World Designer

Location

San Mateo, CA | United States

Job description

Description

THE STUDIO  

We are a company for gamers, by gamers. We believe that truly good and deeply compelling games are timeless and will ultimately prevail over fine-tuned shallow addiction cycles. Our mission is to make deeply engaging and technically outstanding games, while embracing all the opportunities of cross-platform, new business models and a games industry in flux.  

We are looking for motivated and highly skilled people who share our love for making outstanding games. You will need to be ready to take on the task of being part of a small but experienced and dedicated team, not be afraid to get your hands dirty, and have a can-do attitude. Join us! It’s going to be a thrilling ride.  

WORLD DESIGNER  

We are seeking a talented and experienced world designer to join our team for our upcoming unannounced AAA cross platform title. As a world designer, you will be responsible for creating immersive and engaging game worlds that players will love exploring. You will work closely with our game designers, artists, and narrative talent to design and implement game worlds that support our game's story, gameplay mechanics, and overall vision.  

Key Responsibilities:  

• Design and implement immersive and engaging game worlds that support the game's story, gameplay mechanics, and overall vision
• Create and implement gameplay mechanics related to the game world, such as traversal, exploration, environmental puzzles, and encounters
• Work with level designers to create detailed level layouts and designs that support the game's objectives and challenges
• Iteratively refine, improve and balance the game world experience based on feedback from the development team, playtests, and user research
• Maintain a strong understanding of industry trends and best practices in game world design, and contribute to the evolution of our game's artistic style
• Develop engaging combat encounters and narrative events 
• Identify pipeline and tooling needs and collaborate with relevant technologists to ensure the design needs are understood

Requirements:  

• 5+ years of experience as a world designer in the video game industry, with at least one shipped AAA title.
• A strong portfolio of game world designs that demonstrate your creativity, skill, and ability to create engaging content in games that have open world elements
• Experience with open world level design, and an understanding of how to create compelling, immersive, and challenging gameplay experiences
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work effectively in a team-based environment
• A passion for video games and a desire to create unique and engaging game worlds that players will love exploring
• Familiarity with scripting languages such as Lua, blueprints, etc
• A strong grasp of developing 3D spaces to best support varying gameplay needs as well as a familiarity with visual languages necessary to assist with player navigation and orientation.

Bonus points for:  

• Experience with narrative design for open-world games
• Experience working on a live service title with open world elements
• Experience integrating cohesively game world features such as dynamic weather, day/night cycles, etc into gameplay

The base annual salary range for this position in the United States is $65,000 - $135,000. The base salary is just one part of the overall compensation package. SEMC also offers a package of benefits, including, healthcare coverage, unlimited PTO, a remote work environment, flex working schedule, parental leave support, 100% 401k match on the first 3% of your contribution, and paid local hangout meals and events. For more details on the full benefits package please visit this link. All full time roles are also eligible for annual bonuses and equity.  

This base pay range is for the United States only and does not apply to international locations. The range for each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by location and additional factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.  

Do you feel like you don’t meet each and every requirement on the job description? Many people don't apply for jobs unless they feel they exceed at every one of these job requirements. It’s very important for us at SEMC to ensure we have a diverse and inclusive group of talent, so please go ahead and apply!  

Job tags

Salary