About the role
Overview
CI Games is seeking a Senior Combat Designer for an ambitious strategic roadmap with major releases planned for 2026-2028. The role focuses on creating ground-breaking combat experiences within a dedicated and inclusive environment.
Key Responsibilities
Combat Systems & Enemy Design
- Develop the 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.
Terms and Work Environment
- 5 months freelance contract with immediate start.
- Remote work with flexible schedules.
- Core working hours: 10am-4pm CET.
- A diverse and inclusive workplace that celebrates all backgrounds.
Perks
- Private Medical Insurance
- 25 days annual leave + Bank Holidays
- Sports Membership reimbursement
- Company Events
- Remote office set-up support
- Profit Sharing Bonus
- Generous Referral Scheme
- Flexible Hours
About CI Games
Established in 2002, CI Games is an independent video game developer and publisher. Known for titles like the Lords of the Fallen and Sniper Ghost Warrior franchises, as well as United Label titles including Röki, Eldest Souls, and the Tales of Iron franchise. The company has operated with fully remote teams since 2020, with a team of 180 co-workers primarily based throughout Europe.