Hi, I’m Emily, creator of Blockfeet, a cozy toy-themed town building & life simulation game made in Unreal Engine 5. The game has just been secured for funding by a publisher for 3 years of development, and I’m now assembling a small and passionate team to bring this vision to life!

Blockfeet is set in a colourful world where everything is made of toy-like blocks. Players build their own toy town from the ground up, discover charming NPCs, collect toy packs, and craft their own playful world.

Here is the early steam page for the game: Steam Page

Here is the recent style & graphics update: Graphical Update

You’ll be joining me (director / artist / designer) and one lead programmer to form a tight-knit team of three. We’re making a world that feels charming and full of personality

Responsibilities

Your main mission is to design and implement the systems that make our village feel genuinely alive, a small community with routines, preferences, relationships, and reactions.

Village Life Simulation

• Build the underlying framework and logic that makes NPCs behave like members of a cozy community: daily routines, hobbies, favourite spots, personal habits, sleep/wake patterns.
• Make NPCs react to the world: weather shifts, seasonal events, player actions, other NPCs, and activity around them.

Personality, Mood & Relationship Systems

• Implement personality traits and mood states that influence behaviour and dialogue.
• Create lightweight relationship dynamics so NPCs can have favourites, dislikes, friendships, or simple emotional reactions.

Social Interactions & Expression

• Develop expression and animation systems for charming social behaviours: waving, chatting, sitting together, admiring the scenery, joining events.
• Support emotional expression through animation and small behavioural cues.

Dynamic Routines & Activities

• Architect behaviour systems (BTs, Utility AI, FSMs - AI here always means classic logic systems, never neural networks or ML) to drive flexible schedules influenced by time of day, weather, seasons, personal traits, and world events.
• NPC routines must be dynamic with the ability to change as the player builds and changes the town.
• NPC activities should feel natural: gardening, wandering, shopping, relaxing, visiting each other, going to the cafe, etc.

Tools for Designers

• Build intuitive editor tools for defining personalities, hobbies, schedules, favourite locations, and behavioural rules - plus debugging/visualisation tools for NPC life.

Other Gameplay & World Systems

• NPC dialogue.
• Seasons, Weather, and Calendar Systems tied into NPC behaviour.
• Character Customisation.
• AI for small animals (cats, birds, butterflies).
• Additional world interactions that give the town a warm, lively feel.
• Collaborate with the Lead Developer on architecture and integration.
• Implement and maintain full controller support for all gameplay systems.
• Ensure all systems remain optimized, maintainable, and friendly for designers.

What We’re Looking For

• 2-4+ years of experience in Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5) gameplay programming.
• Proficiency with Blueprints and C++.
• Experience building AI systems using Behaviour Trees, or custom frameworks.
• Strong understanding of game state management, data flow, and event systems.
• Experience with UI.
• Interest in creating believable, expressive NPCs and cozy gameplay experiences.
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to polish and feel.
• Likes to share creative ideas and collaborate closely on gameplay details, visual polish, and new feature concepts
• Comfortable in a small, friendly team with open collaboration.

Bonus Points

• Familiarity with simulation games.
• Interest in making expressive, believable NPCs that feel full of life.

Working on Blockfeet

• It’s a funded, 3-year full-time freelancing remote position, stable and secure, but still indie-spirited.
• You’ll have a genuine impact on a heartfelt game.
• A cozy, welcoming project that values warmth and personality.
• Work closely with a small, friendly, passionate team.

Additional Details

This role includes a 1-month paid probationary period, simply to make sure the fit feels right for both you and the team before continuing into the full 3-year contract.

• Job Type: Full-time
• Location: Remote (UK & EU preferred)
• Salary: £38,800 / year | £3230 / month
• Contract length: 3 years (2 years to Early Access + 1 year to full release)

To Apply

I’d love to hear from people who are just as excited about cozy and creative games as I am!

Please send me an email with the subject line “AI Systems Developer Application- Blockfeet” with the following:

• Your location and time zone
• An introduction about yourself, and why you’d like to work on Blockfeet.
• Your portfolio or examples of past work, anything that shows your Unreal skills (systems, prototypes, or full projects).
• An overview of your experience with Unreal Engine (Blueprints/C++) and any specific systems you’ve built.
• When you’d be available to start.