Gameplay Designer (Creatures) - Remote

About the Role

We are looking for a talented Gameplay Designer (Creatures) remote to join our innovative team at Gardens Interactive. In this role, you will be instrumental in shaping the living inhabitants of our game worlds, ensuring they are dynamic and engaging for players. Your expertise will help us create a vibrant multiplayer experience that fosters meaningful interactions among players.

What You'll Do

• Prototype, iterate, and maintain creature behaviors and abilities for both combat and non-combat scenarios in an online multiplayer environment.
• Own the implementation and continuous maintenance of creature behaviors using Unreal Behaviors Trees and Blackboards.
• Collaborate with engineers, artists, animators, and audio designers to enhance the player experience.
• Balance and tune difficulty and behavior to create engaging encounters for multiplayer situations.
• Advocate for the player experience, ensuring creature interactions are fun, surprising, and memorable.
• Partner with Animation to tune movement sets and provide pathfinding logic for grounded locomotion.
• Act as a key bridge between Art/Animation and Engineering to troubleshoot visual state logic and optimize creature performance.

Requirements

• Understanding of multiplayer gameplay to create compelling creatures and behaviors that elevate player experience.
• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to communicate ideas clearly and succinctly.
• Strong playtesting and iteration habits to maintain creative goals while considering design decisions' impact on player relationships.
• Experience with Unreal Engine, especially Behavior Trees, Blackboards, and Blueprint Scripting.
• Passion for ecological design, systemic worldbuilding, or player-driven emergent gameplay.

Nice to Have

• Love for and understanding of the animal kingdom, creature biology, and natural ecologies.

What We Offer

• Competitive Salaries and Pay Transparency.
• Stock Options.
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage (100% for Individuals and 90% for Dependents).
• Life Insurance, Short Term & Long Term Disability, and numerous other benefits.
• 401k contributions (USA) / RRSP plan + DPSP contributions (Canada).
• Paid Parental Leave.
• Biannual Company Retreats.
• Continued Education Allowance.
• A fully-distributed studio across North American Timezones (US & Canada).

At Gardens Interactive, we believe that diverse perspectives make our team stronger and our games better. If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. We value potential, passion, and a willingness to grow. Join us in shaping the future of gaming!