Principal Game Designer - Unpublished R&D Product

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almost 3 years old

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As a Game Designer, you will design, tweak, and optimize the player experience. Your analytical skills, player insight, and creativity aid in crafting in- and out-of-game experiences that engage and surprise players. You will collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and work with every tool at hand to innovate and iterate player-focused designs that'll delight millions around the world.

As a Principal Game Designer in Research & Development working on an early stage product, you will help decipher one of Riot’s next big bets. You will help  prove an innovative game concept in the early stages of development. The ideal candidate is excellent at crafting satisfying game feel, through strong combat mechanics and traversal systems. As a Principal Game Designer, you partner with other designers, artists, and engineers to innovate and iterate player-focused designs that aim at delivering a groundbreaking experience. We are still small, so this requires plenty of hands-on work creating, iterating, and tuning systems/mechanics. You are comfortable operating in an ambiguous environment where goals and constraints are mostly team driven and where change, big and small, is a critical part of the process. You will report to the Game Director on the team.

Responsibilities:

  • Design or help design systems such as progression, economy, combat, encounters, recognition, expression, social, group content, and many more
  • Responsible for rapid implementation / integration, great feel, and iterative improvements in the space
  • Work collaboratively with the Design team and Leads to create a great holistic experience
  • Create clear design documentation that can be evaluated and implemented by non-designers
  • Help guide the project from prototype to pre-production and ultimately even launch and ongoing live support
  • Potential to move into a management or leadership role as the team grows
  • Design, implement, and improve mechanics and systems that satisfy players and increase confidence in the game concept. 
  • Lead small cross disciplinary teams (2-4 people) to build systems and mechanics that deliver on product goals.
  • Create and provide multiple potential designs and solutions. Articulate trade-offs and risks between different options. 
  • Playtest the game and help push for continued improvements for existing designs and fresh prototypes.
  • Seek opportunities for new design spaces in collaboration with Product Managers and Design Leadership. 

Required Qualifications:

  • 8+ years of experience in professional Game Design
  • Experience in at least one of the following areas: Combat Feel or Character, Camera & Controls.
  • Has demonstrated proficiency at scripting in at least two different engines
  • Shipped or worked on at least one AAA+ online game
  • Can create and improve complex mechanics and/or systems with attention to the player impacts and downstream effects

Desired Qualifications:

  • Experience working on a live product 
  • Experience designing character, camera & controls, or AI/combat NPCs
  • Is familiar with the LoL IP
  • Significant proficiency (3+ years experience) with Unreal

Our Perks:

We offer medical, dental, and vision plans that cover you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children. Life insurance, parental leave, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage are also available. Riot will support your retirement benefits with a company match, and double down on your donations of time and money to non-profit charitable organizations. Balance between work and personal life is encouraged with open paid time off, and a play fund so you can broaden and deepen your personal relationship with games.

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It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance relating to an applicant's criminal history (LAMC 189.00).