Associate Game Director

As a Associate Game Director, you’ll have the important mission to ensure that the game systems properly convey the creative vision and that the vision remains an integral part of the target player experience.

You will oversee the Poppy Franchise and work with all key stakeholders to ensure the overall vision and health of the franchise for many years to come. You will live and breathe the franchise.

You will also assist the VP, General Manager of Games and CCO  in reaching the strategic design objectives set out for a project by guiding conceptual application in the game. While your designers focus on their areas of ownership, you’ll pay attention to the larger picture, overseeing the game’s overall outcome: progression, pace, balance, and – of course – quality.

You will ensure that all elements related to design work together cohesively to fit the intended experience and make it rich and fun.

What you’ll do

• Work with the VP, General Manager of Games and CCO to ensure that the game design meets the vision that was set out.
• Define best design methods for the project and inform the design team.
• Communicate quality and content expectations to the design team on a regular basis so that the systems take constraints onto account in order to ultimately create the optimum user experience for target players.
• Translate the rational game design elements into elements that can be used by the level design
• Support the level design lead in translating and deploying the game design elements into operable elements for the level designer.
• harmonize design across all departments, making sure design has ready answers and Jira requests for Engineering, Art, Sound, fx, etc so that the project does not run behind schedule.
• Work hand in hand with other director level positions on the team: Art, Engineering, and Production to insure smooth operations
• Reports to VP of Games and insure they and upper management is aware of the status of the project on a regular basis
• Analyzing the different aspects and objectives of the game and communicating them clearly to the creative teams
• Developing and implementing a global vision and creative foundations for the game (visual effects, theme, context, gameplay, etc…)
• Developing the creative vision of the game in line with the product vision
• Participating in the proposal development process aka brainstorming
• Participating in project follow-up meetings at all phases (pre-production, production, live)
• Writing clear documentation including required visual references

What you bring

• 4 + years of leadership experience in the video game industry (or other relevant experience): you’re a creative leader with a vision for the future of games
• 5 + years of Design experience in a lead or Management role
• Knowledge of game engines (e.g. Unity or Unreal) and their limitations
• Familiarity with project management software (e.g. Jira)Exceptional organizational, interpersonal, and presentation skills
• Effective cross-departmental communication: you have the know-how to comfortably communicate with all disciplines (programming, art, design, marketing, and so on)
• A highly collaborative and innovative spirit
• The ability to take technical and production feasibility into account when coming up with concepts
• Mentorship: you’re motivated to share your expertise to guide the next generation of creatives
• Autonomy in using presentation and design tools (e.g. PowerPoint, Photoshop, googleslides, etc.)
• A solid understanding of the market & a (fiery) passion for video games

What to send our way

• Your CV highlighting your education, experience, skills, and any games shipped