Arlea Studios Ltd is looking for a Video Game Systems Designer who would like to work with an early stage start-up video game development studio. We are looking for a systems designer with experience with turn based RPGs, especially those that follow traditional JRPG design. Experience with other genres would be advantageous.
We are seeking someone with a strong grasp of mathematical principles and how they can be applied to gameplay who can build and balance game systems and maintain the associated documentation.
Since we’re an early stage start-up studio with limited scope for a systems designer we’re looking for someone who is willing to work on a temporary contract for a rolling term of 3 months with an expected initial expected duration of 6 months. The position will be for 20 hours per week with normal work hours Mon-Fri 11am-4pm including 1 hour unpaid lunch break. Flexible hours allowed.
Demonstrable work on a commercially published game is required. Whilst we would prefer to bring on a PAYE employee for the role, due to the short term nature of the role and rolling contract we are willing to consider other working arrangements.
Due to the short term nature of this remote working placement the applicant will be expected to provide their own hardware adequate for their role and ensure that they have a stable high speed internet connection for the duration of the position.
Responsibilities
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Plan and design elements for new and existing games and concepts while working to brief.
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Report to the creative director, project manager and/or producer, producing design elements for evaluation, provide feedback on key design elements and advocating from player experience.
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Create concept documents to pitch to the development team.
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Plan, design and evaluate gameplay systems, mechanics and loops for new and existing games.
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Build and maintain game design documentation.
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Build and maintain spreadsheets for a variety of game elements.
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Design and balance underlying mathematical principles of game design such as damage calculations.
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Design and balance game elements such as enemies, abilities, equipment, economy, etc.
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Use design and lore documentation to design and balance content.
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Plan and design game pace and player growth.
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Communicate with and provide feedback to other teams.
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Work with other teams to ensure game elements are properly integrated into the game experience and function correctly.
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Make adjustments to game systems and concepts based on feedback.
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QA test games and evaluate game systems, providing feedback and making changes where required.
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Work with team members to come up with pragmatic solutions to issues found by the design team, QA team or community.
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Plan and post tasks on team management software based on your own role
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Plan and post tasks on team management software based on systems designed and ready for implementation by the development team.
Required Skills
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Previous demonstrable experience working as a systems designer on a published game.
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A strong understanding of top-down design, design patterns, and game design principles.
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A strong understanding of mathematical principles and how they can be applied to game design.
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A keen understanding of game balance and how various game systems interact and affect each other.
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A creative mindset and good design skills.
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A strong ability to balance individual systems and the way they interact with other systems.
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A strong ability to design and balance overall gameplay and gameplay loops.
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Excellent communication, technical & problem-solving skills.
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Highly organized with proven ability to deliver on deadlines.
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Adaptable and ability to multi-task and prioritise work based on changing schedules
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Provide feedback and critiques on design elements and how they are integrated into the game on a technical level.
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Assess player habits and design systems around them.
Beneficial
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Experience in other aspects of game design such as experience design, level design and content design.
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Thorough understanding of market and target audience.
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Storytelling ability.
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Experience working with analytics data.
Contract length: 3 months
Part-time hours: 20 per week
Job Types: Part-time, Temporary
Salary: £866 per month