343 appears to be taking another crack at the idea of an episodic Halo narrative, explored to dubious effect by Halo 4. The developer is in the market for a producer to help with "future episodic storytelling endeavours", in what could be a hint as to the direction of Halo for Xbox One.
"Halo 4 is our biggest Halo game to date, bringing with it innovative episodic narrative-driven gameplay via Spartan Ops and episodic live-action storytelling via the web series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn," the blurb notes.
"343 is exploring future episodic storytelling endeavours in the Halo universe. We are looking for a Producer / Program Manager to facilitate our fledgling team as we take bold new ideas from concept to finished product. You will work hand-in-hand with all disciplines to define, develop, and ship an all-new Halo entertainment experience."
Given the curious absence of the word "game", this may actually be a reference to the Halo TV series Microsoft announced alongside the Xbox One, which is primarily in production at the manufacturer's new Los Angeles cross-media studio. It could also be a reference to one of the unannounced projects teased by 343's community manager Jessica Shea in September.
Whatever it is, there will be a layer of networked functionality - the producer will be expected to "partner effectively with Halo back-end services peers to ensure service requirements for your features are clearly understood and delivered on schedule".
Desired applicant experience includes the following: "A Halo fan with experience playing Halo games and enjoying other Halo media", and "previous work with large, fiction-rich game or entertainment franchises".
Less revealingly, 343 is also on the lookout for "artists who specialize in creating terrains and building expansive exterior encounter spaces." Hopefully, this is a sign that Halo 5 (or whatever Microsoft ends up calling it) will return to the massive sandbox environments of Halo 3.
Any thoughts? All we know about Halo for Xbox One right now is that it runs at 60 frames a second, has dedicated servers, and will release at some point in 2014.
http://www.oxm.co.uk/68274/halo-xbox-one-could-have-an-episodic-story-microsoft-job-listings-suggest/
