Project Design Director: Schell Games

Schell Games is a highly talented group of artists, programmers, producers, and game designers led by game industry veteran Jesse Schell.  We like creating family-friendly games that are transformational and fun.  Presently, we focus on creating a wide variety of innovative gaming experiences including theme park installations, web-based MMO's, next generation consoles, social games, and mobile platforms.  Do you believe games can be fun and emotionally engaging?  Would you agree that games can positively affect people?

If you answered "YES!" to both questions, you might be a fit for our studio!  DESIGN POSITION

We are seeking a Designer with the capability to both 1) direct teams and 2) establish and guide the vision for a wide variety of transformational and entertainment guest experiences. The ideal candidate will bring strong skills in the following areas:Game Design. demonstrates a background in user-centered game design or equivalent user focused experiencesLeadership Experience. demonstrates a history of successfully taking on project leadership rolesVision Holder. demonstrates proven ability to collaborate with clients, partners and team members to establish and hold a vision for productsTransformational Design. demonstrates interest and experience in transformational media designAgile Development. demonstrates experience with and understanding of agile development processesPartner Relationships. has experience and interest in maintaining and growing partner relationships.

The Project Design Director will be primarily responsible for:

Synthesis. Provide leadership to the game team by engaging the team’s skills and experience and focusing effort, either overtly as a design lead or supportingly as a contributorFeatures. Design, prototyping, and iteration of game features that realize the vision of the clientUX. Design elegant UI flow and player experience for game systems, work with UX designer/artist to implement and polish as neededContent. Outline content needs for gameplay systems, work within multidisciplinary teams to scope, pipeline, and implement content in gameBalance. Iterate, balance, and adjust gameplay elements based on internal and playtest feedbackDocumentation. Draft, maintain and review internal design documentation, including feature specifications and implementation guidesPlaytesting. Analyze data and player feedback to continually optimize existing game experienceNarrative Design. Narrative structure, writing, editing, or evaluation of any of the above.

Prototyping. Using tools or writing scripts of code to prototype new experiences and ideas, evaluating prototypes, working with team to determine next stepsConcept Creation. Draft client or internal pitches for a variety of game genres and RPFsMentoring and / or training designers or other team members as appropriate.

Requirements.

Relevant education plus 5-10 years of industry experience

Demonstrated success designing and creating compelling gameplay

Ability to work collaboratively to support other designers, art & tech team membersStrong knowledge of prototyping best practices

Strong knowledge of playtesting best practices

Strong written and oral communication skills

Comfortable working in Google Docs & Microsoft Office

Demonstrated success delivering app or web-based entertainment or transformational software programs (preferably, but not limited to, games)