Systems Designer

Hugecalf Studios · Full-time · Fully remote (UK and Europe) · Starting ASAP

The game

We're excited to be working on a new dwarven-themed colony sim with strategy, survival and base-building elements. It has been in active development for nearly two years, and we now have the backing of a world-class strategy publisher and the UK Games Fund, who will both help us make the best game possible. The game is built in Unity.

The role

We're hiring a Systems Designer to work with the Project Lead and the rest of the team to push the design of the game to be as good as it can be. You'll work closely with the Project Lead, who is also the lead designer.

Your day-to-day duties will include:

• Designing and iterating on features and systems.
• Working inside Unity to test and balance features and systems.
• Communicating your designs to programmers, artists and the Project Lead.
• Organising internal and external playtests, and gathering and processing feedback.

Who we're looking for

We're looking for a thoughtful, collaborative systems designer who enjoys solving complex problems and wants to make a meaningful contribution to the game and the team. We welcome applicants at different career stages. Professional game design experience can be valuable, but it isn't the only way to show what you can do.

You might have developed your skills through professional work, independent projects, mods, prototypes, board games or tabletop systems, or through another experience that shows how you approach design. We're interested in how you think, iterate and work with others.

You should apply if you:

• Understand what makes colony sims engaging, and can explain what you've learned from playing them or designing similar systems.
• Enjoy balancing complex, interconnected systems and can show examples of your approach, from a shipped game, prototype or tabletop design.
• Have an interest in popular, fantasy and gaming culture, and a good understanding of market trends.
• Have the desire and potential to become a Game Director or Project Lead on future projects.
• Are fluent in Unity, or can show that you'll pick it up quickly.
• Take pride in your work and care about the quality of your own work and other people's.
• Raise problems early, treat feedback and setbacks as part of the design process, and enjoy iterating until you find a stronger solution.

Nice to haves

You'd be an even stronger candidate if you:

• Are comfortable handling day-to-day production activities.
• Have shipped something before, either on your own or as part of a team.

The Hugecalf team

We're a small company working fully remotely across the UK and Europe. We make games that aren't only fun to play but fun to make as well. We have a strong team with a proven track record: we've released three games to date, with two more in the pipeline. We work closely together, and everyone has a large impact on the games we make.

We keep a happy and productive team environment with things like:

• Daily stand-up calls
• Weekly social playtests (of other people's games)
• Monthly external playtests (of our own games)
• A yearly social meetup
• A generous holiday allowance

We work normal UK working hours, and we have cameras on during calls.

Basic requirements

• You must be fluent in written and spoken English. We're a fully remote team and all our communication happens over online calls and messaging.

Contract

• Starting ASAP.
• An initial full-time three-month contract, which is your probation period.
• After passing probation, a full-time fixed-term contract scoped to the length of the project.
• We always intend to move people onto PAYE employment in the long run, where they're eligible and it suits both sides. We have a track record of doing this with our current team.

How to apply

The application takes anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, depending on how much preparation you want to put in. It starts with the usual details about you and your experience, followed by a more in-depth section where you're asked to provide screen recordings taking us through some design-related areas. The screen recordings are optional, but applications that include them will be considered first.

Your progress is saved, so you can come back to the application later.

This is a continuous hiring process, so there's no deadline for our decision and we can't give a date by which we'll respond. We are committed to responding to every application. Applications that don't meet the basic requirements will be closed straight away, and every other application will be read by a member of the team.

About Hugecalf Studios

We’re a small remote team making games we’re proud of. Fun isn’t just the goal, it’s the process. Founded in 2016