Senior Combat Designer - Freelance

Join CI Games and be part of shaping the future of gaming. As we embark on an ambitious strategic roadmap with major releases planned for 2026-2028, we're seeking a talented and dedicated Senior Combat Designer to help us create ground-breaking experiences that captivate players worldwide.

A career at CI Games is about being part of a team working on some of the most creatively rewarding and ambitious projects to be found in any entertainment medium. You would be welcomed to a dedicated and inclusive environment where you can learn and collaborate with some of the most talented people in the industry.

Key Responsibilities:

Combat Systems & Enemy Design

• Develop our approach to combat by building upon and refining the project's core systems.
• Pitch, prototype, implement, balance, and ship a wide variety of enemy archetypes and/or bosses.
• Tune the combat experience at the micro level: animation lengths, I-frames, Hit boxes, and frame-data polish.
• Collaborate to structure enemy behaviour in conjunction with overarching RPG mechanics and game progression, including weapon levelling, stats, and character builds.

Technical Implementation & Oversight

• Implement character combat behaviours using Unreal features such as Behaviour Trees, Animation Graphs, and Blueprints.
• Provide Gameplay Programmers with comprehensive technical requirements and collaborate to achieve the desired feature implementation.
• Build basic combat level setups to communicate design intent to Level Design, Art, and Production departments.
• Address bugs and gameplay issues to ensure a stable, polished product through to shipping.

Collaboration & Documentation

• Work with other departments (Character Art, Animation, VFX, Audio, etc.) to ship characters with state-of-the-art levels of polish.
• Create clear, concise, and visually oriented design material explaining mechanics, features, and systems.
• Help assess project progress and quality by utilizing results from usability, focus, and in-house playtests.
• Provide constructive feedback and propose solutions to improve the quality of the current project or future titles.

Key Requirements:

• 5+ years of Game Design experience.
• Demonstrable prior experience as a Combat Designer for several years or in a comparable role.
• A deep passion for and expertise in the Soulslike genre.
• Preferably have shipped at least 1 AAA title in a design capacity.
• Excellent knowledge of gameplay mechanics, features, and what makes modern games work.
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine and experience with the creation of Blueprints.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills are essential for this role.
• An open and creative mind with the ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines.

What we offer:

• 5 months freelance contract with immediate start.
• Remote work with flexible schedules (core working hours 10am-4pm CET), allowing you to work alongside talented individuals from around the world.
• An opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies and stay at the forefront of the gaming industry.
• A diverse and inclusive workplace that celebrates all backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or social status.