Senior Gameplay Animator/Rigger

WHO WE ARE

We’re Rascal Games, a new independent studio founded by 2nd-time entrepreneurs who sold their first company to Discord. We’re fully funded with the support of seasoned game developers and investors from companies like Riot Games, Niantic, Roblox, and Discord.

PROJECT WAYWARD

We’re building Project Wayward, a shared world group-based PvE action-adventure game, inspired by games like Sea of Thieves, Valheim, and Fortnite. Our goal is to authentically capture the dream of adventuring in another world with friends. Players play as themselves, travel to story-filled worlds, and embark on thrilling adventures every night with their friends.

🎮 WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

We are seeking a talented and experienced Senior Animator who is both a proficient character animator and a skilled technical animator.

In this role, you will be responsible for bringing our characters and worlds to life through high-quality animations that are realistic in terms of believability but infused with the dynamic and stylized energy found in popular anime. As part of a small team, you will have the opportunity to work closely with artists, designers, and programmers, playing a key role in shaping the visual identity of our games. We are developing our games in Unreal Engine 5, so proficiency with this engine is essential.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Character Animation: Create fluid, dynamic, and believable character animations that balance realistic movements with the stylized, energetic feel of popular anime, using 3D animation software.
• Technical Animation: Develop and implement animation rigs, including character rigging, skinning, and setting up animation pipelines within Unreal Engine 5.
• Collaboration: Work closely with the art director, designers, and programmers to ensure that animations align with the overall artistic vision, technical constraints, and desired style of the game.
• Optimization: Optimize animations for performance while maintaining high visual quality, ensuring that animations run smoothly within Unreal Engine 5.
• Prototyping and Iteration: Rapidly prototype animations to test concepts and iterate based on feedback.
• Problem Solving: Troubleshoot and resolve technical animation issues, working closely with the programming team to ensure smooth integration within Unreal Engine 5.
• Mentorship: Provide guidance and mentorship to junior animators, helping them to develop their skills and contributing to a collaborative and creative team environment.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience: 5+ years of experience as an animator in the video game industry, with a strong portfolio showcasing high-quality character animations that combine realism with stylized, dynamic movements.
• Technical Skills: Proficient in 3D animation software (e.g., Maya, Blender, 3DSMax) and experience with rigging, skinning, and setting up animation pipelines within Unreal Engine 5.
• Game Engine Expertise: Strong experience with Unreal Engine 5, particularly in integrating and optimizing animations.
• Animation Style: A deep understanding of animation principles, with the ability to create animations that are both realistic and stylized, capturing the energy and flair of popular anime.
• Problem-Solving: Ability to troubleshoot and solve complex technical animation challenges.
• Collaboration: Strong communication and collaboration skills, with experience working closely with cross-functional teams.
• Creativity: A keen eye for detail and a passion for creating visually compelling and emotionally engaging animations.
• Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, iterative development environment, and willingness to wear multiple hats as needed in a small team.

BONUS

• Experience with motion capture technology and data cleanup.
• Knowledge of procedural animation techniques.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Impactful Work: Be part of a small team where your contributions directly influence the final product.
• Creative Freedom: A collaborative environment where creativity is encouraged and valued.
• Growth Opportunities: Opportunities to grow and expand your skillset as the company evolves.
• Flexible Work Environment: A flexible work schedule with remote work.

If you’re a passionate animator with a technical edge, and you love crafting animations that blend realism with stylized dynamism within Unreal Engine 5, we’d love to hear from you!

YOU SHOULD JOIN US IF

• You play games to bond with friends. Your most treasured gaming memories are made with friends.
• You have experience building games from 0→1 and loved that journey.
• You enjoy brainstorming ideas and bringing those ideas to life with your own hands.
• You want to craft something new for players and put part of yourself into a game.
• You are excited to play a major role at an early-stage studio and have the opportunity to shape its direction.

BENEFITS

• Competitive salary.
• Meaningful equity. This is a founding team role with high ownership and creative control. Success should be shared!
• Medical, dental, vision coverage for you and your family because health is #1.
• Unlimited PTO with company-wide breaks during holidays. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
• Friends who will never judge you during Steam sales.

HOW WE WORK

We believe small teams with trust, ownership, and empathy can build durable games played by millions. We plan to stay small and nimble (5-7 people) for the early phase, so we can freely explore and find the fun first.

• We value velocity above all else. But velocity isn’t just about building lots of things quickly, it’s getting to the right things that players actually want.
• We take personal ownership of the entire player experience, regardless of our role.
• We are our players. Just listening and understanding them isn’t enough. We have to go one step above and be them (and stay that way).
• We believe the “right” way to build is the one that serves players and our team the best and not because it’s how we’ve done it in the past.

OUR MISSION

We serve players who game to bond with their friends. Our players are driven by the desire to matter amongst their friends, and they love to make them laugh.

We deeply value building from strong opinions. Great games are built by out-delivering for a specific player. Mediocre games are built by trying to serve everyone.

Here’s a peek at some of the principles that guide us:

• Unapologetically Multiplayer. Our games are meant to be played with a group. We ask “how can we make it even more fun when with friends?” even if it means sacrificing the solo player experience.
• Challenging Games > Easy Games. Just like team sports, adversity brings people together.
• Let Players Be Heroes. We empower individuals to shine or fail spectacularly, making epic stories for their group. The best shared stories are ones where you played a major role.
• Play Together, Always. The best multiplayer games enable friends to always play together, no matter if they are of different groups, starting times, or duration played.
• Find the Rhythm. Stories are born from the right rhythm of play—high action moments interspersed with time to digest and make deliberate decisions (we call this the “journey”). It's our job to define a good rhythm for players.