Naughty Dog
Overview
Senior Game Designer (Combat)
role at Naughty Dog. Ability to work hybrid from our Santa Monica, CA studio is required. Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games for nearly 40 years, pushing the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together. The estimated USA base pay range for this zone (Los Angeles area) is listed below. This role may be eligible for additional compensation packages that include annual bonus and other incentive plans. $145,100—$181,400 USD
What You Will Do
Pitch, design, implement, and own enemy NPC archetypes
Work with AI programmers to develop foundational NPC technology and implement and tune enemy AI behaviors
Work with animators to develop enemy locomotion and traversal, melee moves, ambient behaviors, and other custom abilities. Make every enemy archetype feel unique and memorable
Collaborate with the Design team to conceptualize, prototype, implement, tune, and balance gameplay mechanics and systems
Communicate with animation, programming, and art departments to effectively produce the assets and code support required for the enemies you’re owning
Write and maintain documentation that establishes the core vision of the enemy archetypes
Drive communication and collaboration for enemies you design and the levels they are in, ensuring communication across disciplines and meeting deadlines
Effective and respectful communicator and collaborator, both with other designers and members of other departments
Facilitate playtesting and feedback sessions to iterate on combat systems and fine-tune them based on player experiences
Mentor junior designers and contribute to the overall growth of the design team
What Skills You Will Use
5+ years of industry experience in combat design and/or technical design for games, specifically focused on developing action-adventure or shooter games
At least one shipped title as a combat designer or similar role. Experience with behavior trees or similar NPC AI concepts preferred
Strong coding ability: Computer Science degree preferred though not required
Proficient in using game engines and tools (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) for combat implementation and design scripting (C#, Lua, Visual Scripting)
Welcomes feedback on their work and embraces the “let’s try it” mentality
Proficient and effective communication skills, including diagramming and sketching
Fluent in modern character action-adventure and shooter combat games. Maintains knowledge of the broader gaming landscape trends
Knowledge of narrative structure and how it intersects with gameplay and combat
A keen eye for detail in character action games, able to tune gameplay systems to make them feel smooth and impactful
Strong leadership and mentoring skills
Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about how we process your personal information, and your data protection rights.
The final sections include related job postings and company notices. These items are part of the page navigation and are not part of the role description and are omitted from this refined description for clarity.
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Senior Game Designer (Combat)
role at Naughty Dog. Ability to work hybrid from our Santa Monica, CA studio is required. Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games for nearly 40 years, pushing the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together. The estimated USA base pay range for this zone (Los Angeles area) is listed below. This role may be eligible for additional compensation packages that include annual bonus and other incentive plans. $145,100—$181,400 USD
What You Will Do
Pitch, design, implement, and own enemy NPC archetypes
Work with AI programmers to develop foundational NPC technology and implement and tune enemy AI behaviors
Work with animators to develop enemy locomotion and traversal, melee moves, ambient behaviors, and other custom abilities. Make every enemy archetype feel unique and memorable
Collaborate with the Design team to conceptualize, prototype, implement, tune, and balance gameplay mechanics and systems
Communicate with animation, programming, and art departments to effectively produce the assets and code support required for the enemies you’re owning
Write and maintain documentation that establishes the core vision of the enemy archetypes
Drive communication and collaboration for enemies you design and the levels they are in, ensuring communication across disciplines and meeting deadlines
Effective and respectful communicator and collaborator, both with other designers and members of other departments
Facilitate playtesting and feedback sessions to iterate on combat systems and fine-tune them based on player experiences
Mentor junior designers and contribute to the overall growth of the design team
What Skills You Will Use
5+ years of industry experience in combat design and/or technical design for games, specifically focused on developing action-adventure or shooter games
At least one shipped title as a combat designer or similar role. Experience with behavior trees or similar NPC AI concepts preferred
Strong coding ability: Computer Science degree preferred though not required
Proficient in using game engines and tools (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) for combat implementation and design scripting (C#, Lua, Visual Scripting)
Welcomes feedback on their work and embraces the “let’s try it” mentality
Proficient and effective communication skills, including diagramming and sketching
Fluent in modern character action-adventure and shooter combat games. Maintains knowledge of the broader gaming landscape trends
Knowledge of narrative structure and how it intersects with gameplay and combat
A keen eye for detail in character action games, able to tune gameplay systems to make them feel smooth and impactful
Strong leadership and mentoring skills
Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about how we process your personal information, and your data protection rights.
The final sections include related job postings and company notices. These items are part of the page navigation and are not part of the role description and are omitted from this refined description for clarity.
#J-18808-Ljbffr