Combat Designer

What we do:

At Gunfire Games, we’re passionate about creating unforgettable worlds and experiences. With a legacy built on titles like Darksiders 3, The Remnant Series and Chronos, we're driven by the future of game development. Our team thrives on innovation, collaboration, and honing our craft to its finest edge. We're looking for talented, passionate people to help shape the next chapter in our story.

Gunfire Games is seeking an experienced Combat Designer (mid or senior level) who will focus on creature designs for our upcoming titles. The Combat Designer will conceptualize and implement compelling creature mechanics using Unreal 5. The ideal candidate has a passion for making characters feel alive and authentic, a strong technical understanding, a firm grasp on the fundamentals of animation, and experience using state machines to hook up characters. Required to be a self-starter, highly motivated, and capable of working with minimal supervision. Must be able to share a portfolio demonstrating relevant experience in creature design. Position may be performed remotely (within the United States) although ability to be on-site is preferred.

What you’ll do:

• Collaborate with Design Leadership: Work closely with design leadership to conceptualize, implement, and polish engaging creature behaviors that align with the project’s creative vision.
• Balancing and Refining Creature Mechanics: Balance and refine creature mechanics to deliver unique, authentic, and captivating encounters for the player.
• Collaboration Across Disciplines: Work closely with animators, artists, and programmers to bring creatures to life in high-quality gameplay.
• Developing State Machines and AI Logic: Develop and implement state machines, animation systems, and AI logic for a variety of creatures.
• Seeking and Implementing Feedback: Actively seek feedback from leadership, peers, and playtests to improve creature design.
• Adhering to Technical Constraints: Ensure the implementation of all creature mechanics adheres to the project’s technical constraints, optimizing performance while maintaining design integrity.

Who you are:

• You have a minimum of 2 years of experience in combat design, with a particular focus on creature mechanics, delivering engaging and dynamic gameplay.
• You have a portfolio/reel showcasing examples of your creature combat design, demonstrating your ability to implement behaviors and create memorable encounters.
• You have a strong technical understanding and experience with Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5), especially in animation systems and state machines, ensuring smooth creature interactions within the game.
• You are proficient with scripting languages like Blueprints, using them to implement systems and mechanics that bring gameplay to life.
• You have solid knowledge of creature and combat mechanics, including AI behaviors and animation fundamentals, crafting systems that are both functional and immersive.
• You have experience working with 3D game engines and understand game production pipelines, ensuring that your work fits within the larger development process.
• You have excellent communication skills, ensuring smooth collaboration and clear articulation of ideas across teams.
• You are able to iterate and implement quickly without compromising quality, balancing the need for efficiency with the importance of delivering polished gameplay.
• You actively seek and incorporate feedback, striving to achieve the highest quality work and continuous improvement.
• You are highly adaptable, able to adjust quickly to changes in project demands or direction and thrive in evolving creative environments.
• You are a self-starter, highly motivated, and capable of working with minimal supervision while maintaining focus and delivering results.
• You have exceptional time and task management skills, able to handle multiple responsibilities simultaneously and meet deadlines effectively.
• You are based in the U.S. and legally able to work without employer sponsorship for an indefinite period of time.

Bonus XP:

• Animation experience, especially related to creature behaviors
• Shipped a AA/AAA title
• Experience iterating on work based on playtests and player feedback

The above list of job duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the hired applicant may be required to undertake additional tasks as may be reasonably expected to perform.

Pay range: $70,000 - $120,000. Title level (mid/senior) and base pay offered will be based on candidate’s skills, experience, and other professional considerations.

Gunfire Games LLC is an equal opportunity employer and considers all candidates for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital status, military or veteran’s status (including protected veterans, as may be required by federal law), sexual orientation or any other category protected by law.