Senior Game Designer (Combat)
Naughty DogSanta Monica, California, United States · Posted 1 month agoDescription
Ability to work onsite from our Santa Monica, CA based studio is required.
For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Part I is now available for the first time on PC.
Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. 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.
What you will do:
- Pitch, design, implement, and own enemy NPC archetypes
- Work with AI programmers to develop foundational NPC technology and implementing and tuning 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 note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.
Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.
Similar jobs
Est. 77,440 USD
This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, Yoh Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for this position. This is a hybrid / onsite position. For near…
Est. 163,250 USD
This is a hybrid/ onsite position. For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recen…
Est. 117,696 USD
This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, Yoh Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for this position. This is a hybrid / onsite position. For near…
Est. 163,250 USD
Why Sony Interactive Entertainment? Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. A…
Est. 121,440 USD
This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, Yoh Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for this position. This is a hybrid / onsite position based at…
Est. 147,500 USD
Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Do you spend your time thinking about how to build combat puzzles for players that have potential to create memorable team…
Est. 124,300 USD
This is a hybrid/ onsite position. For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recen…
Est. 176,950 USD
This is a hybrid / onsite position. For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog rece…
Est. 159,050 USD
This is a hybrid/ onsite position. For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recen…
Est. 176,700 USD
Why Sony Interactive Entertainment? Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. A…
Est. 158,850 USD
This is a hybrid/ onsite position. For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recen…
Est. 150,000 USD
This is an on-site position in Santa Monica, California. For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technol…
Est. 144,416 USD
This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, Yoh Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for this position. This is a hybrid / onsite position. For near…
Est. 152,000 USD
Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Do you spend your time thinking about how different game mechanics can come together to create emergent, dynamic, and fran…
Est. 107,196 USD
This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, YOH Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for this position. This is a hybrid / onsite position. For near…
Est. 154,350 USD
Naughty Dog is committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically ambitious minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of c…
Est. 144,416 USD
This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, Yoh Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for this position. This is a hybrid / onsite position. For near…
Est. 216,000 USD
Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Are you fascinated by IPs that blend genres and approach UX/UI in potentially novel ways? Are you delighted by game interf…
Est. 84,880 USD
This position is for a temporary engagement through our staffing partner Yoh Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for this position. This will be an on-site position, requiring…
Est. 179,000 USD
Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Would you like to work on something comedic with lighthearted and whimsical characters? Do you think a lot about how modul…
Est. 124,260 USD
As a Senior Combat Designer at Cloud Chamber, you will collaborate with an innovative team of designers, artists, and engineers to create industry-leading AI characters and combat gameplay. You will be responsible for ex…
Est. 319,000 USD
Would you like to work on a new IP and new genre at teamLFG that combines amazing action feel with lighthearted and whimsical characters? Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invest…
Est. 215,000 USD
Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Would you like to work on something comedic with lighthearted and whimsical characters? Do you have a perceptive eye for h…
Est. 141,000 USD
As a Principal Game Designer on an unpublished R&D product, you will help shape and evolve the future of gameplay through hands-on design leadership in early-stage development. You are a gameplay generalist with deep…
Est. 221,600 USD
Why Sony Interactive Entertainment? Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. A…
Est. 221,600 USD
Why Sony Interactive Entertainment? Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. A…
Est. 124,260 USD
As a Senior Combat Designer at Cloud Chamber, you will collaborate with an innovative team of designers, artists, and engineers to create industry-leading AI characters and combat gameplay. You will be responsible for ex…
Est. 271,000 USD
Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Would you like to work on something comedic with lighthearted and whimsical characters? Do you enjoy the challenge of solv…
Est. 200,000 USD
Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Would you like to work on something comedic with lighthearted and whimsical characters? And are you excited to help push t…
Est. 180,500 USD
Are you on a mission to create games that bond players together into deeply invested communities? Would you like to work on something comedic with lighthearted and whimsical characters? Do you think a lot about how well-…