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Global Systems Director
3 years ago
Crystal Dynamics, a part of the Square Enix family, is constantly on the hunt for top-tier gaming talent worldwide. Having created beloved properties such as Gex and the Legacy of Kain series, as well as driving the massively successful Tomb Raider franchise, Crystal Dynamics is now laying the groundwork for the next generation of innovative and technologically stunning projects, including Marvel’s Avengers . Benefits for this permanent, full-time position include a competitive salary, 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance options and plenty of days of paid time-off.
Position Summary:
Crystal Dynamics is seeking an experienced Global Systems Director to join our team of passionate developers! This Global Systems Director will be responsible for working with Game Directors and other discipline Leads to plan, prototype and build game wide systems that impact all pillars of the game’s design. Design responsibilities include, but are not limited to: social systems, RPG systems, character progression, game difficulty, player mechanics, economy, world systems design, user experience and general maintenance from concept to ship.
Essential Duties:
- Partner with other design directors to ensure clear, coherent overall game pillars and high concept vision are communicated both to the team and executives.
- Lead and direct meetings, conduct brainstorms, promote collaboration amongst designers and directors, objectively breakdown design concepts and provide feedback when appropriate.
- Coordinate closely with programmers and artists to communicate the goals and specific needs of various gameplay systems and provide regular updates to all related systems.
- Document game mechanics and features quickly and clearly to serve as a resource for other developers to understand the various design concepts for implementation and the decisions made that support them.
- Design and help implement economic, progression and reward systems from concept through completion.
- Develop flexible systems and architecture to allow for iteration and response to player behaviors.
Competencies, Skills & Knowledge:
- Experience writing design specifications and tuning player progression and game-wide economies.
- In-depth understanding of system constraints and game engine architectures and how to best to work within them to deliver assets.
- Demonstrable organized approach to problem solving and time management to meet strict production deadlines
- Clear analytical thinker with a proven ability to break gameplay design down into regular, reusable systems
- Current on industry trends as it relates to modern system’s design.
Essential Requirements:
- 7+ years of game design experience in Lead Systems Design or as a Design Director.
- Informal or formal team leadership experience, including task and content management.
- Minimum of 2 AAA project shipped for current gen consoles or PC in a system design capacity, including primary responsibility for one or more core gameplay systems
Pluses:
- Experience working on a title with significant post launch support.
- Understanding and experience in different ongoing business models.
Crystal Dynamics is an EOE and M/F/D/V Employer.
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