Summary

As a Game Designer, you will work closely with the Founder/Producer and the creative team to define and refine the gameplay experience of narrative driven game similar to Little Nightmares. You will help design the game's core gameplay loop, puzzles, mechanics, level interactions, progression, and player experience, while ensuring that gameplay supports the game's narrative and emotional themes. This is an opportunity to have meaningful creative ownership over an original at an early stage of development.

Responsibilities: 

• Design and document gameplay systems, mechanics, interactions, and player experiences.
• Help define and refine the core gameplay loop. 
• Design environmental puzzles that encourage exploration, observation, experimentation, and discovery. 
• Develop gameplay mechanics that complement the game's narrative and emotional themes. 
• Design traversal and interaction mechanics that feel intuitive and rewarding. 
• Collaborate with the narrative and art teams to translate story concepts and cultural symbolism into gameplay. 
• Develop gameplay concepts and prototypes to validate ideas quickly. 
• Design player progression, challenges, difficulty, and pacing. 
• Act as a  level designers to communicate gameplay requirements and spatial needs. 
• Participate in playtesting and use player feedback to identify areas for improvement. 
• Iterate on gameplay based on testing, production constraints, and creative direction. 
• Ensure gameplay remains accessible and understandable without compromising the game's sense of mystery and discovery. 
• Contribute to the overall vision and gameplay pillars.

What We're Looking For:

• Experience designing gameplay for 3D games, preferably platformers, puzzle-adventure, narrative games, or exploration-focused experiences. 
• Strong understanding of game design fundamentals, including: 
  • Core gameplay loops
  • Player motivation
  • Game mechanics
  • Level design principles
  • Puzzle design
  • Progression and pacing
  • Player feedback and onboarding
• Ability to turn abstract creative ideas into clear, playable mechanics.
• Strong problem-solving and systems-thinking skills. 
• Ability to communicate game design concepts clearly through documentation, diagrams, prototypes, and examples.
• Comfortable working in an iterative, collaborative environment. 
• Strong player empathy and ability to think from the player's perspective.
• Interest in narrative-driven and emotionally meaningful games.
• Experience with Unreal Engine.
• Familiarity with Blueprint or basic scripting.