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Lead Combat Designer

People make games great. And at Survios, we know we can’t grow from an acclaimed VR studio to the world’s premier game developer and publisher without them. That’s why our most valuable investments aren’t in the next-generation technology we use to make our games or the swanky new HQ we’re building in Marina Del Rey, but in creating a hybrid workplace that seeks out talent across the globe, nurtures its people, and encourages fun. A workplace where every team member knows they’re respected and cared for. If you want to join a passionate team of developers driving toward the future of immersive gaming, we’d love to hear from you! Survios currently has an opening for a talented Lead Combat Designer.

As a Lead Combat Designer, you will be responsible for leading complex first person combat interactions from initial concept, to prototype, asset integration, tuning and polish. This position will be responsible for overseeing implementing a rapid iteration pipeline with prototyping player and enemy mechanics and systems for first-person games. The ideal candidate will have a thorough knowledge of game design theory and tools pipelines, possess strong leadership skills and production know-how, and have the talent to produce and implement the highest quality work. This is your chance to define a new generation of gaming and entertainment.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the vision and development of exciting and meaningful combat systems.
• Communicate the theory and lead the implementation of how players interact with their environment, weapons and enemies in 1st person games using both blueprints and behavior trees.
• Clearly communicate high level combat ideas and future plans with the entire team.
• Mentor design reports to build leaders and subject matter experts.
• Work with the Studio Design Directors to build well thought out, flexible design systems.
• Collaborate closely with Art, Animation, Engineering, QA and Audio team leads to create functional, fun, and exciting combat systems that achieve unprecedented and immersive VR and flat screen gaming experiences.
• Collaborate with designers and engineers on meta-game systems and AI.
• Oversee the creation of thorough, easy to understand combat documentation.
• Spearhead and deliver work on time and on schedule.
• Develop data-gathering methods for game balancing and tuning through focus testing, analytics, and community feedback.

Requirements:

• 5+ years of game industry experience designing and implementing players and enemies.
• Worked on at least 1 complete product cycle as a Combat Designer, preferably on AAA game franchises.
• Must have proven ability to prototype new mechanics.
• Strong methodology and problem solving ability, with a focus on rapid iteration to achieve balance, accessibility, and fun.
• Deep understanding of combat design across multiple genres; how animation, art and player input affects feel and player experience.
• Very comfortable working in game editors and understanding engine/game constraints and opportunities.
• Strong understanding of scripting languages such as: Blueprints, Behavior Tree, C#, or Javascript.
• Strong communication skills, with a proven ability to document systems clearly and interface successfully with design and other departments.

Pluses:

• Experience working with VR prototyping.
• Knowledge of Agile Methodology, JIRA, Perforce, etc.
• Experience with Unreal Engine.
• Strong, updated and current portfolio with samples of your work.

About Us:

Survios is an award-winning game studio that takes a holistic approach to development, merging our hardware, software, and games expertise to create unbelievable immersive game experiences. As we expand our focus from VR-Only to create games across all PC and Console platforms, we’re dedicated to leveraging our passion, expertise, and creativity to develop and publish the next generation of groundbreaking and immersive video games.