Sr Combat Designer

Job#: 1586

Job Description:

Apex Systems is a leading professional services organization focused on providing solutions with real business value. We provide a customer-focused approach to building authentic partnerships with our clients.

What we look for:
We seek a Combat Designer to help drive the vision and implementation of the combat experience in our latest project, a multiplayer action game at our delivery center in Mexico. Join our talented team of technologists who work with our clients to solve their most challenging software and application problems.

Responsibilities:

• You will take on everything from the high-level — pitching enemy and weapon types — to the sub-second nitty-gritty — placing I-Frames, damage volumes, damage and hit reaction balancing, etc..
• You will work across disciplines, from art and animation to engineering and production, to make our game’s combat fun, satisfying, and scalable from the early game to the late.
• Develop and refine our approach to combat and foundational combat systems.
• Pitch, prototype, implement, and continually balance and improve a wide variety of enemy types, including core enemies and bosses, to shipping.
• Tune the combat experience at the micro level: animation length, i-frames, damage volumes, etc.
• Implement each character type’s combat behavior using techniques such as behavior trees, animation graphics, and blueprints.
• Help to define and develop internal workflows and development tools for AI behavior and attack patterns.
• Work with character art, animation, VFX, and Audio to ship characters with best-in-class presentation and polish.
• Help balance combat-related systems such as player leveling and experience, weapons, and damage.
• Produce and maintain design documentation and work with Production to ensure they can be implemented with time and resources available.
• Keep in constant communication with the team to solicit feedback and constantly hone your work
   

• 5+ years of experience as a Gameplay or Combat Designer on a shipped game.
• Extensive knowledge of current game titles, as well as movies and other visual arts, to use as reference for crafting and communicating original ideas.
• The ability to communicate fluently with engineering, art, and production.
• Curiosity, kindness, and a positive and professional can-do attitude.
• Valid Passport and USA Visa
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present ideas clearly and persuasively. 

• Experience as a combat designer on a systems-heavy action game.
• Experience as a designer on a multiplayer action game.
• Any kind of scripting experience, be it visual (such as Blueprint) or text-based (such as Python, Lua, or C#).
• Experience with Unreal Engine 4-5.