Gameplay Designer (Creatures)

Gardens Interactive is a visionary game development studio committed to creating immersive, socially engaging live-service games that foster meaningful connections among players. Founded by industry veterans behind acclaimed titles such as Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, Guild Wars 2, and Firewatch, the studio emphasizes sustainable, collaborative development processes that prioritize quality and innovation. Our mission is to cultivate rich, dynamic worlds where players can explore, interact, and forge lasting friendships within lush, living environments. As a fully remote and distributed team across North America, we value inclusivity, transparency, and diverse perspectives, believing they are essential to crafting exceptional gaming experiences.

About the role

We are seeking a talented Gameplay Designer focused on creatures to join our creative team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for shaping the core of our world's living inhabitants by designing, refining, and implementing creature behaviors that enhance both combat and non-combat interactions. Your work will directly influence how players experience and engage with the world, ensuring that creatures feel alive, responsive, and meaningful within the gameplay ecosystem. You will prototype, iterate, and maintain creature systems using industry-standard tools such as Unreal Engine's Behavior Trees and Blackboards, collaborating closely with engineers, artists, animators, and sound designers to bring your designs to life. This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to a flagship project in a dynamic, collaborative environment, emphasizing innovation and player experience. As part of your responsibilities, you will balance difficulty, ensure creature interactions are fun and surprising, and serve as a bridge between artistic, technical, and gameplay elements to deliver a seamless and engaging player experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, and maintain creature behaviors and abilities for multiplayer scenarios
• Implement creature systems using Unreal Engine Behavior Trees and Blackboards from initial concept through final polish
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams including engineers, artists, animators, and audio designers to realize creature designs
• Balance and tune creature difficulty and behaviors to create engaging and dynamic encounters
• Ensure creature interactions are fun, surprising, and memorable, advocating for an optimal player experience
• Partner with animation teams to refine movement sets and develop pathfinding logic for realistic locomotion
• Act as a liaison between art, animation, and engineering teams to troubleshoot visual state logic and optimize creature performance
• Conduct playtests and iterate on creature behaviors based on feedback and analytics
• Stay informed of industry trends and incorporate innovative ideas into creature design

Qualifications

• Proficiency in Unreal Engine, especially Behavior Trees, Blackboards, and Blueprint Scripting
• Experience with the Gameplay Ability System (GAS) in Unreal Engine
• Strong understanding of multiplayer game design principles
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills
• Proven ability to prototype, iterate, and polish gameplay systems
• Knowledge of creature biology, ecology, or systemic worldbuilding (preferred)
• Passion for ecological design and emergent gameplay
• Experience working in a remote, distributed team environment
• Bachelor's degree in Game Design, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent experience)

Benefits

• Competitive salary and transparent pay structure
• Stock options and equity participation
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage (100% for individuals, 90% for dependents)
• Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability benefits
• 401(k) contributions (USA) / RRSP and DPSP plans (Canada)
• Paid parental leave to support work-life balance
• Biannual company retreats to foster team bonding
• Continuing education and professional development allowances
• Flexible work hours and fully remote work environment across North America