About the role
About Riyo Games
We’re a tight-knit, passionate team of JRPG fans working on bringing the best of the genre to everyone! We are each other’s cheerleaders - we support and celebrate each other’s work and achievements in and out of the studio. That’s reflected in the Platinum Rule: we treat others as they want to be treated based on their unique background. We have a no crunch policy, make people-first decisions regarding studio culture, and operate fully remotely to give everyone their best chance for a healthy work-life balance.
Diversity & Inclusion
We welcome and value the presence and contributions of people regardless of their gender identity and/or expression, sexual attraction, age, culture, abilities, ethnic origin, marital status, nationality, race, religion, education, or socioeconomic status. We do not accept and will take action against discrimination or harassment based on the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Senior Game Designer - Contract
Position Summary
Riyo Games is currently looking for a Senior Game Designer who is passionate about JRPGs to join our team. You will leverage strong creative, analytical, and communication skills to create and iterate the systems that power our JRPG, Threads of Time. Combat and progression are critical systems for our game, and you will play a pivotal role in shaping the player experience with those systems. This is a 6-month full-time fixed-term contract position, with the possibility of extension or transition into a regular full-time role.
About Us
Our mission is to craft retro-infused JRPGs that awaken cherished childhood memories. You’ll be working on Threads of Time, a 2.5D JRPG inspired by Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy where you get to travel from the pre-historic era to the end of time.
- Become part of a veteran team that includes legendary developers who led iconic titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles, Legend of Mana, and more
- Competitive salary
- 4 weeks paid vacation (1 week of which is taken in late December)
- Benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance, and an Employee & Family Assistance program
- Collaborative environment with opportunities to contribute to the game’s creative design and take ownership of features
- Opportunities to help you strengthen your skills or learn something new
- A workplace that appreciates and values diversity and inclusivity
Responsibilities
- Own your designs through every phase of development from concept to finish, using feedback and testing to refine them
- Work in-engine to iterate, debug, and polish heroes, enemies and boss fights
- Hold and communicate the vision for your work to collaborators in other departments
- Collaborate with art, code, audio, animation, and visual effects to deliver memorable combat encounters
- Research retro and modern JRPG design conventions to ensure authenticity of the experience
- Work with the GAS in Unreal Engine 5 to implement and tune combat abilities
- Standardize, document, and communicate designs to the team, recognizing the audience for documentation
- Other duties as assigned
Requirements
- At least 5+ years' experience in the games industry working as a combat/systems designer, shipping at least one title
- A passion for JRPGs is a must
- Must be proficient in Unreal Engine’s Gameplay Ability System (GAS)
- Proactive, with a strong sense of ownership, shepherding designs from initial creation through to implementation, testing and iteration
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Familiarity and proficiency with scripting
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Organized and able to write concise documentation
- Self-motivated, with the ability to prioritize and deliver quality work within deadlines
- Ability to recognize player fantasy and turn that into compelling gameplay mechanics
Pluses
- Resident of Ontario or Quebec, Canada
Salary
- $80,000 - $120,000 CAD
Location
- Although this is a fixed-term remote position, applicants must reside in either Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, or British Columbia.
Sound Designer - Contract
Position Summary
The Sound Designer will be responsible for designing, implementing, and polishing high-quality gameplay audio for our upcoming JRPG. Working closely with the Lead Sound Designer and the multidisciplinary development team, you will create immersive and responsive audio for combat, environments, UI, cinematics, and other gameplay systems. This is a 6-month full-time fixed-term contract position, with the possibility of extension or transition into a regular full-time role.
About Us
Our mission is to craft retro-infused JRPGs that awaken cherished childhood memories. You’ll be working on Threads of Time, a 2.5D JRPG inspired by Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy where you get to travel from the pre-historic era to the end of time.
- Become part of a veteran team that includes legendary developers who led iconic titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles, Legend of Mana, and more
- Competitive salary
- 4 weeks paid vacation (1 week of which is taken in late December)
- Benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance, and an Employee & Family Assistance program
- Collaborative environment with opportunities to contribute to the game’s creative design and take ownership of features
- Opportunities to help you strengthen your skills or learn something new
- A workplace that appreciates and values diversity and inclusivity
Responsibilities
- Design, edit, and implement high-quality sound effects for combat, gameplay systems, environments, UI, and other gameplay events
- Implement and iterate interactive audio in Unreal Engine using Blueprints and FMOD Studio
- Collaborate closely with design, engineering, animation, VFX, production, and QA to support evolving gameplay needs
- Adapt quickly to changing project priorities, gameplay updates, production feedback, and cross-discipline dependencies while maintaining quality and meeting milestone deadlines
- Tune and polish gameplay audio based on playtesting, player feedback, and designer iteration
- Provide audio support for cinematics and marketing assets, including recording, editing, and processing sound effects, Foley, and voice assets when required
- Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve audio implementation bugs
- Help maintain organized audio assets, implementation workflows, documentation, and audio standards
- Stay current with game audio techniques, workflows, and emerging technologies
Requirements
- 3+ years, or equivalent demonstrated experience as a Sound Designer in the video game industry
- Shipped at least one commercial title as a Sound Designer or Technical Sound Designer
- Strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality gameplay sound design, particularly combat and interactive systems
- Proficiency with Reaper or a comparable DAW and creative sound-design, restoration, synthesis, and mixing tools (ex. Izotope, Fabfilter, BOOM, Tonsturm, etc.)
- Intermediate proficiency with Unreal Engine Blueprint scripting, including the ability to implement, debug, and modify audio-related gameplay logic
- Experience with FMOD Studio or Audiokinetic Wwise, with an expectation to quickly ramp up in FMOD Studio
- Experience designing responsive gameplay audio for combat, player abilities, UI, and environmental systems
- Strong understanding of interactive audio systems and mixing
- Demonstrated ability to adapt to changing production priorities, respond to feedback quickly, and pivot as project scope evolves
- Excellent communication, organizational, and collaboration skills
- Self-motivated with a proven ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a high standard of quality
Pluses
- Passion for JRPGs, and narrative-driven games
- Passion for creating stylized, anime-inspired sound effects
- Experience using Jira, Perforce, and collaborative development workflows
- Experience building and maintaining a personal sound effects library
- A resident of Ontario or Quebec, Canada, or willing to move
Salary
- $65,000 - $85,000 CAD
Location
- Although this is a full-time remote position, applicants must reside in either Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, or British Columbia, or be willing to relocate.
Technical Narrative Designer - Contract
Position Summary
As Technical Narrative Designer, you will bring to life vibrant Overworlds of our upcoming game, Threads of Time. You will write and design interesting encounters that support larger story goals and themes, and leveraging your technical skills, you will implement them across 5 different eras, from prehistory to the far future. This is a 6-month full-time fixed-term contract position, with the possibility of extension or transition into a regular full-time role.
About Us
Our mission is to craft retro-infused JRPGs that awaken cherished childhood memories. You’ll be working on Threads of Time, a 2.5D JRPG inspired by Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy, where you get to travel from the prehistoric era to the end of time.
- Become part of a veteran team that includes legendary developers who led iconic titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles, Legend of Mana, and more
- Competitive salary
- 4 weeks paid vacation (1 week of which is taken in late December)
- Benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance, and an Employee & Family Assistance program
- Collaborative environment with opportunities to contribute to the game’s creative design and take ownership of features
- Opportunities to help you strengthen your skills or learn something new
- A workplace that appreciates and values diversity and inclusivity
Responsibilities
- Taking lead from the Design Director, create Overworld content across all five eras: NPC encounters, side stories, and the small found details (letters, signs, ruins) that make each time period feel lived-in and distinct
- Collaborate closely with the narrative team, who will provide lore, writing, and sidequest outlines for you to develop into fully realized Overworld content
- Implement your own work in-engine, taking content from first draft to implementation, playtesting and iteration, including among other things dialogue scripting, triggers, event flags, and cutscene staging
- Own the world-state logic that makes Overworld activities and time ripples (cause and consequence through time) work
- Collaborate with level design, art, and audio so each Overworld activity lands
- Playtest your content relentlessly, then iterate based on player feedback
- Help improve our narrative tools and pipeline: flag friction where you find it, propose fixes, and keep content structured for localization down the road
- Write from a variety of voices and perspectives
- Effectively communicate with engineers to ensure seamless technical implementation of narrative tools and pipelines
- Collaborate closely with production and monitor progress to meet project milestones
- Other duties as assigned
Requirements
- Minimum of 5 years of professional game writing and design experience, shipping at least one title
- A love and understanding of JRPGs is a must
- Very comfortable working in-engine and implementing content in UE5 or similar
- Proactive with a strong sense of ownership, shepherding designs from initial creation through to implementation, testing, and iteration
- Strong communication, listening, and interpersonal skills
Pluses
- Resident of Ontario or Quebec, Canada
Salary
- $60,000 - $100,000 CAD
Location
- Although this is a full-time remote position, applicants must reside in either Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, or British Columbia, or be willing to relocate.