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Game Designer
1 year ago
About Sumo Newcastle
We build ground-breaking games and content for some of the world’s biggest publishers including Microsoft, Sony, Apple and Sega. Sumo Newcastle joined the Sumo Digital family in January of 2018. As a former CCP Games studio, we have a solid history of cutting-edge development, and now with Sumo, a spectacular future of ‘AAA’ game development for some of the biggest and best publishers in the world.
It’s an exciting time to be part of Sumo, winners of the Develop: Star Awards 2019 Best Studio and GI Biz 2020 Best Places to Work; big things are on the horizon and we want you to be part of our continued journey.
Sumo Newcastle is made up of a diverse mix of fantastic and talented people, and we embrace all the elements that make our team unique! We are an inclusive studio and welcome applications from all qualified applicants of any background, regardless of race, age, disability, gender identity or neurodiversity.
We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic intermediate level Game Designer to join the team here at Sumo Newcastle. This is an exciting opportunity for a designer who is passionate about creating engaging game mechanics, game modes and systems, and owning them throughout a project’s lifecycle. The ideal candidate will have an instinctive sense of ‘fun’, and the confidence to champion their ideas to the whole team.
In your new role you will:
- Be the vision holder for one or more features which span the game
- Strive for quality and innovation while adhering to the core vision of the game
- End to end feature ownership; from inception through to game release
- Form goals and success metrics for each feature you own and implement
- Create high level presentation materials for pitching concepts to product stakeholders
- Produce low level specifications for feature costing and production schematics
- Ability to solve problems using game design knowledge and experience
- Design and model complex game systems based on high-level concepts
- Implement the feature design using industry-standard and in-house tools
- Review and adjust designs based on user testing and telemetry data
- Mentor junior design team members and communicate the feature across the wider team
To be successful you will have:
- A proven track record of designing for AAA games, from product inception through to release
- The ability to evangelise features you own to multi-discipline teams and across the organisation
- An understanding of a product’s user base and player behaviours
- Experience in designing and balancing complex systems for AAA games
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Organisational and workload management skills are essential for success
- The ability to empathise with different disciplines to form aligned and sympathetic concept
It would be beneficial if you have:
- Unreal Engine 4 (or 5) experience
- Experience in third-person action/ or shooting genre
- Experience in multiplayer design and balancing (PvE or PvP)
- Knowledge of Unreal Blueprint Scripting
- Background in game theory and the science behind the design
What we offer:
. Defined Annual Bonus Scheme
. ULEV car scheme
. Monthly allowance to spend on enhancing benefits
. Salary Sacrifice Pension
. Flexible Working
. 21 days free-use holiday
+ your birthday off
+ 5 learning days including 1 volunteer day
+ a duvet day
+ Christmas shutdown from Christmas Eve to New Year
+ Bank Holidays
+ extra allowance accrued for longer service
. Free dental insurance
. Life Assurance 4x Salary
. Income Protection of 75% for 5 years
. Enhanced Mat/Paternity & Adoption pay
. Employee Assistance Programme:
. Help at Hand - Remote GP, Mental Health & Physio appointments
. Free financial & home buying support consultations
. Cycle to Work Scheme
. Payroll Giving Scheme
. Access to 4,000 Udemy Courses
. Career Development Pathway
. Wrap Parties.
. Project Completion Awards
. Game/Creative Jams
. Big Family Events
. Studio social activities, e.g. running, board games, film, yoga, life drawing…
. Prism – Sumo’s employee diversity focus group
. Free fruit and drinks in our studios
. Employee Referral Bonus
. Relocation Support to the UK
. Visa Sponsorship
Where do we stand on diversity?
At Sumo Digital, we know that diversity and inclusivity will make our teams (and the amazing work that they do) better! We encourage and welcome ALL applications.
More About The Sumo Newcastle Studio:
Sumo Digital is one of the UK's most prolific game developers, enjoying over fifteen years of stability and growth. We have UK studios in Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham, Leamington Spa, The Chinese Room in Brighton and Red Kite Games in Leeds, along with Sumo Video Games in Pune, India.
We offer a superb benefits package including generous holidays and flexi-time. We care about our people, with an emphasis on the work/life balance and out of office events such as our legendary annual Sumo ‘Big Day Out’, plus epic Christmas parties and much more! Our regular studio Game Jams are a highlight - winning concepts can go on to commercial release, so far including Snake Pass and Spyder for Apple Arcade.
We are proud to be in the North-East of England, in our new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art facilities in Riga. Newcastle was voted the number one place that travellers should visit in 2018 by Rough Guide and has everything that a major European city has to offer; culture, heritage, lively bars and fantastic retail. It is an exciting cosmopolitan city while also boasting plenty of beautiful outdoor space including several beaches less than an hour’s drive away.
Our environment is relaxed, friendly and built on every team member having the opportunity to shine and have real, meaningful input into the games that we create. We pride ourselves on our positive atmosphere and sociable team who regularly partake in shared interest groups, lunchtime and after-work clubs, and charity fundraising events.
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