Are you the sort of Designer that gets excited about creating memorable moments with NPCs inside AND outside of combat?  Do you crave building systemic AI behaviors that create an opportunity for the player to interact with the world, engage in combat or experience poignant, character-building events?
 
Sucker Punch has a history of making great characters -- from Sly Cooper, Bentley and Murray to Cole, Delsin and Fetch. Most recently, the award winning cast of Ghost of Tsushima brought new levels of character depth to the Open World genre. We're looking for someone who understands that to truly make a world come alive it has to be populated with compelling characters.
 
And that's where you come in, we are looking for people who understand how to create AI behavior that bring characters to life. If you are passionate about building powerful, emotional experiences and thrilling, combat engagements via buddy NPC interactions, we are excited to hear from you!

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Design Leads to define and implement a vision for Buddy + Ambient NPC behaviors
• Work closely with Gameplay Programmers and Combat Designers to implement AI behaviors and abilities
• Work closely with the Animation team to implement, tune, and adjust the timing of NPC actions
• Partner with the Content Design team to create compelling quests, world locations and encounters that highlight NPC behaviors
• Push for exceptional AI performance to make NPCs feel more human and reactive to player actions
• Work in an iterative manner by playtesting often to get feedback and polishing your work to achieve high quality player experiences
• Provide clear feedback and leadership for all the functional disciplines you collaborate with -- proposing solutions as well as criticisms
• Contribute to the overall game design. We’re a collaborative group, and we expect every member of the team to have an impact on the overall player experience.

Qualifications

• Experience developing AI characters – must have shipped at least one title working as a designer or programmer working on NPCs
• Ideal candidates have experience using scripting or programming languages to develop NPC behavior and abilities
• NPC Animation understanding and fluency
• Demonstrated ability to bring out the best in a cross-disciplinary team.
• Must be a clear communicator, and an expert juggler of the contributions from different disciplines.
• Must be eligible to work in the US and willing to relocate.

Bonus Factors

• Proficiency in Maya or other 3D modeling and animation package.
• Experience working on an open-world game