Principal Game Designer

📋 Description

• • Join Fortis Games Inc., an ambitious and forward-thinking studio dedicated to creating exceptional games that foster connection and redefine the industry's operational paradigms. We are building a culture where belonging is paramount, both within our game communities and within our team. Our mission is to craft powerful experiences that forge lasting memories and connections, driven by a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe that our varied skills, experiences, and backgrounds are the bedrock of the innovative games we will create.
• • As an early but formidable organization, Fortis Games is led by a team of seasoned industry veterans. This presents a unique opportunity for you to significantly influence our products and the company's strategic direction. If you thrive on tackling complex challenges with direct, thoughtful communication and a team-first ethos, Fortis Games could be your ideal environment.
• • This Principal Game Designer role is absolutely pivotal, serving as a crucial partner to the Game Director on one of our exciting R&D game projects. You will be instrumental in shaping the core game and design vision for a brand-new game concept, guiding it from its nascent prototyping stages all the way through full production and successful launch.
• • A significant aspect of your role will involve mentoring and nurturing the professional growth of a talented team of game designers. You will cultivate an environment that champions creativity, encourages collaboration, and drives towards design excellence.
• • You will be the custodian of the product vision, leading the team in making major design decisions. Your expertise will be particularly focused on the intricate areas of game systems, economy design, and overall game balance, ensuring a cohesive and engaging player experience.
• • You will actively drive discussions and foster alignment within the team as the game navigates through intricate and often ambiguous design challenges. Your ability to bring clarity and direction will be essential.
• • A key responsibility is to architect robust game systems that not only meet product goals but also instill strong conviction in the commercial viability and long-term success of the game.
• • You will ensure that every design decision made by the team is intrinsically linked to the overarching product goals and a deep understanding of player motivations. These connections must be clearly articulated and consistently reinforced.
• • You will play a vital role in building and mentoring a highly effective and engaged design team. Your leadership will inspire designers to push their own boundaries and support each other in achieving their fullest potential.
• • You are expected to share your extensive knowledge and learnings. As an expert on the game’s design, its target audience, genre, and the broader opportunity space, you will disseminate insights to the wider product organization, enriching the collective understanding and strategic capabilities of Fortis Games.
• • Success in this role requires a holistic perspective on game systems, understanding the ripple effects of design choices across the entire product and player lifecycle. This must be coupled with a profound grasp of fundamental design principles, metagame systems, game economies, and player psychology, enabling you to design from first principles.
• • You will demonstrate deep insights and nuanced perspectives on the key differentiators, inherent challenges, and untapped opportunities within the game's design space.
• • A strong ability to connect design decisions directly to product goals and player motivations is paramount, ensuring coherence and alignment throughout the game's design.
• • You will collaborate effectively with fellow designers, product managers, and cross-functional teams, including engineering, art, and production, fostering a unified development effort.
• • You must possess the ability to synthesize feedback from team members, user playtests, and other validation efforts, translating this input into actionable product insights and iterating rapidly on designs.
• • You will be adept at articulating the nuances of abstract concepts and demonstrating their practical application within complex, interrelated systems.
• • A well-structured and clear communication style is essential for effectively conveying design ideas and concepts to diverse audiences.
• • Extensive knowledge of Games as a Service (GaaS) and live operations is crucial. You should possess a clear vision of what constitutes excellence in this domain and be capable of establishing efficient design processes, workflows, and tooling to support it.
• • A genuine enthusiasm for mentoring and elevating the people around you, empowering them to produce their best work, is a core requirement.
• • A natural curiosity and an eagerness to learn are fundamental. We believe these traits are essential for staying ahead of market trends and value them highly, often over years of experience.
• • We expect senior talent to continuously engage in learning about their craft and the game spaces they operate within. You should be well-informed about the latest trends and possess a strong perspective on how they align with our current and future projects.
• • Fortis Games is committed to changing how game studios operate, with a core focus on creating great games that build connected communities. We are building a place where people belong, celebrating diversity, embracing inclusivity, and fostering growth.
• • You will have the opportunity to build and grow alongside a seasoned team of accomplished professionals who have made significant impacts in their respective fields, both within and beyond the gaming industry.
• • Fortis Games is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to ensuring a workplace free from discrimination and harassment, and we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants.