Principal Gameplay Animator - Elsewhere Entertainment

DEMONWARE (CANADA) , INC.; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

401(k) with Company match

Job summary

Elsewhere Entertainment is seeking a Principal Gameplay Animator to shape the animation vision for a new IP. You’ll combine outstanding craft with deep gameplay expertise, collaborating with a skilled team to create innovative and exhilarating experiences.

As a senior voice on the project, you’ll elevate the game and studio through inclusivity, respect and collaboration. You’ll lead the quality bar for combat-driven gameplay animation, create and refine character animations, and work with

Qualifications

• Significant gameplay animation experience, including senior/principal contribution to shipped titles.
• Strong combat animation skills with impactful, responsive behaviours.
• Deep understanding of combat readability, timing, anticipation, hit reactions, and attack cycles.
• Experience working in game engines and contributing to animation systems.
• Strong knowledge of motion-capture pipelines, editing and blending mocap with keyframe animation.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the quality bar for gameplay animation, focusing on responsive combat.
• Create and refine high-quality character animations with fundamentals and mocap data.
• Shape animation approaches supporting combat design, player expression, enemy behaviours, traversal and moment-to-moment gameplay.
• Collaborate with Design, Engineering, Art, Audio and Narrative to enhance player experience.
• Apply knowledge of game design mechanics, 3Cs, AI, camera animation and narrative context.
• Contribute to animation systems, state machines, blending, transitions and in-engine implementation.
• Provide clear creative direction, feedback and mentorship to grow the animation team.
• Identify opportunities to improve tools, workflows and pipelines for scale.
• Solve complex technical and creative challenges balancing quality, performance and production needs.

Skills

Gameplay animation

Combat animation

Mocap blending

Maya

Animation systems

Tools

Maya

Job description

Job Title: Principal Gameplay Animator - Elsewhere Entertainment

Requisition ID: R028281

Job Description

Elsewhere Entertainment is looking for a Principal Gameplay Animator to help shape the animation vision for an exciting new IP.

You’ll combine outstanding animation craft with deep gameplay and combat expertise, collaborating with highly skilled developers to create innovative, exhilarating and expansively entertaining experiences. As a senior creative voice on the project, you’ll help elevate both the game and the studio through inclusivity, mutual respect, thoughtfulness, empathy, professionalism and collaboration.

You’ll help us by...

• Owning and driving the quality bar for gameplay animation, with a particular focus on responsive, readable and satisfying combat.
• Creating and refining high-quality character animations using strong animation fundamentals, gameplay principles and motion-capture data.
• Shaping animation approaches that support combat design, player expression, enemy behaviours, traversal and moment-to-moment gameplay.
• Partnering closely with Design, Engineering, Art, Audio and Narrative to ensure animation enhances the overall player experience.
• Applying deep knowledge of game design mechanics, 3Cs (character, camera and controls), AI behaviour, camera animation and narrative context.
• Contributing to animation systems, state machines, blending, transitions and in-engine implementation to achieve fluid, responsive gameplay.
• Providing clear creative direction, feedback and mentorship to help raise the craft and capability of the animation team.
• Identifying opportunities to improve tools, workflows and pipelines, helping the team work more effectively at scale.
• Solving complex technical and creative challenges while balancing quality, performance and production needs.

You’re awesome because you have...

• Significant gameplay animation experience, including a senior or principal-level contribution to one or more shipped titles.
• Strong combat animation skills, with experience creating impactful, responsive player and enemy combat behaviours.
• A deep understanding of combat readability, timing, anticipation, hit reactions, attack cycles, locomotion and player control.
• Experience working in game engines and contributing to animation systems and implementation.
• Strong knowledge of motion-capture pipelines, including editing, cleanup and blending mocap with keyframe animation.
• Exceptional animation fundamentals across human and creature movement, including timing, weight, balance and physicality.
• Proven experience collaborating across disciplines and influencing creative decisions at a project level.
• A thoughtful, constructive approach to giving feedback and supporting the growth of other animators.
• Advanced proficiency in Maya and the ability to adapt quickly to new tools and technologies.
• Strong technical and collaborative problem-solving skills.

Not sure you meet all the 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! At Activision, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment.

Our World

At Activision, we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. We’re driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy, together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and Guitar Hero. As a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products, our "press start" is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences.

We’re not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; we’re forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate, creative, and diverse teams within our organization.

We’re in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater - this could be your opportunity to level up.

Ready to Activate Your Future?

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 h