We’re looking for someone who can think both macro and micro - about story and characters, moment-to-moment gameplay, as well as system and gameplay design. Someone who loves the player and wants to take them on a journey. Who loves our medium, and wants to challenge the possibilities (and ship a game!). Who enjoys spec’ing out ideas and designs, following through with their implementation, and seeing these ideas come to life.
We’re looking for someone who’s thinking about the intersection between gameplay and story - and understands the necessity to make a decision in order to move production forward. Someone who wants to create mechanics and set-ups that let the players play and still create rich, emotional experiences.
Practically speaking - on one day you may be asked to work on the gameplay side - which could be prototyping a layout, spec’ing out a feature or mechanic, working with the animators to get the “feel” right, working with a gameplay programmer to implement a new object, etc. On another day you may be asked to take a step back and work on pacing and story - such as world-building, environmental storytelling, player/macro/plot story goals, character arcs, etc. And then there will be days where you alone will decide what's best to work on - we have a lot of those days too.
Proactivity is going to be key in this role. You’ll need to be a self-starter that wants to understand the vision of the project quickly and help problem-solve and prioritize to help us meet our goals.
Some Skills:
- Pushing the narrative into the gameplay space using all the design tools at your disposal.
- Challenging yourself to get emotional moments using gameplay verbs.
- Helping define, communicate and implement gameplay verbs, interactions, and objects.
- Communicating and collaborating a design vision across all disciplines.
- High level thinker. Can juggle tasks and prioritize well.
- Enjoys the explorative process of designing a game. Can hold a vision and uncertainty at the same time.
- Loves playtesting. Loves playtest data. Understands what iteration looks and feels like in action.
- Can set their own priorities. Is a self-starter. Thrives in open environments.
Requirements:
- Shipped some games.
- Knows all the software. Expert at Unreal is a bonus.
- Can script using either or both Unreal’s blueprints or C++.
- Has an idea of what “player-driven” means, and wants to fulfill that notion.
- Great communicator. Open minded. Believes we make better things when we include others in our process.
Just a heads up - as part of the interview process, we may ask you to take a test to show us your skills and knowledge.
Thanks for your interest!