Principal Gameplay Designer, Electronic Arts
Star Wars Jedi
$131.6-213.3k
Salary is dependant on location. Offers equity and bonus
Video game company
Job no longer available
Video game company
1001+ employees
Job no longer available
$131.6-213.3k
Salary is dependant on location. Offers equity and bonus
1001+ employees
Company mission
To inspire the world to play, by creating games and experiences for the global player community that are a reflection of our diverse world.
Role
Who you are
- Design Sensibilities and Insight. Our designers value having discussions with each other to better understand the intentions and level of success in their designs. We’d love for you to be able to articulate why you made the decisions you’ve made in your own designs - what worked well, what you would change in hindsight, and what you learned. We also value your ability to analyze and break down, from a designer’s perspective, the aspects that work well or don’t work well in games you’ve played and why
- You’ve Made Stuff You Are Proud Of. Whether it’s professional or personal work, we’d like to see gameplay in your portfolio that you developed from concept to finish. We like to see portfolios that showcase strong game design skills - sensibility, compelling and thoughtful player character systems, documents, etc. If your portfolio includes work that you developed as part of a team, we’d like to know the specifics of what you contributed versus what was handled by others
- Passion. We look for game designers who are highly passionate. Our team is always sharing inspiration and working to raise the quality bar. No one is phoning it in here – our team loves what they do and it shows in their work
- Potential Over Experience. We value talent over years of experience. Experience counts, but potential is important too. We look for talented, highly-motivated people with a strong sense of design and a keen eye for quality
- Teamplayer. Positivity and a great attitude help to fuel greatness. The ability to accept feedback and critiques will help you tailor your work towards what’s best for the game. We look for designers who demonstrate a willingness to keep an open mind to team members’ ideas, incorporating suggestions to tailor your work towards what’s best for the game. Making games is a group effort and you will work closely with other talented departments that are experts in what they do. Teamwork is very important to our success
- 7+ years' experience in the games industry with a focus on game mechanics, player systems/abilities/traversal/locomotion, having shipped at least one title. Experience that includes a shipped AAA game(s) is ideal
- Experience working with a game engine, using scripting tools to fine tune player controls and events, and implementing 3D work into the pipeline
- Practical knowledge of level design process including level flow, engagement, structure, pacing, environmental storytelling, and testing
- Experience in rapid prototyping to test feasibility of concepts
- Strong understanding of level editing packages such as Maya, Unity, UDK, or other proprietary tools
- A portfolio or otherwise detailed breakdown of examples of your work, showcasing the above
- Competency in pitching game design concepts in a clear, detailed manner, through strong written and verbal skills
- A team-oriented approach to your work, understanding the importance of collaboration, and partnering effectively with all departments
- Willingness to master new tools and techniques
- Passion about the play experience, with a wealth of knowledge across a wide range of games
- Passion for making and playing games
What the job involves
- We are looking for an experienced Principal Gameplay Designer who will embrace our philosophy and share their hard earned expertise to help us create an incredible experience for our players
- Reporting to our Lead Combat Designer
- You will design, iterate, and own hero navigation mechanics
- We're picturing someone with strong player system design instincts and abilities with experience overseeing design through all stages of development, who will work closely with other accomplished developers to deliver compelling levels that our players will love to play
- Work with design leadership, level design, art, code, and animation departments to create a satisfying and fun gameplay experience
- Research subject matter relating to the design objective to ensure the authenticity of the experience
- Manage designs from conception to the final stages of polish, facilitating communication and coordinating departments to ensure the vision is clearly understood
- Design and iterate on hero navigation mechanics, including planning of various design elements, collaboration with other disciplines, and tuning the feel/metrics for the best results
- Be a positive influence on the entire team and as a Designer, evangelizing the ultimate promise to deliver "fun."
- Embrace feedback as a means to progress, both in self-critique and outside critique. The more feedback you receive, the more you can tailor your work towards what is best for the game
- Help establish and enforce consistent design best practices, constraints, and metrics throughout projects
Our take
EA is a leading global game company, responsible for developing and publishing some of the biggest games of the last 20 years. Its publishing successes include giants like The Sims, Battlefield, and Mass Effect, while EA's titles, such as Fifa, Madden, and NBA Live, have also seen market-leading success.
A series of acquisitions in 2021 marked EA's push into mobile gaming, which has become the driving force behind the rapid growth of the global video gaming market, and has remained a clear focus for the company, despite the cancellation of its popular Apex Legends Mobile game. The company also expressed interest in NFTs and "play-to-earn" games, going so far as to label them "the future of the industry", but has since taken steps to distance itself from the idea, as it proved unpopular with gamers.
This combined model of publishing and development has allowed EA to put its name to a huge range of products, making the brand iconic in the gaming world. It has formed major partnerships with the likes of Disney, giving it full control of creating in-demand games, such as within the Star Wars franchise. In the upcoming years, the company plans to focus on games-as-a-service, as it embraces the evolution of the gaming world.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
6% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Dec 1982
$2m
SERIES A
May 1982
$0.2m
SEED
Total funding: $2.2m
Company HQ
Redwood Shores, Redwood City, CA
Leadership
Andrew Wilson
(CEO, not founder)Joined EA as Vice President and Executive Producer in 2000, and held various senior roles before being promoted to CEO.
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