Combat Designer - Neon Koi

Combat Designer - Helsinki or Berlin

We are Neon Koi. We are a PlayStation Studio. Our mission is to make mobile action games with epic stories that foster lasting connections with players around the world. Our aim is to amass a stellar portfolio over the next decade by focusing on building highly collaborative, experienced and empowered teams in Helsinki & Berlin.

We offer you the chance to join a rapidly growing international team of passionate and talented game makers, just like yourself. As a young company, you, as an early employee, will have a genuine opportunity to contribute significantly to the culture and operations.
 
Neon Koi is formerly known as Savage Game Studios.

Why do our people love it here? 

Our team can be summed up as being hungry, humble, and people-smart. We genuinely love what we do and aim high. To succeed as a diverse international team spread across two locations (Helsinki & Berlin), effective collaboration and communication are key. While we are all talented individuals, the sweetest achievement is succeeding together as a team.

Fair Play -  To us, fairness stands for treating people justly, and not letting your personal feelings bias your decisions about them. We strive to preserve a culture, which doesn’t have glass ceilings or hidden decision-making processes. A transparent culture where teams can thrive and get rewarded for the work they put in and the results they achieve.

When people don’t play by the rules, we act swiftly. At the same time, we reward individuals and teams who embrace our values.

Powerful Together - We believe that excellence is reached by effective team collaboration and ongoing, open feedback.

We are constantly curious to learn from each other. Understanding and hearing each others’ perspectives enables us to make the best decisions. We get inspired by each other to strive for higher standards and ultimately become a better version of ourselves.

You can rely on each other when facing difficult challenges. We encourage everyone to speak up, ask for help and bring up hard conversations. Most importantly, we put a lot of effort into hiring the right people who enjoy spending time with each other.

Players First - We work for the players. Understanding them at deeper levels than just demographics is crucial for our success.

We’re player informed. Ultimately we, and not our players, are responsible for making the right decisions for our games. We realize that what players want and what they need may often differ.

We’re committed to creating a diverse team. If you feel that you might be interested in the role, even if you don’t hit 100% of the criteria, please don’t let that put you off. Get in touch with us. We believe in passion and potential. 

The Role 

As a Combat Designer at Neon Koi, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and fine-tuning combat systems and mechanics for our game. You will collaborate with various teams to create engaging and balanced combat experiences that captivate players and keep them coming back.

Responsibilities 

Combat System Design:

• Design and develop core combat mechanics, including character abilities, enemy behaviors, AI systems, controls, camera, and weapons.
• Create and balance combat encounters for a challenging and rewarding player experience.
• Develop detailed design documents, prototypes, and specifications for combat systems and features.

Collaboration:

• Work closely with designers, artists, and developers to ensure seamless integration of combat systems with other game elements.
• Collaborate with the narrative team to align combat scenarios with the game’s story and lore.
• Partner with the QA team to test, refine, and address issues or feedback related to combat systems.

Balancing and Tuning:

• Continuously balance and tune combat mechanics for fairness and enjoyment.
• Analyze player feedback and gameplay data to identify and implement improvements.
• Conduct playtests to gather feedback and iterate on combat systems.

Innovation and Creativity:

• Stay up-to-date with industry trends and competitor games to identify new opportunities and best practices.
• Propose and implement innovative ideas for combat mechanics and systems to enhance gameplay.

Requirements 

• 5+ years of experience in game design with at least 2+ years in combat design
• Proven track record of designing and implementing successful combat systems
• Strong understanding of game mechanics, player psychology, and combat balance.
• Proficiency in creating design documents, specifications, and prototypes.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

The ideal candidate will also have 

• Experience with AI and enemy behavior design.
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine
• Understanding of animation

Why join us? 

Although we’re a new company, we’re committed to making this a great place to work, so this is only the beginning of our benefits: 

• Annual bonus 
• Lunch benefits
• Budget towards commuting costs 
• Fitness benefits
• Home internet / mobile phone plan
• Educational budget: for language learning, self-training, attending conferences, buying games and books etc 
• Financial and practical assistance with relocation through our relocation partner and a relocation budget 
• Twice yearly off-sites
• PBG - Pizza, beer and games on the last Friday of every month 
• 30 days holiday plus additional days for Wellness and between Christmas and New Year
• Access to PlayStation products and games