Associate Game Designer, Encounters - World of Warcraft

Blizzard Entertainment in; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 33,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays and vacation

Mental health & wellbeing programs

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Blizzard Entertainment is seeking an Associate Game Designer for World of Warcraft to design and implement engaging creature encounters for raid, dungeon, delve, and outdoor content. You will translate ideas into formal pitches and iterate with a modern game editor, contributing to compelling stories through gameplay mechanics.

This hybrid role requires on-site work in Irvine, CA, with some remote work. A passion for WoW content and collaboration across disciplines will help you thrive in a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• Two years' experience working in a design role for live games or in an equivalent performance-driven professional setting.
• Significant experience playing World of Warcraft dungeon and raid content.
• Experience building games or mods in modern game engines e.g. Unreal, Unity, Godot, etc.

Responsibilities

• Populate the world of Azeroth with creatures and bring them to life through combat behaviors.
• Translate loose content ideas into formalized design pitches to be shared with design peers and collaborators across multiple disciplines.
• Iterate effectively while working on both short and long-term design projects using a modern game editor.
• Interpret and incorporate feedback on your content from a variety of sources, including players, peers, quantitative reports, and design leadership.
• Empathize with a broad spectrum of player types to build encounters that provide an appropriate amount of challenge for different audiences.
• Maintain a strong understanding of modern World of Warcraft combat and encounter design.
• Meet target dates and work proactively with production to prioritize and balance your workload.
• Communicate proactively across the development team to collaborate with peers in many other sub-disciplines

Skills

Game editor

Scripting languages

Communication

Understanding of combat design

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Unreal

Unity

Godot

Job description

Associate Game Designer, Encounters - World of Warcraft (Finance)

Team Name

World of Warcraft

Job Title

Associate Game Designer, Encounters - World of Warcraft

Requisition ID

R028085

Job Description

Blizzard Entertainment is looking for a talented and enthusiastic Associate Game Designer for the World of Warcraft team.

As an Associate Encounter Designer for the World of Warcraft team you will contribute to the development of raid, dungeon, delve, and outdoor world content by designing and implementing engaging creature combat. You must have a passion for telling compelling stories and excel at crafting them through the medium of gameplay mechanics.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The home studio for this position is Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

• Populate the world of Azeroth with creatures and bring them to life through combat behaviors
• Translate loose content ideas into formalized design pitches to be shared with design peers and collaborators across multiple disciplines
• Iterate effectively while working on both short and long-term design projects using a modern game editor
• Interpret and incorporate feedback on your content from a variety of sources, including players, peers, quantitative reports, and design leadership
• Empathize with a broad spectrum of player types to build encounters that provide an appropriate amount of challenge for different audiences
• Maintain a strong understanding of modern World of Warcraft combat and encounter design
• Meet target dates and work proactively with production to prioritize and balance your workload
• Communicate proactively across the development team to collaborate with peers in many other sub-disciplines

Minimum Requirements

Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience
• Two years' experience working in a design role for live games or in an equivalent performance-driven professional setting
• Significant experience playing World of Warcraft dungeon and raid content
• Experience building games or mods in modern game engines e.g. Unreal, Unity, Godot, etc.

Knowledge & Skills

• Demonstrated skill using at least one game editor for a modern game engine
• Demonstrated ability to write scripts, code, or queries using at least one computer language (e.g. C#, Lua, Python)
• Knowledge of professional game development best practices and development roles
• A high standard of oral and written professional communication skills, including the ability to document work effectively and lead professional meetings/discussions

Application materials

• Resume
• A cover letter that includes information about your professional/academic career and why you're interested in working on World of Warcraft
• A list of games you've played in the last 90 days

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry's most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Candy Crush and Bubble Witch. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovate worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for 'Every World' - we've got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to [e-mail]. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

Rewards

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/ .

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $24.43 - $45.19 Hourly. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role's range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.