Lead Combat Designer

LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS•Los Angeles, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Drive combat gameplay features and content from initial concepts through specs, hands-on implementation, iteration and completion. This role is the vision holder of our Player 3Cs and combat mechanics, as well as high-level combat gameplay goals. You will work closely with production partners and other leads to create road maps and milestone/sprint goals for combat features and content. You will represent the combat team to various disciplines as the go-to-person. This role involves hands-on design and implementation of features and content, setting examples for other combat designers to follow, and mentoring and managing combat designers.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in combat design, including senior, principal or lead experience.
Extensive experience in tuning and balancing firearms.
Extensive experience and grasp at crafting melee combat gameplay, animation timing and feel.
Extensive experience in design, implementation, troubleshoot and tuning of Player 3Cs, traversal and combat mechanics.
Extensive experience in design, implementation, troubleshoot and tuning of enemy combatants and AI behaviors.
Fluency with Unreal Editor and Blueprint scripting; text-based scripting experience is a plus.
Experienced collaborating with animators to create gameplay friendly animations that strike the right balance between fidelity, fluidity and responsiveness.
Experience in designing combat gameplay based on mo-cap performances.
Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to convey difficult and abstract concepts to all disciplines.

Nice To Haves

Experience in directing mo-cap performance is a plus.
Possess an extensive knowledge of competing products and a deep understanding of the complex overlap between combat and open world gameplay systems.
Shipped at least one AAA title from inception to finish.
Experience working effectively with globally distributed team members/partners across cultures, borders, languages and time zones.

Responsibilities

Drive combat gameplay features and content from initial concepts through specs, hands-on implementation, iteration and completion.
Act as the vision holder for Player 3Cs and combat mechanics.
Act as the vision holder for high-level combat gameplay goals.
Work closely with production partners and other leads to create road maps and milestone/sprint goals for combat features and content.
Represent the combat team to various disciplines.
Perform hands-on design and implementation of features and content.
Mentor and manage combat designers.