Senior Combat Designer (Unity)

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Combat Designer to join our dynamic team and help craft engaging and memorable combat systems for our upcoming title. As a Senior Combat Designer, you will leverage your deep understanding of gameplay mechanics, player behavior, and Unity to design, prototype, and implement combat systems that deliver thrilling and polished experiences. While experience in the Action RPG genre is preferred, it is not mandatory. You’ll collaborate closely with designers, artists, and engineers to ensure our combat mechanics align with the game’s overall vision while striving to exceed player expectations.

Key Responsibilities;

• Combat System Design: Develop and refine core combat mechanics, including player and enemy abilities, enemy behaviors, skill trees, and other gameplay elements that form the foundation of the player’s combat experience.
• Prototyping and Implementation: Design, prototype, and iterate on combat systems using Unity and its associated tools, ensuring responsiveness, balance, and fun.
• Balancing and Tuning: Analyze and adjust combat-related systems to ensure a balanced and rewarding player experience, incorporating feedback from playtests and user research. 
• Collaboration: Work closely with cross-disciplinary teams, including engineers, animators, artists, and other designers, to bring combat mechanics to life and ensure seamless integration with the game’s narrative and world.
• Documentation: Create and maintain clear, comprehensive design documents that outline combat mechanics, systems, and workflows for use by the entire development team.
• Mentorship: Provide guidance and mentorship to junior designers, fostering growth and upskilling within the team.
• Innovation: Stay updated on industry trends, tools, and techniques to bring fresh ideas and approaches to the combat systems.
• Problem-Solving: Address technical or design challenges in combat systems, ensuring solutions align with the game’s creative vision and technical constraints.

Requirements

• Experience: 5+ years of professional experience in game design, with a strong emphasis on combat design. Experience in the Action RPG genre is preferred. Proven track record of significant contributions to the combat systems of at least one shipped AAA title or high-quality indie game.
• Technical Skills: Proficient in Unity, including experience with node graph based editors for gameplay systems and the animation system. Strong understanding of game design principles, combat dynamics, input responsiveness, and player psychology.
• Design Expertise: Ability to craft compelling and balanced combat experiences that cater to a variety of playstyles. Deep knowledge of combat systems, AI behavior, mechanic design and player progression systems.
• Collaboration and Communication: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively work with multidisciplinary teams. Strong documentation skills to clearly communicate complex systems and workflows.
• Problem-Solving: Proven ability to identify design issues and implement practical, innovative solutions.
• Passion: A deep love for video games and an understanding of what makes combat systems engaging and memorable.