Round-Up: High Moon Awarded, Games Radar Staffs Up, Kameo Comic

Today's wrap-up includes news of High Moon's zombie cowboy related HR employer award, more information on Future Network's hires for its forthcoming consumer game website, and news on Prima's graphic novel series based on Rare's Kameo, as well as today's product news and Gamasutra job postings. - High Moon Studios, developers of Old West vampire-themed FPS Darkwatch, has received a 2005 Workplace Excellence Award from the San Diego Society for Human Resource Management. The company received a Crystal Award for "Employer of Choice," a category which had 140 other candidates vying for the prize. "We have talented people on staff, and have become accustomed to having their achievements recognized by awards. Yet this award recognizes their satisfaction with being part of High Moon, which makes it an exceptional honor for the entire company," said High Moon CEO John Rowe. - Future Network USA, the American branch of the publishing company that owns Official Xbox Magazine, PSM, and PC Gamer, has announced executive hires for Games Radar, its upcoming consumer games website. David Cooper will oversee the project as its Publisher; Director of Internet Operations Mark Kramer will direct the site's technical foundation; Director of Marketing Jason Michaels will handle the advertising, and Editorial Director Stephen Pierce will oversee the content. Though the company has been soliciting and interviewing employees to fill lower-level positions for some time, at present none of the rank-and-file positions have been placed. - Prima Publishing will venture into the world of comic books with a series of 32-page Kameo: Elements of Power issues, to be later collected into a 192-page paperback volume. The series will be written by Sunmin Park (who is also tapped to direct the Kameo movie) and illustrated by Hiroyuki Kitazume, better known as an animation director for various Japanese cartoons. The series, which will begin in spring 2006, will have a short preview within the Kameo instruction manual, already available on retail store shelves. - Also updated today: product news including TechExcel's release of version 6.0 of its DevTrack utility, information on Ahnlab's entry into the U.S. MMO anti-griefing market, and today's Gamasutra jobs, including positions from Art Institute of Tampa, Blue Fang Games, iBase Studios, Legacy Interactive, and ProtonMedia.