James Hills Home: 703-979-6243 2121 Columbia Pike, #716 Mobile: 703-585-1592 Arlington, VA 22204 Email: [email protected] Web: www.cyprmedia.com WORK EXPERIENCE: Freelance PR and Journalism 1996 - 1998, 2000 – current Highlights: • Managed communications strategy and public, client and media relations • Placed coverage of a client on the front page of Wall Street Journal • Spoke at Linux Expo 1999 and Indie Games Conference 2002 • Interviewed by MSNBC in 2003 • Interviewed on G4/TechTV in 2004 • Public Affairs Officer: A.L.I.V.E., Inc. • Public Affairs Officer: Christian Game Developers Conference • Contributing Editor: NewsForge.com • Gaming Critic: bi-weekly column for Washington Post’s Express Assistant Producer March 2002 – May 2004 Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive: (http://www.washingtonpost.com) Highlights: • Reported on Washington-area entertainment, cultural and community festivals • Built and maintained database to facilitate reporting on annual events • 2003 and 2004 EPpy Award-winner “Best Entertainment Section” Public Relations Manager July 1998 - March 1999 Vicarious Visions: (http://www.vvisions.com) Highlights: • Managed and executed media and public relations strategy • Multiple Independent Games Festival Award-winner • Managed developer relations between programmers and hardware / API vendors EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE: University of North Carolina at Wilmington: History Major June 1999 - May 2001 (Graduated with a B.A. in History) Focus on Latin America and United States 1860 - 1919 Pennsylvania State University: Media Studies Major June 1995 - May 1998 (Attended) Focus on Internet and digital media References and letters of recommendation are available upon request. Professional History: 2004 A.L.I.V.E., Inc. (Non-Government Organization, dedicated to rebuilding schools in Iraq) - Public Affairs Officer, managed launch of website, and cultivated media opportunities based on leads generated by the Baghdad office and worked with American media to promote the organization GameHelper (Customer Service and Quality Assurance provider for game developers and publishers) - Managed PR activities including press release distribution and media pitching 2002-2003 eGenesis, “A Tale In The Desert” (Massively Multiplayer Online) - Managed all PR activities, including arranging media interviews, features and preview/review requests - Planned, created and distributed monthly press releases during development to attract fans to the “open beta” - Resulted in more than 10,000 testers joining the game and converted within two months of launch to approximately 4,000 paying subscribers ($13.95/month) - Created press pack with video CD as a low budget alternative to a full media tour - Won media coverage for the game in all major online and print US and UK game media in addition to coverage in France, Italy, Eastern Europe, Russia, Korea and Brazil - Part of CyPR Media’s 2002 Game Developers Conference campaign, “Rediscovering the Soul of PC Gaming” GarageGames, “Indie Developer Roundtable” and “Indie Game Conference” - Worked with Jay Moore and Jeff Tunnel to create PR activities to build “buzz” including coordinating CyPR Media’s indie game evangelization efforts with GarageGames’s to ensure maximum media impact - Created, moderated and managed the “Indie Developer Roundtable,” a series of monthly chats bringing industry peers together online to discuss topics of importance to independent developers - Assisted with the formation of the “Indie Game Conference” and was invited to speak on the topic of “PR for Indies” along with Jay Moore Christian Game Developers Conference 2002-2004 - Managed PR activities including creating and distributing press releases relating to conference - Based on PR efforts, stories about conference and “Christian games” have been placed in media including the front page (and continued inside) of the Wall Street Journal, CBS News in St. Louis and MSNBCi - Performed media training for developer contacted by CBS News, provided advice including how to structure answers to create sound bytes and what clothing appears well on camera 21-6 Productions, “Orbz” - Created PR plan / analysis to provide ideas client could use to self promote company and products - Part of CyPR Media’s 2002 Game Developers Conference campaign, “Rediscovering the Soul of PC Gaming” Silver Creek Entertainment, “Hardwood Solitaire III” - Planned, created and distributed launch press release for “Hardwood Solitaire III” - Created PR plan / analysis to provide ideas client could use to self promote company and products - Managed review requests generated by launch - Part of CyPR Media’s 2002 Game Developers Conference campaign, “Rediscovering the Soul of PC Gaming” Venom Studios, “Russian Pinball” (based in Russia) - Created marketing / PR plan to bring “Russian Pinball” to the North American market - Performed baseline PR to gauge how the product would be received Anino Entertainment, “Anito” (Adventure / RPG, based in the Philippines) - Created marketing / PR plan to bring “Anito” to the North American market - Performed baseline PR to gauge how the product would be received - Planned, created and distributed press release introducing developer and game to North American market - Managed interview, feature and preview requests generated from announcement Jesper Kyd Productions, “Hitman 2 Soundtrack” - Distributed press release for launch of “Hitman 2 Soundtrack” - Managed interview and review requests generated by launch littleshinyobjects.com, “Bamboozle” (Puzzle game from former “Uru: Ages Beyond Myst” designer) - Distributed press release for launch of “Bamboozle” - Managed interview and review requests generated by launch Pinbox Productions, “Static” (Adventure / RPG) - Assisted with publicizing Indie Games Festival finalist status and talents of team members to elevate profiles within industry. Team members have since contributed to products by publishers including Midway, Activision and MS Games 2001 TransGaming Technologies, “WineX” and “Mandrake Linux Gamer Edition” - Provided game industry consultation - Coordinated brand, Web site, “WineX”, and “Mandrake Linux Gamer Edition” launch with TransGaming and MandrakeSoft - Distributed press releases and managed game industry media activities including pitching stories and coordinating interviews and review requests - Assisted with planning for press event at E3 2002 2000-2001 Freelance writer for GameSpy, “Alternative Platforms” Covered non-Windows PC gaming platforms, mobile/wireless and PDA gaming 2000 Arbuthnot Communications, MSN Zone and MS Games accounts - Tracked press release results for titles including Links, Age of Empires, Crimson Skies and Euchre 1999-2000 Freelance writer for Gamers Alliance, “Alternative Platforms” - Covered non-Windows PC gaming platforms - Spoke at Linux Expo 1999 “Linux Games” 1997-1998 Vicarious Visions, “Terminus” (Space Combat RPG) - Promoted game to space sim community and business, trade and enthusiast media - Arranged media tours - Planned strategy game to win awards at the inaugural “Indie Games Festival” - Game won “Best Audio” and “Technical Excellence” awards. - Planned tradeshow media meetings and LAN party presentations - Coordinated hardware / software developer relations on behalf of programming staff - Assisted with QA and mission design .