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Jade Ember Studios is looking for a Level Designer with 1-3 years of professional experience to join the team in creating an original action/adventure 3D title in the metroidvania genre for PC and consoles.

December 12, 2018

4 Min Read

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Level Designer, Jade Ember Studios

Location: Boulder, Colorado

Are you the kind of person who sees a gameplay mechanic and immediately begins to imagine the space you would create to make it shine? Who labors over the challenge of teaching a player to master a concept without them even noticing? Who always wants to learn one more skill to take your designs up a notch? Do you find yourself unable to create a space without imagining the story of how it came to be just so?

We’re looking for a Level Designer with 1-3 years professional experience to join us at Jade Ember Studios in creating an original action/adventure 3D title in the metroidvania genre for PC and consoles.

As the level designer, you’ll:

  • Be responsible for outlining, planning, and documenting high-level design for levels, challenges, and gameplay sequences.

  • Rapidly iterate and test implementations of designs in-engine to create working game spaces.

  • Take prototype spaces from concept through to completion: blocking, testing, integrating events, interactives, and gameplay sequences, skinning environments with assets and materials, and final polish and performance tuning.

  • Be responsible for the realization of a cohesive gameplay experience that both provides interesting moment-to-moment challenges and exploration spaces while meeting the needs of the story, gameplay mechanics, and visuals as outlined by the project lead.

  • Proactively engage to brainstorm and develop level and gameplay designs, and provide constructive feedback along the way. This is a small team, and isn’t a place for you to sit back and wait for assignments. If you’re here, you want the challenge of forging the path forward yourself.

  • Engage in regular planning sessions to communicate and plan the upcoming work schedule to best match the needs of the game and our available resources. Careful process and an honest eye on our own work is paramount.

And above all else, you have a desire to add a positive, collaborative voice to a team where each role matters, while striving to grow and expand what you’re capable of on a daily basis.

Benefits

  • Competitive salary + PTO.

  • 4/10 flexible weekly office schedule.

  • Comprehensive medical + dental insurance.

  • Comfortable, quiet office space located just outside downtown Boulder, Colorado, right near the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

Required Skills

  • Ideally, our level designer is someone who:

  • Has 1-3 years professional experience in level design.

  • Excels at visual and environmental storytelling through placement of visuals, use of 3D space, and structure of pacing.

  • Is thoroughly familiar with Unity 3D development workflows.

  • Has a minimum of one shipped game in which primary responsibility was level design.

  • Understands how to creatively apply critique without deviating from vision, and how to give critique while remaining clear and motivating.

  • Has excellent written and verbal communication skills

  • Has excellent written and illustrated concept documentation skills. What matters isn’t how “pretty” it is, but how clearly it communicates your intent to the team. 

  • A love for story-centric action, RPG, adventure, and metroidvania games.

Bonus Skills

It’s a plus if you have some of these as well:

  • Unity C# scripting experience (particularly event/gameplay programming oriented).

  • Using Probuilder in Unity to create both prototype and final game levels.

  • 3D asset production skills using Blender, ZBrush, etc.

  • Degree or experience in art, design, or architecture.

Application Requirements

  • The more we can get to know you in your application, the better! To that end, please be sure to include a brief cover letter introducing yourself and outlining what you feel you could uniquely add to our team. 

  • In addition to your resume, a portfolio of your work via website, video, or PDF is required. In the case of work that was collaborative, please be sure that any displayed work clearly indicates what you were personally responsible for.

  • As we are based in Boulder, Colorado and this is not a remote work position, you will be required to relocate if you are not local. However, this is a pretty great place to live! And we’ll certainly do what we can to ease your relocation if that is necessary.

Interested? Apply now.

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