ThePlanarDanse game studio is seeking a collaborative and determined Gameplay & Programmer to join our team for our next ambitious project! In short; a compelling & atmospheric narrative in a Studio Ghibli-inspired world.

Game developers that would excel in this position at TPD are those with a passion for interactive experiences and a mastery of Unreal Engine, those with proven ability in delivering wholesale game features & systems from concept to implementation and user-polish, those who know the full lifecycle of a shipped game and can architect & deliver features without excessive oversight. You will be responsible for additional, core features of our next release on PC & Consoles, with a bent towards the systems of AI& pathing, gameplay & upgrades, as well as overall optimization.

ThePlanarDanse is a game studio and IP. TPD has published three games and one book within its IP, and is now seeking to expand with greater budget and size. TPD is a worker-owned, worker-ran game studio, with its day-to-day operations cooperatively-managed with flexible hours by its developers.

The games that TPD makes are those with intricate, serious, and/or dark themes. These can be morbid and gothic, such as in Skulltide; they can be magic-punk and steeped in fantasy realism; they can be surreal and based in human experience. If these such genres and aesthetics are your interest and specialty, and you are looking for a contract with the opportunity for longer employment, send your resume our way!

Duties

• Collaborate with the wider team to complete all project milestones in a realistic timeframe without unnecessary crunch.
• Ensure elegant and performant code, primarily C++, including Blueprints only when it is sensible, and aiding in setting a standard for junior BP developers & Level Designers.
• Architect & implement AI (NPC) algorithms, an engaging interaction system, and "non-janky" movement.
• Maintain a unit test & Perf/QA profile of the game, allowing for automated testing regularly, as well as accepting QA-reported bugs to be fixed.
• Participate in brainstorming sessions to contribute creative ideas and solutions.
• Stay updated on industry trends and techniques to continually improve skills and contribute innovative ideas.

Nice-to-haves

• Demonstrable experience programming (not drawing) a responsive UI within Unreal Engine 5.
• Demonstrable experience with shipped real-time titles on PC & Consoles, with work on systems of stealth or combat. VR/XR experience is not equivalent.
• Have experience working in horizontally-managed teams and/or self-managed work environments.
• Graphics Programming at a deep level—with confidence making engine edits to hasten rendering & streaming pipelines or to fine-tune elements to our specific title.
• Experience developing for 9th-generation consoles (PS5/X).
• Experience with UE's Gameplay Ability System (GAS).
• A love for imagining big ideas... and then making them real!

Requirements

• Use & mastery of Unreal Engine 5. Applications without demonstrable experience with Unreal will not be considered.
• Work under previous finished game projects with commercial intent and indie success, (III-AA) or equivalent experience.
• Skills with AI systems both in and out of UE, as well as general gameplay system implementation.
• Previous experience ensuring coding standards in one's own work and reviewing others.
• Peak communication skills and an eye for error and a player's desires, so as to ensure a polished game at the end of development that is fun for the player.
• Use of Unreal Engine in an creative capacity with an eye for the performance budget is highly desirable.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment while managing multiple tasks effectively and adhering to estimations!
• A portfolio showcasing game skills, past projects, specific game features wholly developed, previous coding breakdowns, and general game-development accomplishments.

What We Offer

• Meaningful Game Projects: Our next project is a meaningful single-player RPG, exploration-driven with characters and narrative at heart, akin to a Ghibli take on Spiritfarer.
• Game-developer-led Creativity: TPD is committed to developer-ownership over the creative process of its games.
• Innovation-Driven Environment: Work on groundbreaking projects that push the limits of what stories are possible in games.
• Remote-First Culture: Open to candidates worldwide, with a work environment that values results over micro-management.

NOTE: Location is fully remote. Atlantic timezones are preferred.

Join us in creating visually stunning experiences that engage users and expand The Planar Danse as a cooperative studio under developer management!