Gameplay Animator

2K; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a talented animation team at a leading game studio in Los Angeles to bring characters to life. You'll create dynamic animations, collaborate with developers, and contribute creatively to upcoming projects. This role combines artistic skill with technical knowledge, essential for enhancing game experiences.

Benefits

Competitive pay through bonus structures

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401k

Flex PTO policy and 10 Federal holidays annually

Paid parental leave

Qualifications

• Strong demo reel showcasing body mechanics and acting skills.
• Intermediate knowledge of game production pipelines and animation.
• Ability to receive feedback constructively.

Responsibilities

• Create hand-keyed character and prop animations.
• Work with the animation team on choreography and timing.
• Provide technical support for animation integration into the game.

Skills

Artistic Abilities

Technical Abilities

Interpersonal Skills

Tools

Autodesk Maya

Jira

Unreal Engine

3DS Max

Blender

Job description

Job Description

Intro

Join the visual arts team at Heart Machine to bring life and character to our games, leveraging your strong eye for timing, pose, and weight, and a keen understanding of the intersection between player intention and character emotion. Bring your ambitious creative spirit to the production of Hyper Light Breaker and future projects.

We are looking for people with a broad skillset that are comfortable working on the full spectrum of gameplay animations for players, enemies, and cinematics.

Who are we?

The Heart Machine animation team is a small team of around a half-dozen, based across the US and Europe with a broad variety of backgrounds and experiences. We’re professional, but know that the process of making games ought to be fun.

Responsibilities

• Create hand-keyed character and prop animations that match that visual style of the project, and meet the gameplay needs.
  • Work with the animation team in an iterative workflow to establish characterization, choreography, and timing of each move.
• Author animation assets from source in 3D Animation software (e.g. Autodesk Maya) through to basic implementation in Unreal.
• Provide feedback to other animators via text over Slack, and through regular group review sessions over video conferencing and screen-sharing software (e.g. discord).
• Work with Design and Engineering on the integration of character and prop animations into the game engine
  • Assist with monitoring, reporting, and troubleshooting of any technical issues that might arise (i.e. reporting and fixing bugs).

Qualifications

• Artistic Abilities:
  • A strong demo reel that demonstrates expert knowledge of body mechanics and acting skills.
  • Able to demonstrate a solid understanding of gameplay systems and game feel.
  • Able to demonstrate a basic understanding of cinematic principles.
    • e.g. composition, editing, lens selection, etc.
• Technical Abilities:
  • High level of comfort in Autodesk Maya.
  • Intermediate knowledge of game production pipelines.
    • Export/import
    • Notifies / NoteTracks
    • Additive animation setup
    • Blendspace (or equivalent) setup
  • Working knowledge of Source Control.
    • Familiarity with Depots, Workspaces, and Changelists.
  • Experience with Task Tracking or Bug databases.
    • e.g. Jira, HackNPlan, Asana, Shotgrid, Mantis, Devtrack, etc.
  • Willingness & aptitude to learn
• Interpersonal Skills:
  • The ability to receive feedback in a constructive manner, and apply the feedback to the animations.
  • Must practice empathy towards others, and understand that everyone has good days and bad.
  • Must be able to communicate clearly and effectively, and demonstrate some ability to adapt to different communication styles.
    • e.g. the way we communicate to other Animators is potentially different from how we might communicate with VFX Artist, Audio, Designers, or Engineers.
  • Must be able to manage one’s own time effectively—to not get bogged-down in details, nor fail to put in the effort where more might needed.
  • Should be able to follow good organizational practices:
    • Ability to follow established file naming and directory guidelines conventions.
    • Ability to organize their scene file(s) so that others may be able to open the file and work from it effectively.
    • Ability to update tasks and bugs in tracking software in a timely manner.
  • Possess the shonen protag-like drive and talent needed to produce and implement the highest quality work.
  • Ability to make noises appropriate to the action you’re trying to illustrate, e.g. whooshes, blips, boops, and kachows.
• Penchant for practical innovation and the ability to bring new ideas to the table.
• Passion for video games.

Preferred Experience

• Personal animation work.
• 2D animation skills.
• Significant contribution to a released game or animation project in Unreal Engine.
• Basic modeling, rigging, or Python scripting.
• Working knowledge of “other” 3D Animation software:
  • 3DS Max, Blender, Motionbuilder, Softimage, etc.

Additional Information

Salary

In the United States, the standard base pay range for this role we have estimated is $80k - $110k Annual. This base pay range is for the U.S. and is not applicable to locations outside of the U.S. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location. In addition to base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed.

Benefits

• Competitive pay through bonus structures
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401k
• Flex PTO policy and 10 Federal holidays annually
• Paid parental leave

Location

Flexibility to work remotely

Full-Time with Flexible Hours

Most staff maintain hours around 9a-6p PST. So long as you get the work done and are there for the meetings you are needed in, we trust you to manage your own time however makes sense to you.

Company Description

Heart Machine is a diverse team of passionate game developers working to create uniquely engaging worlds that are greater than the sum of their parts. We’re based in Los Angeles, but we have team members all across the globe.

We believe different perspectives contribute not only to more meaningful games but to a healthier and more sustainable team as well. As the studio grows, we are committed to maintaining a welcoming environment where all voices are valued.

We’re ambitious and work hard, but health is an essential value at Heart Machine. We aren’t a crunch factory: we’re committed to building a culture of healthy work-life balance.

We’re looking for talented individuals who share these values to collaborate with us on amazing, unique games.