System Designer - 3 month contract

Panic Stations; United States; Remote; USD 46,000 - 109,000; Full time

Job summary

Panic Stations is a games studio seeking a systems-focused designer for a 3 month contract, remote in the UK. You will own the design and balancing of core game and progression systems for our cooperative job-simulator, shaping the player experience through economy design and pacing.

Collaborate with programmers in Unity, iterate with playtests, and balance resources for varied group sizes. Bring 5+ years in game design, economy design experience, and a passion for indie titles.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in game design.
• Experience designing and balancing economies and game systems.
• Comfortable working in a small, fast-moving team.
• Proficient with Unity, confident using source control.
• Passion for indie games, job simulators and friendslop titles.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and balancing of game & progression systems.
• Work closely with programmers to review and iterate on these systems, using Unity to playtest and adjust balance.
• Balance the game's economy so players progress at a steady pace and make meaningful resource decisions.
• Ensure systems and economy are balanced for groups of different sizes for an engaging experience.
• Participate in broader design discussions, championing systems while prioritizing player experience.

Skills

Game design

Economy design

Unity

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Tools

Unity

Job description

We're a games studio focused on building games that bring people together.

We believe that games that deliver the most fun-per-minute have the highest chance of success. We are a start-up and not a big company, which means we're a bit scrappy but we're resourceful, highly collaborative and focused on outcomes and shipping builds over process and meetings.

We aim to hire multi-talented individuals who can operate autonomously and at speed, with every role at the studio being hands-on working directly on our games.

Role Overview

We're looking to bring on a system designer for a 3 month contract, with potential to extend further depending on how things go.

We're looking for an experienced designer who can join our team and instantly hit the ground running, owning the design and balancing of key systems in our co-op job simulator game.

You will be a key figure in shaping the player experience, refining the progression and game systems that underpin our moment to moment gameplay.

We're looking to move fast so efficiency, clarity and trust all need to be high if we're to hit our goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the design and balancing of game & progression systems.
• Work closely with programmers to review and iterate on these systems, working in Unity to playtest and adjust game balance.
• Balance the game's economy so players progress through our content at a steady pace and make interesting decisions around how to invest their resources.
• Ensure the game's systems and economy are balanced for player groups of different sizes so that all players have an engaging experience.
• Participate in broader design discussions around the game, championing systems but valuing the player experience over perfect balance.

Requirements

• 5+ years game design experience
• Experience designing and balancing economies and game systems
• Comfortable working in a small, fast-moving team
• Proficient with Unity, confident using source control
• Passion for indie games, job simulators and 'friendslop' titles

Please note: This is a 3 month contract, remote-working position, open to anyone within the UK.