ProbablyMonsters is seeking a Principal Player Combat & Gameplay Designer who is experienced in designing, implementing, and tuning player gameplay & combat. We are looking for someone who able to own the design of all player gameplay mechanics, collaborating heavily with the game systems, level design, animation, AI, and engineering teams to help deliver exciting moment-to-moment gameplay for a new action-adventure role-playing-game IP.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• A nuanced understanding of third-person character action game principles & ability to clearly communicate them, at both a granular and high level.
• Understanding of how various combat and action role-playing game systems intertwine.
• Experience with animation systems and tuning gameplay within the context of combat design in a modern 3D game engine.
• Experience designing and implementing challenging and engaging player gameplay experiences at a shippable AAA quality level.
• Ability to collaborate and clearly articulate across multiple disciplines.
• Able to work on day-to-day projects and end-to-end assignments without constant oversite, utilizing best practices, independent judgement, skills, and previous experience to effectively execute on requests from stakeholders.
• Strong conceptual thinking and ability to work on complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of variable factors.
• Experience in mentoring other designers and providing insightful feedback on design efforts.
• Recognized as a subject matter expert.
• Ability to establish department/function goals and objectives.
• Requires a minimum of 10 years of related or equivalent work experience.
• Experience in the design of at least two games on modern consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, PC etc.).

PREFERRED SKILLS:

• Previous combat and traversal design experience on a third-person action RPG or melee combat game.
• Previous experience in feature ownership within game design of AAA game development.
• Experience using Unreal Engine (Unreal 5 preferred) and Blueprint visual scripting to build shippable-quality combat and gameplay.
• Experience in mentoring other designers and providing insightful feedback on design efforts.
• Expertise in C++ or other text-based scripting languages.
• Experience partnering with co-development partners to supplement content development.

• Serve as the design expert in development of player gameplay, driving core gameplay mechanics that creates strong player mastery in partnership with game systems to deliver combat and exploration that is fun to perform solo or cooperatively.
• Be a leader in the identification of challenges with gameplay mechanics, game content, and workflow processes and devise creative solutions in cases where there will be limited information and requires adaptation to resolve.
• Work directly with team leadership to ensure that the vision is being properly executed and clearly executed.
• You’ll be heavily involved in partnering with the development efforts of AI combatants to define and evolve gameplay pillars to create high quality gameplay interactions between the player and enemies.
• Collaborate with the team through all phases of development, including working with production and product management to effectively scope, prioritize, and deliver at the highest quality and ensure a cohesive gameplay experience.
• Exhibit expert game design knowledge, using in-depth professional knowledge, acumen, concepts and company objectives to develop, resolve complex models and procedures.
• Establish quality benchmarks that drive the team and development partners in reach them.
• Collaborate with outsourcing partners to guide them with expanding and delivering gameplay content that meets the quality goals of the game.
• Mentor other game designers to share your experience and insights to help them improve their craft.
• Proactively provide updates on progress and development to the team including communicating progress and decision-making widely to ensure full visibility & strong alignment between disciplines.Lead the work of testing features and identifying challenges with gameplay mechanics, game content, and workflow processes and find creative solutions to meet design goals.