), and Simpsons Road Rage (Xbox and NGC)

Senior Software Tester at Electronic Arts, Redwood City, CA 1999 to 2001

• Compliance and functional testing on a wide variety of platforms including Playstation®2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Windows PC

Tested Titles:
Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition (PC), X Squad (PS2), American McGee’s Alice (PC), Sub Command (PC), and Adventure Pinball (PC)

Customer Support Technician at Electronic Arts, Redwood City, CA 1999

• Managed customer interactions via phone and e-mail to solve and support their issues on games

English Teacher at AEON Corporation, Tokyo, Japan 1997 to 1998

• Taught conversational English in various group sizes (private lessons to lessons with up to 12 people) to students of different ages, ability, and educational backgrounds

SOFTWARE AND TOOLS
Microsoft Project, Test Track Pro, Hansoft, Lua, Bugzilla, Perforce, MS Office, Visio, Azure, Power Point, Maya and Photoshop

 

EDUCATION

Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Bachelor of Arts — Major in English Literature, Minor in Psychology
President – Wake Forest ice hockey club team; Secretary – Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity

Tokai University, Tokyo, Japan
Japanese Studies – Intensive Japanese immersion course for one semester studying abroad