Thanks Virgine Mangin for the coverage. Transcript hereunder:

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Les fondateurs de Cmune, basée à Pékin, se sont inspirés du modèle économique chinois pour leurs jeux en ligne.

La création de Cmune entre Ludovic Bodin, 31 ans, et son partenaire australien tient d’une rencontre hasardeuse en 2005 lors d’un cours de chinois à Pékin. Deux ans plus tard ce “serial-entrepreneur” français (Cmune est sa quatrième société) et Shaun Lelacheur-Sales (un autre entrepreneur Web) s’allient pour fonder une plate-forme qui permet de développer des jeux multi-joueurs en 3D directement à partir d’Internet sans passer par le téléchargement. Cmune est née.

En novembre 2008 ils sont les tout premiers à se lancer avec un tel produit sur Internet, via Facebook, Myspace et Apple. Paradise Paintball, récolte pour l’instant un demi-million de joueurs par mois. Mais Ludovic Bodin est confiant et estime que ce chiffre pourrait très facilement atteindre plusieurs millions après la campagne de lancement officielle qui devrait avoir lieu dans les prochains mois qui suivent. Pour l’instant, les joueurs de Paradise Paintball résident surtout aux États-Unis, mais une version française est prévue pour le dernier trimestre 2010. Le modèle de revenus de Cmune est fortement inspiré des opérateurs chinois : je jeu est gratuit mais l’internaute doit payer pour habiller ou équiper son avatar. Le modèle qui a fait la fortune entre autres de Tencent, le champion chinois des jeux en ligne, semble faire ses preuves. Cmune compte déjà une quinzaine de salariés et Ludovic Bodin embauche actuellement “massivement” des développeurs Web et 3D. Un autre jeu est en cours de développement.

Si la présence en Chine de Cmune a permis à l’entreprise d’intégrer un business modèle différent de celui qu’on trouve en Europe et aux États-Unis et de réduire les coûts d’opération, le jeu reste pour l’instant absent de son pays d’origine. Facebook est censuré en Chine et MySpace difficilement accessible. “Nous sommes en discussion avec des partenaires locaux pour lancer une version chinoise sur les réseaux sociaux et portails ici”, explique Ludovic Bodin. Le marché des jeux en ligne chinois est l’un des plus lucratif du monde. Selon Analysys International le marché mondial devrait tripler entre 2009 et 2012 pour atteindre 11 milliards de dollars.

Read the article here:

http://www.latribune.fr/technos-medias/innovation-et-start-up/20100706trib000527774/start-up-chinoise-d-origine-francaise-cherche-clients-americains.html

Some screenshots of the new First Person Shooter can be download here:

http://tinyurl.com/35pbusm

http://tinyurl.com/37cvdr5

http://tinyurl.com/22odtxs

http://tinyurl.com/2dvz4ge

Cmune is hiring! We are looking for a Senior 3D/game developer to join our core team in Beijing.

Required Skills:

• Strong programming skills in C# and a good knowledge of the .NET Framework
• Solid C++ background. Threading and sockets experience a bonus
• Experience working with a AAA 3D Game Engine (preferably Unity3D, Unreal,
Gamebryo, etc)
• Deep understanding of 3D geometry and linear algebra, including
matrix and vector mathematics
• Experience with DirectX, OpenGL and Shader programming in CG or GLSL
• A passion for playing video games and good instincts for game design
• Excellent oral and written English
• Ability to work independently, solve complex challenges, and hit deadlines
• Good cooperation and communication skills
• Minimum 2-3 years professional development experience

Position based in Beijing, China.

Contact: hiring [at] cmune.com

Cmune is leading the development of next-generation social games.
Paradise Paintball is the first 3D Social Shooter on Facebook was awarded at GDC 2010 as Best new Game on MySpace.
Paradise Paintball is built with Unity3D on the Cmune Platform.

Cmune is hiring! We are looking for a Senior Web developer to join our core team in Beijing.

Required Skills:

• Strong programming skills in ASP.NET, C# and a good knowledge of the .NET Framework.
• ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit and LINQ knowledge a bonus
• Good knowledge of MS SQL
• Strong web design skills
• PHP programming skill and knowledge of phpBB a bonus
• Flash and Facebook apps development experience (Facebook Developer Toolkit) a bonus
• Payment integration a bonus
• A passion for playing video games and good instincts for game design
• Excellent oral and written English
• Ability to work independently, solve complex challenges, and hit deadlines
• Good cooperation and communication skills
• Familiar with agile development methods (SCRUM)
• Minimum 2-3 years professional development experience

Position based in Beijing, China.

Contact: hiring [at] cmune.com

Cmune is leading the development of next-generation social games.
Paradise Paintball is the first 3D Social Shooter on Facebook was awarded at GDC 2010 as Best new Game on MySpace.
Paradise Paintball is built with Unity3D on the Cmune Platform

Cmune is hiring! We are looking for a Senior Software Developer to join our core team in Beijing.

Required Skills

• Strong programming skills in C++/C# and a good knowledge of the .NET Framework
• Solid understanding of design patterns and how to implement large scale software projects
• Experience developing 3D multiplayer games
• Ideally experience with design and implementation of scalable virtual world architectures
• Excellent oral and written English
• Good cooperation and communication skills
• Familiar with agile development methods
• Minimum 3 years professional development experience

Position based in Beijing, China.

Contact: hiring [at] cmune.com

Cmune is leading the development of next-generation social games.
Paradise Paintball is the first 3D Social Shooter on Facebook was awarded at GDC 2010 as Best new Game on MySpace.
Paradise Paintball is built with Unity3D on the Cmune Platform.

Cmune is hiring! We are looking for a Data Analyst to join our core team in Beijing.

This is metrics driven position that requires an individual to compile and understand key data points to make thoughtful and well-articulated recommendations across a range of product and marketing questions – such as revenue and events optimization within the game. This position requires expert knowledge of excel.

Cmune seeks a skilled, positive, and energetic Data Analyst to join the team! The successful candidate will have excellent analytic skills with business acumen to provide our game studio with the data and insights that will drive our continued success. The Data Analyst works with key decision-makers on a daily basis as a data-driven advisor and partner on strategic issues. The candidate should enjoy both working with people and performing technical/product analyses.

Responsibilities:

• Architect and provide reporting and performance monitoring using data drawn from diverse sources
• Perform detailed data exploration and validation to separate genuine phenomena from spurious anomalies
• Develop new insights and analyses that inform decisions and help us continue to delight the people playing our games

Required Skills:
• Data-driven
• Several years experience performing quantitative and behavioral analysis, preferably for an internet or technology company
• Excellent SQL skills: extensive experience querying large, complex data sets
• High proficiency with Excel including pivoting capabilities and analysis modules
• Proven ability to work in a fast-paced environment, and to meet changing deadlines and priorities on multiple simultaneous projects
• Excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills
• Enjoy working in both individual and team settings
• Bonus: Strong understanding of SEO, affiliated marketing or data mining
• B. S. or B. A. in math, economics, engineering or other technical field required; advanced degrees a plus

Position based in Sanlitun Beijing, China.

Contact: hiring [at] cmune.com

Cmune is leading the development of next-generation social games.
Paradise Paintball is the first 3D Social Shooter on Facebook was awarded at GDC 2010 as Best new Game on MySpace.
Paradise Paintball is built with Unity3D on the Cmune Platform.

….
Everything to play for: Eyeing China’s online games market
China’s lucrative online gaming industry is attracting overseas companies keen for a share of the US$3 billion market

Two of the millions of Chinese gamers foreign companies want to get their hands on by entering the Chinese online gaming market.

Aside from the hundreds of new games on display at ChinaJoy that ran from July 28 to Aug. 1 in Shanghai, there was also something else new — more foreigners, specifically foreign gaming companies hoping to partner with Chinese companies to either import their games to China or export China’s games abroad.

They came from Australia, Russia, Germany, France, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and around 30 or so other countries, setting up booths at ChinaJoy, China’s largest gaming and digital entertainment exhibition (the country’s answer to E3), and speaking at several gaming conferences held in conjunction with the event.

The [Chinese companies] want to do business … It is the birth of a new market, really
— Martin Wilkes, sales and business manager for Firelight Technologies
It is a trend that many say will only grow in coming years as foreign game developers and publishers want a piece of China’s lucrative gaming market, which was worth more than US$3 billion in 2009 according to Niko Partners, and as cash-rich Chinese companies like Tencent Holdings and Shanda Games try their luck in the West.

Tencent recently invested US$300 million in Digital Sky Technologies, the Russian Internet holding company that acquired a stake in Facebook last year, and Shanda Games, a subsidiary of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited, purchased San Francisco-based Mochi Media for US$80 million in January.

Meanwhile, Zynga, the San Francisco-based company known for its social networking game Farmville, acquired XPD Media, a social gaming company based in Beijing in May.

“There is a lot of stuff happening between the East and the West right now,” says Ludovic Bodin, co-founder and CEO of Cmune, a Beijng-based company that builds 3D games for social networks. “Everyone is trying to work with each other.”

Once considered mediocre at best, “the increased quality and technological complexity of online games made in China is fueling interest from foreign publishers hoping to help domestic developers release their products overseas,” says Carsten van Husen, CEO of the German-based online game publisher Gameforge.

Chinese gamers pack into ChinaJoy alongside game developers for China’s online gaming event of the year.
During the conferences, which included sessions on the global development of Chinese games and global social games and “their Chinese hopes,” Gameforge signed its first deal to distribute Warrior King, a MMO (massively multi-player online) game produced by Beijing-based LineKong Entertainment Technology, in the West.
“Korea has always been leading the industry but the Chinese are obviously very clever, creative and massive, so they are coming on strong,” van Husen says.

Yet while Chinese gaming companies have been investing internationally and there are a few examples of Chinese social network games that have been successful abroad (Sunshine Ranch, a SNS game developed by Rekoo, has performed well in Japan and the United State, for example), some say it will be a while before Chinese developers can make any major inroads in the West largely due to cultural divides and lack of market expertise.

There is a lot of stuff happening between the East and the West right now. Everyone is trying to work with each other.
— Ludovic Bodin, co-founder and CEO of Cmune

“It will take another few years,” Bodin says. “For most of them, they are going to buy companies that are strong in [other] markets or can serve as a bridge between the East and the West.”

Cultural barriers as well as hard-to-navigate regulations, including a law passed last fall banning foreign investment in domestic online gaming operations, could also make it difficult for foreign game companies to enter China.

Still, there are those who remain determined to take a share of the world’s largest Internet population entrenched in a lucrative culture of online games.

“The Chinese market has moved dramatically in terms of technology,” says Martin Wilkes, sales and business manager for Firelight Technologies, a Melbourne-based company that provides audio solutions for video games. “Games have become part of the Chinese culture and will only increase in potential because of the size of the population.”

Wilkes was accompanied by 10 other Australian companies on a “Victorian Government ICT trade mission to Shanghai” to explore business opportunities in China.

“The [Chinese companies] want to do business. They are really eager and very approachable and very keen to talk,” he says. “It is the birth of a new market, really.”

Read full article here:

http://www.cnngo.com/shanghai/life/chinese-online-gaming-lures-more-foreign-faces-901300

Do you love Facebook? Do you love social games? Do you love first person shooters? Do you have fluent written and spoken English (ideally native)?

This is an opportunity to join one of the most innovative social media companies in China.

We are a leading global social gaming company started by an international team and headquartered in Beijing. We are growing fast after having launched the first 3D Social Shooter on Facebook which was recently awarded ‘Best New Game on MySpace’.

We’re looking for a talented Community Manager & QA Lead. Your responsibilities will include:

1. Coordinate all aspects of community management, including:

• Forum Management (Moderation, Moderator Team)
• Forum Presence (Posting, PMs)
• Facebook/MySpace/Twitter/etc Application Community Management (including FB Fans, where appropriate)
• Manage FAQ & support / technical & non-technical issue resolution
• Provision of community and user feedback weekly, or in a timely manner, where time critical
• Communication to users and testing groups

2. Manage QA testing, including regression testing, smoke test, alpha & beta testing

3. Assist both the development and marketing teams to develop core strategy based on players feedback for gameplay, new items and features

4. Proactively manage, service and grow a native community of millions

5. Create viral content for ad campaigns, events, and competitions that is warm, engaging and fun

6. Handle other duties as assigned

To apply for this job, you must be confident that the following apply to you:

• Fluent English
• Experience in community management as a community manager or moderator
• Tech-savy, interested in interacting with developers and games QA
• Strong organization skills – ‘Get Things Done’ attitude
• Full of creative ideas for viral content
• An adaptable writing style that is engaging for gamers
• A strong knowledge of first person shooters with a background as a player
• A passion for the following: social media, blogging, gaming, and online entertainment.
• A quick and instinctive learner who can absorb training quickly.
• Contribute to a positive & fun work environment.

Position based in Beijing, China.

Contact: hiring [at] cmune.com

Cmune is leading the development of next-generation social games.
Paradise Paintball is the first 3D Social Shooter on Facebook was awarded at GDC 2010 as Best new Game on MySpace.
Paradise Paintball is built with Unity3D on the Cmune Platform.

We will give a snapshot of Paradise Paintball upcoming version:

http://tinyurl.com/35pbusm

http://tinyurl.com/37cvdr5

http://tinyurl.com/22odtxs

http://tinyurl.com/2dvz4ge

Let s meet!

Cmune is hiring! We are looking for a Web designer to join our core team in Beijing.

Required Skills:

• Excellent web designer that knows Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and web design inside out
• Quick to create drafts and iterate rapidly to create production-ready designs
• Experience of creating designs for payment flows, sign-up pages and A/B tests
• Practical experience of UI design
• Understanding about how to create designs that allow for easy implementation by web developers
• A passion for playing video games and good instincts for game design
• Excellent oral and written English
• Ability to work independently, solve complex challenges, and hit deadlines
• Good cooperation and communication skills
• Minimum 2-3 years professional development experience

Position based in Sanlitun Beijing, China.

Contact: hiring [at] cmune.com

Cmune is leading the development of next-generation social games.
Paradise Paintball is the first 3D Social Shooter on Facebook was awarded at GDC 2010 as Best new Game on MySpace.
Paradise Paintball is built with Unity3D on the Cmune Platform.