As for what's next, Heller says, "I have a pretty good foundation in blockbuster games, but the open web has been really intriguing to me. I like the idea of sending someone a URL to get them into a game session." As an example, he mentions a new racing game that can be played within a web browser, demonstrated by Gradient Labs at the recent PAX East conference. "The idea is that I can send you a link, and all of a sudden we're in an arena, building cars, and playing in a demolition derby ''all these things that shouldn't seem to work in a web browser, with no plug-ins or software to install."

Heller continues, "I think with this second wave of social and mobile gaming, you're going to see production values really start to step up." He also believes that gesture-based game controls ''for example, Microsoft Kinect ''will become ubiquitous.

Heller will be helping the partners at Atlas source and evaluate deals, but he acknowledges that he's already working with a small team on a new venture of his own. "I have a few engineers I'm working closely with" ''and he's looking to hire others ''"but I don't yet have a specific company to talk about that's going to do X, Y, and Z."

Atlas partner Jeff Fagnan recruited Heller to the firm. Atlas has invested recently in LuckyLabs, a Boston social games startup, and helped create the HTML5 Game Lab at Bocoup Loft, a Boston tech development firm.

It'll be interesting to see whether Heller leads Atlas to make more gaming investments ''and also what kind of product he's cooking up.