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Senior II Combat Designer
11 months ago
We are creators of the hit survival-fantasy franchise State of Decay with a fan base of over 10 million players. As an independent member of Xbox Game Studios, we collaborate with a huge network of skilled specialists in all disciplines, providing incredible opportunities for joint development and learning.
Undead Labs is looking for a Senior II Combat Designer to join our State of Decay 3 team. You’ll be bringing your passion and understanding of visceral, combat systems to our team and delivering your designs for our open-world, systemic-based game. Our ideal candidate is comfortable empathetically tailoring their choices to our players while simultaneously working on the most minute details of interdependent systems. You'll work closely with a team of designers, animators, and programmers to craft engaging, moment-to-moment gameplay that provide players with thrilling experiences and help grow our fan-base and franchise.
At Undead Labs we work in highly collaborative, cross-discipline teams because we understand that the best ideas are ones we generate together. We’re humble and curious in our work while always striving to make things better – for our players, for each other, and for our industry. Everyone here is committed to helping the team thrive, enabling us to rise to the moment and build amazing games.
We have office hubs in Seattle, WA, Champaign, IL, and Orlando, FL and are also able to employ people in Texas and California. If you are currently located in one of these locations, or open to relocation, we'd love to hear from you!
Core Responsibilities:
- Design, document, prototype, implement, and balance gameplay systems that support and expand our combat mechanics.
- Collaborate with animators to create fun and responsive gameplay through iterative attention to timings and distances.
- Create measurable evolution of our game’s combat experience through the tune and polish of your work.
- Document and communicate your vision to the rest of the team.
- Script gameplay abilities into Unreal 5.
- Define and measure combat progression and difficulty with our analytics team.
- Partner with UX design to consider holistic player experience and accessibility needs while ensuring systems are well-understood by our players.
- Foster an inclusive environment, centered on safety, engagement, collaboration, accountability, and community.
Basic Qualifications:
- Deep experience working collaboratively with other disciplines to build combat/movement (melee, range, stealth) systems.
- Confident and comfortable with the responsibility of being at the intersection of design and art.
- Experience working collaboratively with other disciplines to create highly polished and responsive systems.
- Familiarity with Unreal Engine (Blueprints).
- Strong, interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to write clear and succinct design documentation.
- Passionate about developing and following high-functioning development processes.
- Shipped at least one title, preferably a 3rd-person action or open world game, as a combat designer.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience implementing combat in a third-person, systemic game.
- Deep understanding of the post-apocalyptic survival-fantasy genre.
- Experience designing and working with combat camera systems.
- Thorough understanding of animation systems.
- Portfolio examples with ideally 8+ years of video game experience, with 5+ years in combat systems work.
The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $129,000 - $199,000 per year.
The range above reflects the potential base pay across the U.S. for this role (except as noted below); the applicable base range will depend on various factors, such as complexity and responsibility of the role, job duties/requirements, and relevant experience and skills. Base pay ranges are reviewed and typically updated each year. Offers are made within the base pay range applicable at the time.
At Undead Labs, certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases and an annual bonus. These awards are allocated based on individual performance. Benefits/perks listed here may vary depending on the nature of employment with Undead Labs.
Physical Requirements
Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
- Close vision to monitors and screens, consistently working on computer equipment such as keyboards and monitors, long periods of sitting.
- Noise levels are low to moderate in the work environment.
Undead Labs is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.