Naughty Dog is the developer of critically acclaimed and top-selling titles including the Crash Bandicoot franchise, Jak and Daxter franchise and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. We’re a relatively small team with a highly decentralized and collaborative work environment – we value feedback about any aspect of our game development from any of our team members. We’re a tightly knit group and you can frequently find us participating in yoga sessions in the office, spending lunch playing out on the court basketball, foosball in our lunchroom or around town in our frequent group evenings out. Since Naughty Dog is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment America, we also get a lot of the perks that comes from being in the Sony family – movie screenings on the Sony Pictures lots and discounts on electronics, music, movies and PlayStation hardware and software. Of course, you just can’t beat our location. Naughty Dog is based near the ocean – and beaches – in Santa Monica, California, where beautiful weather and fair temperatures grace us year-round.
Want to join our Kennel?
We’re constantly looking to expand our team with exceptional individuals who have the drive to help us develop great video games. We are constantly on the lookout for senior level candidates with proven industry track records who don’t shy away from challenges and confidently feel they are among the best in their field. All of our positions require a love of games, strong work ethic and excellent communication skills. Due to our relatively small development staff, firm deadlines and informal structure, each potential team member should be a capable self-starter and able to manage their time and tasks independently.
Game Designer
Responsibilities:
• Responsible for the planning, level layout, setup and tuning of single-player levels, from high concept to object placement and scripting.
• Responsible for designing and producing engaging and fun third-person action gameplay and levels.
• Act as producer for levels you design, as well as other parts of the game, collaborating across disciplines to get work done and clear dependencies, ensuring deadlines are met, and championing aspects of the gameplay.
• Work directly with artists, programmers, animators and other game designers to contribute to the vision of the game.
• Responsible for level layout by creating simplified level geometry and performing extensive play-testing and iteration.
• Work with programmers to develop tools on an ongoing basis.
Requirements and Skills:
• Experience designing single-player levels for console games
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of games industry experience
• Strong methodology and problem solving ability and with a focus on creative, fun and innovative solutions
• Strong and effective communication skills
• Exceptional team player with the ability to collaborate without losing sight of the gameplay vision
• Willingness to take design direction when offered
• Experience playing 3rd person action games
• Very good working knowledge of Maya, 3DS Max or similar 3D package
• Experience of developing third-person action games a bonus
• Experience of scripting set-up for action games a bonus
• Desire to be a part of the Naughty Dog team
Please a demo reel or examples of professional work (Online Preferred), a breakdown of your contributions to the shot, and an accompanying resume. Send your information to:
Candace Walker
Recruiter @ Naughty Dog
Web Site: [email protected]