Lead Gameplay Designer

Flix; EUA; Teletrabalho; USD 90 000 - 140 000; Tempo integral

Vantagens oferecidas por esta oferta de emprego

Private health and dental care

20 days annual leave

Team events & charity fundraisers

Fully remote working (Europe)

Gamepass or PS Plus Subscription

Flexible core hours

Resumo da oferta

Flix is seeking a Lead Melee Combat Designer to own combat design from concept through prototyping, production, and polishing. You will work primarily in Unreal Engine, balancing solo and co-op play, and shaping player movesets, enemies, and encounters with a focus on timing, flow, and game feel.

You will lead by example in the prototype phase and may grow the design team as development expands, collaborating with the Game Director and programmers to deliver polished, satisfying combat

Qualificações

• 7+ years of professional melee combat design experience.
• Experience owning combat systems on at least one shipped title.
• Expert practical knowledge of Unreal Engine with Blueprint skills.

Responsabilidades

• Own the combat design from concept to final implementation in collaboration with the Game Director.
• Lead testing, balancing, and tuning for both solo and co-op modes.
• Shape animation timing and gameplay integration with the animation team.
• Mentor and potentially grow the design team as development expands.

Conhecimentos

Melee combat design

Unreal Engine

Blueprint scripting

Animation timing

Co-op balance

Leadership by example

Prototyping

Ferramentas

Unreal Engine (Gameplay Ability System)

Animation systems

State machines / Montages

Descrição da oferta de emprego

We're looking for a Lead Melee Combat Designer to own and develop a fluid, impactful melee combat experience inspired by Shadow of Mordor and God of War. You'll take combat from initial concepts through prototyping, production and final polish, shaping both the player's abilities and the enemies they face. Working primarily in Unreal Engine, you'll combine creative ideas with a strong sense of timing, flow and game feel to make combat intuitive, varied and rewarding in both solo and co-op play. This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll initially lead by example through the prototype phase, with the potential to build and manage a design team as development grows.,

• Own the combat design from paper concepts to final implementation, setting a clear direction in collaboration with the Game Director.
• Build, test, and refine combat directly in Unreal Engine, working closely with the Senior Technical Animator and programmers.
• Design player movesets, abilities, enemy behaviours, bosses and combat encounters that create depth, variety and meaningful choices.
• Tune attacks, combos, defensive actions, hit reactions and targeting, with close attention to responsiveness, timing, spacing and flow.
• Shape animation timing, transitions and gameplay integration alongside the Senior Technical Animator.
• Balance combat for solo and co-op play, keeping different player counts, complementary abilities and enemy interactions in mind.
• Keep combat engaging throughout the game through new enemies, abilities, encounters and evolving tactical challenges.
• Explore new ideas through focused prototypes, playtesting and iteration.
• Communicate designs clearly, maintain practical documentation and take responsibility for delivering polished results.
• Help establish the combat design team as the project grows, potentially taking on recruitment, mentoring and line management., Based just outside Birmingham, Flix is made up of welcoming, passionate, active gamers who support one another in all aspects of development. We offer you:
• Private health and dental care.
• 20 days A/L plus additional leave over the Christmas period.
• Team social events, including board game nights and charity fundraisers.
• Two company-wide parties a year, all expenses paid.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Fully remote working (Europe).
• Gamepass or PS Plus Subscription.
• Flexible core hours.
• On top of that, here's more:

• The opportunity to join a friendly, nurturing work environment and build games as part of an extremely talented, ambitious studio.
• Work on market-leading titles and IP with globally reputable studios and publisher partners.
• Being part of a sustainably growing game developer studio as we consciously expand our team and projects on a case-by-case basis.
• Learning within an independent studio across a wide range of projects and opportunities both internal and external.

• 7+ years of professional experience designing melee combat, including ownership of combat systems on at least one shipped title.
• Expert practical knowledge of Unreal Engine, with strong Blueprint skills and the ability to independently build, debug and tune character combat.
• A strong working understanding of Unreal's animation systems, including Animation Blueprints, state machines, blend spaces, montages, animation notifies, root motion, motion matching, motion warping, IK and Control Rig.
• Confidence adjusting animation implementation and timing to improve combat feel, in close collaboration with animation specialists.
• A strong understanding of player combat, enemy design and encounter balance, with a clear feel for anticipation, impact, recovery and combat rhythm.
• Experience designing and balancing multiplayer combat, with an understanding of the challenges of co-op play.
• The ability to create combat variety and sustain player interest across a full game.
• A creative, experimental approach, supported by sound judgement and a willingness to test, adapt or discard ideas.
• Demonstrated ability to lead from the front, take ownership and move work forward independently.
• Clear communication skills and a collaborative approach to working across disciplines.

Desirable:

• Experience with Unreal's Gameplay Ability System and networked gameplay systems.
• Experience shipping a game with both solo and co-op combat.
• Experience growing, mentoring or managing a design team.
• Familiarity with animation production and motion capture workflows.
• C++ experience, particularly within Unreal Engine.

• If you love making games and you would like to contribute to a team and project where your drive and skills will be welcomed and encouraged, then we would love to hear from you.