Important PSA: we've received reports of scammers who are posing as Manticore recruiters using a fraudulent email address. Legit emails from Manticore will always come from a manticoregames.com address - note the plural 'games', not singular.

For real roles at Manticore, we'll communicate by official email. We don't use gmail addresses, and we don't ask candidates to switch to a messaging app like Telegram. We do always do video interviews, so you'll see us on camera.

As this is becoming more common in the game industry, we recommend all job hunters carefully note the "from" email of recruiters. Never share your banking information or make a purchase of equipment based on a social media message. If in doubt, reach out to others at the company.

Senior/Lead Gameplay Designer

Manticore Games® is building a new immersive, open world sandbox life-simulation Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game leveraging the power of its UGC platform, Core. Manticore launched the Core platform in 2021, featuring live events, interactive entertainment, and more than 50,000 games and worlds to play and explore. Core is a radically accessible game construction kit and social game-playing platform, all-in-one. Now, Manticore is expanding on the Core universe and is looking for qualified pioneers to join the journey.

We are looking for an experienced and innovative Gameplay Designer to help build a new, immersive multiplayer experience. Working in collaboration with the product, production, art, and engineering teams, you will help shape and work on a new immersive, open world sandbox life-simulation Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game. As a Designer, your work will be critical to the game’s success and growth.

Responsibilities:

Conceptualize, design, and implement game content, social features, and engaging moment-to-moment gameplay.
Outline clear high-level designs for genre-defining systems and advocate for these designs with key stakeholders across key development groups.
Work closely with designers and product managers to create fun, engaging, and diverse features and experiences.
Collaborate with environment artists and gameplay engineers to create, implement, and polish systems and mechanics.
Contribute to presentation, the level design of world spaces, gameplay and systems design, and more.
Adapt to technical and production constraints & participate in finding solutions to optimize features.
Write and maintain specification design and game-balancing spreadsheets documents.
Be an advocate for player experience and create compelling user stories.
Help implement game system, gathering feedback and adjusting design accordingly.
Your player empathy and creativity help create in- and out-of-game experiences that engage and surprise players. You will work with interdisciplinary teams, contributing and translating feedback to improve and iterate player-focused designs to delight players.

Requirements:

Experience as an advocate for player experience with a history of creating quality games, and features.
Strong technical ability in implementing features either created by yourself or by engineers.
Deep understanding of what makes games fun and current best practices.
Demonstrated experience tuning and balancing games.
A minimum of 8 years of experience in game design or related experience.
Critical thinking, curiosity, resourcefulness, and flexibility in a changing environment.
Strong understanding of free-to-play design, mechanics, and strategies.
Experience building MMORPGs, Simulation Games, Survival Games, RPGs, or Virtual Worlds is a huge plus.
Excellent verbal & written communication skills, with experience communicating designs and delivering creative and technical feedback to a diverse group of stakeholders and colleagues.

Perks

Medical, Dental, Vision & Life/AD&D Insurance
401(k)
Maternity & Parental Leave
Full Remote
Flexible PTO
Flexible Spending Accounts
Commuter Benefits
ADP Employee Discount Program
Daily Lunch (in office only)
Free Snacks & Beverages (in office only)

$115,000/year to $160,000/year

A reasonable estimate of the current US base salary range for this position is salary (the range listed above) + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within that range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including but not limited to job-related skill sets, experience and training, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include discretionary bonus (if any, based on individual and organizational performance), equity, or benefits.

Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Manticore Games provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.