Senior Designer

Who We Are: 

Ghost Story Games is a self-publishing game development studio founded by Ken Levine (Creative Director of System Shock 2, Bioshock, and Bioshock Infinite) and former Irrational Games developers.  The studio’s mission is to create narrative-driven experiences rooted in immersive world building and gameplay. 

The Challenge:

Ghost Story Games is seeking a talented remote Senior Designer to join us on Judas, the highly anticipated game led by Ken Levine (System Shock 2, BioShock series).  Unique in its creative vision, Judas is also built upon novel technology by which the visual world, gameplay, and story unfolds in meaningful, dynamic ways.  The result is a significant and personal journey adapted to each player’s experience and offers a new approach to the art and storytelling of video games.  

We’re looking for an experienced lead designer to help build the best possible gameplay experience for our next project. You have a strong understanding of level design, gameplay pacing and global balance and keep a holistic view of how it all fits together in moment to moment gameplay. You have a strong ability to deconstruct high level gameplay systems, breaking them down into specific technical details, features and tasks as well as possess the technical acumen to dive in and hook it all up in a highly systemic game.

What You’ll Take On:

• Primary ownership for the design, prototyping and fostering of one or more core gameplay systems, including player mechanics, world simulation and / or AI.

• Lead, coordinate and participate in collaborative, interdisciplinary sub-teams to implement and balance gameplay features from initial design to final polish.

• Author, revise and provide feedback on internal design documentation, including feature specifications and implementation guides.

• Collaborate with the design team to incorporate systems into level gameplay and maintain overall balance between multiple gameplay systems.

• Continually iterate, balance and tune features and gameplay based on feedback from design leads, QA and playtesting.

What You Bring:

• 10+ years of design experience on PC or console games in a systems design capacity.

• Have worked on projects throughout the entire production cycle, from concepting through ship.

• Strong skills in design/scripting (Unreal 4 experience preferred).

• Ability to work independently to diagnose and solve problems; to work within a schedule; and to deliver effectively to deadlines.

• Excellent communication, collaboration, interpersonal and organizational skills.

• Familiarity with highly systemic games with procedural elements.

• Experience with design for shooters, immersive sims and/or action RPGs.

• Experience with Perforce or similar source control solutions.

The pay range for this position in Massachusetts at the start of employment is expected to be between $107,100 and $158,520 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for employees in regular roles may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, provided that temporary or intern roles will not be eligible for many of these payments or benefits. Details of participation in compensation and benefit plans (if applicable) will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an ~at-will position~ and the company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

When Applying For This Position: 

Please watch the following GDC talk given by Ken Levine: http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020434/Narrative

Please be aware that Ghost Story does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. Ghost Story also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and the Ghost Story will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel. Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scam or phishing exercise. Ghost Story’s in-house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Ghost Story email addresses (i.e., via a ghoststorygames.com email domain). If you need to report an issue or otherwise have questions, please contact [email protected] 

As an equal opportunity employer, Ghost Story Games, LLC (“Ghost Story”) is committed to fostering and celebrating the diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds of its talent, partners, and communities throughout its organization. Consistent with this commitment, Ghost Story does not discriminate or retaliate against any employee or job applicant because of their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, and genetic information (including family medical history), or on the basis of any other trait protected by applicable law. If you need to report a concern or have questions regarding Ghost Story’s equal opportunity commitment, please contact [email protected].