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Game Director

Blackbird Interactive is seeking a passionate and talented Game Director for one of our internal IP titles. The Game Director will work collaboratively with the game team, production staff, creative leads and more to forge an incredible game over a few years of development.

Do you love working with a team of talented designers, artists and programmers to create ambitious experiences? Do you like working with external partners to hone vision and find the game? Do you want to be the creative leader on a large scale title? If so, this role could be for you!

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Chief Creative Officer, publisher and licensing partners to oversee the creative of the game including features, campaign or single player content, narrative, music, art direction and more
• Manage the creative leads/directors group to insure that the direction of the game is aligned towards our intentions - these include the art director, lead artist, technical director, design lead, audio/music leads and narrative/writing lead
• Act as the principal vision holder for the game - insure that all participating parties (Publisher, licensor, leads group, product owners and development team) understand what the creative vision and intentions
• Create and implement game pillars, vision documents, game comparables and product goals and then act as the principal proponent for these documents to all interested parties
• Work with the production team to ensure that the creative vision of the game is being executed in a sequence which maximizes value to the product
• Collaborate with the Production staff to determine any necessary scope adjustments as the game moves through development
• Support your creatives in developing their features or content and provide them with constructive feedback to push the boundaries of quality and creativity
• Identify and champion game enhancements and improvements to other key stakeholders
• Assess creative needs and make recruitment recommendations when necessary
• Collaborate across disciplines to define and identify requirements, anticipate and assess risks, and plan testing coverage for upcoming/existing features
• Build a culture of learning and trust that encourages your creative team to solve problems
• Build a culture of participation with the team to insure individual developers can contribute to your grander vision in a way that is meaningful
• Build a relationship with our partners (Publisher/licensors) which is iterative, service oriented, self-sufficient and produces the best product given any IP, creative or technical constraints.

Requirements

• 7+ years extensive creative or game design experience in shipping Indie or AAA titles with at least one credit as a creative leader
• Able to develop and champion a strong creative vision from concept to completion
• Experience in modern console and/or high-end PC development
• Understand that great execution of an idea is as important as the idea itself
• Strong ability to analyze and adapt creative based on feedback
• Strong appetite for iteration and the follow-up with the team and producers on those iterations
• Strong game vocabulary with the latest AAA and indie experiences on PC, console and select mobile titles that can be referenced to the development team
• Strong appetite to cross into new game experiences - which have never been realized before in software
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Pluses

• Demonstrated passion for entertainment products / media (i.e. comics, movies, novels, etc.)
• Demonstrable experience with multiple genres (strategy, third-person action, first-person action, etc.)
• Experience working with sci-fi themes

At Blackbird, we're all about being true to our roots. We started small in our CEO's garage, and even though we're expanding, our desire is to stick to that foundation of creativity, community, and collaboration. Our team has proved that great ideas can come from any position in any discipline, so it's important to us to make sure every voice is heard.

Work/life balance is extremely important to us, and we've demonstrated that over the years by severely limiting over-time requirements. We want people to be happy about coming to work every day, and to that end we offer lots of opportunities for growth and development; whether it's lunch and learns, team events, or our generous vacation days, paid holiday closure and flexible schedules. We also try to provide every opportunity possible for our employees to spearhead R&D initiatives through our BlackOps program. In short, don't expect to feel like a cog in a machine working for BBI.

Due to COVID-19, applicants must be eligible to work in Canada, or currently in Canada on a work permit/visa. With the exception of specifically on-site roles, all roles will commence as a work-from-home arrangement. This arrangement will be revisited as COVID-19 government regulations are eased.

If you are interested in the role, please apply even if your experience and skills don’t perfectly match our ideal credentials. We are committed to diversity and especially encourage members of underrepresented communities to apply. As an equal opportunity employer we encourage applications from all qualified individuals. BBI does not discriminate against applicants based on genders, races, national and ethnic origins, religions, ages, sexual orientation, marital and family status, and/or mental or physical disabilities.