Schell Games is a highly talented group of artists, programmers, producers, and game designers led by game industry veteran Jesse Schell. We're the largest full-service education and entertainment game development company in the United States. Since 2002, we've worked with world-class clients and partners to create interactive experiences that engage and inspire players of all ages across all platforms. Presently, we are focused on virtual reality, augmented reality, location-based experiences, and social games.
Do you like to work on innovative projects in a motivating, friendly atmosphere? Would you agree that games can engage and inspire?
If you answered "YES!" to both questions, you might be a fit for our studio!
ASSOCIATE GAME DESIGNER POSITION
Are you a Game Designer who is eager to wear many hats, possibly at the same time? Are your development interests hard to fit into one discipline? Do you naturally advocate for the player as a full partner in the pursuit of fun? Do you continuously look for ways to improve your own craft discipline, while advocating for processes that invite your teammates’ best work? Do you crave engine implementation time and brainstorming with your team? Are you fascinated by the intersection of virtual and real? Tell us about it!
Expectations of Game level roles at Schell Games:
You are building your skills within your discipline and can be relied upon by your team. You are focused on growth, and seek out experts in your craft from within the studio.
You build relationships with colleagues through openness and trust. You can be relied on in your project role. You seek feedback on how you can improve.
You are a capable and responsible team member that fulfills your project responsibilities with appropriate guidance and mentoring. You take advantage of opportunities to learn game development best practices from your colleagues and industry experts.
You recognize leaders within the studio and have identified traits you wish to emulate
AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:
- Synthesis : Provide service leadership to the game team by engaging the team’s skills and experience and focusing effort as a content or systems designer.
- Mechanics : Design, prototyping, implementation, and iteration of gameplay mechanics that realize the vision of the Client, the Project Director, and Design Director.
- UX : Work with UI/UX experts to design elegant UI flow and player experience for game systems, content, & feedback.
- Content : Outline content needs for gameplay systems, work within multidisciplinary teams to scope, pipeline, and implement content in-game.
- Balance : Iterate, balance, and adjust gameplay elements based on internal and playtest feedback.
- Documentation - Draft, maintain and review internal design documentation, including feature specifications and implementation guides.
- Playtesting : Analyze data and player feedback to continually optimize the existing game experience.
- Narrative Design : Narrative structure, writing, editing, or evaluation of any of the above.
- Prototyping : Using tools or writing scripts or code to prototype new experiences and ideas, evaluating prototypes, working with a team to determine the next steps.
- Concept Creation : Draft client or internal pitches for a variety of game genres and RPFs.
- Leadership : Mentoring and/or training designers or other team members as appropriate.
DESIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE:
- Experience creating systems or content in a professional game engine; Unreal or Unity preferred, but not required.
- Demonstrated excellence in designing and implementing compelling gameplay, gameplay systems, or user development tools.
- Strong knowledge of prototyping best practices.
- Strong written, oral, and presentation communication skills.
- Strong time management skills
REQUIREMENTS:
- Experience in a cross-disciplinary interactive experience development team, Or a degree in interactive media
- One or more released games for evaluation, or a playable portfolio
- Strong interpersonal & teamwork skills with an interest in collaborative processes
Our studio is committed to providing an equitable and inclusive work environment that ensures that all applicants and team members are treated with dignity and respect. We will not tolerate any type of discrimination or harassment directed at any applicant or employee because of their gender, race, religion, age, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, veteran, family or parental status or any other protected group characteristic. This equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotions, discipline, terminations, wage and salary administration, benefits, and training.
Prohibiting discrimination and harassment is only one part of the equation. “Diversity makes us strong” is more than just something we say. We value diversity in all forms because it is essential to our success, and we want every member of our team to feel their best creative self. Our development environment and social culture are based on welcoming, respecting, and celebrating differences among our team members and our players. We rely on each person to add their own unique skills and perspective to our culture. Every member of our team is responsible for making the studio as inclusive and equitable as possible.
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