Requisition Number: 180687
Position Title: Game Designer I
External Description:
Welcome to Maxis, home to tinkerers, craftspeople, & storytellers. Our drive is to inspire everyone to make a better world through creative play. As the developer of The Sims, we create games and experiences for millions of people around the world and are always looking for new ways to inspire our players. Maxis is a place where you can do what you love and help others grow while doing it; a place where your unique voice can be heard and seen. We put creativity and inclusivity at the core of our work and don’t settle for seeing the world only as it is, but strive to build a world as it could be.
In this role you will be part of the reimagining of The Sims that players know and love. The Sims is one of the top selling PC game franchise of all time and The Sims 4 is by far our most successful Sims game. We have 65 million registered players of the base game. To date, The Sims 4 has shipped over 50 content packs and countless base game feature and quality of life updates. The Sims 4 continues to transcend being “just a game” and continues to be a positive force in people’s lives while occupying a unique creative space in the game industry.
As a Game Designer on The Sims 4, you’ll work with a team of enthusiastic industry craftspeople from all walks of life. You will use your passion and knowledge to design player-first experiences that surprise, delight, and invite millions of Simmers around the world to Play with Life.
You will report into the Design Development Director.
Responsibilities
- Design mechanics and content from concept through implementation to completion.
- Determine gameplay experience goals for designs, and tune features to meet those goals.
- Improve designs based on input from the team, user research and play-testing, game metrics, and sound systems design practices.
- Become knowledgeable about the The Sims franchise and our community.
- Gain proficiency in Maxis’ proprietary tools to implement designs, tune, and bug fix.
- Learn to design scalable systems and good design patterns and practices.
- Learn how to find practical and creative solutions that achieve the intended player experience and fit scope.
- Collaborate with various departments to get support and guide a project from concept to ship.
- Help identify gaps on the team that could improve your or their work.
Qualifications
- Early Career: 2-3 years of game design experience on a video game development team.
- Experience with game development tools and engines such as Unity, Unreal, or proprietary.
- Implemented designs in past games using scripts, XML/JSON, blueprints, or in an editor.
- Ability to write detailed design documentation throughout a project life cycle.
- Progressive thinking and motivated to overcome challenges.
- Interest in pushing boundaries and telling inclusive human stories through systems and thematic storytelling
- Champion a design and get the team excited to work on it.
- Experience using a variety of scripting solutions to implement, tune, and bug-fix features.
- Strives for ownership and responsibility.
- Knowledge of and enthusiasm for gaming: playing, deconstructing, and creating.
- Experience with games in The Sims PC franchise and other simulation games.
Desirable Skills
- Comfortable with Google Drive: Docs, Sheets, and Slides; Miro, Visio, JIRA, Perforce or Git, and online collaboration suites such as Confluence and Slack.
CONTRACT POSITION – 12 MONTHS
US COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The base salary ranges listed below are for the defined geographic market pay zones in these states. If you reside outside of these locations, a recruiter will advise on the base salary range and benefits for your specific location.
EA has listed the base salary ranges it in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in the locations listed, as of the time of this posting. Salary offered will be determined based on numerous relevant business and candidate factors including, for example, education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, and business or organizational needs.
BASE SALARY RANGES
• California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. Sacramento):
° $78,500 – $119,650
• New York (depending on location e.g. Manhattan vs. Buffalo):
° $73,150 – $119,650
• Jersey City, NJ :
° $84,750 – $119,650
• Colorado (depending on location e.g. Denver vs. Colorado Springs):
° $73,150 – $97,500
• Washington (depending on location e.g. Seattle vs. Spokane):
° $73,150 – $105,250
Base salary is just one part of the overall compensation at EA. We also offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to temporary full-time employees scheduled to work full time.
City:
State:
Community / Marketing Title: Game Designer (Temporary) – The Sims
Company Profile:
We are a global team of creators, storytellers, technologists, experience originators, innovators and so much more. We believe amazing games and experiences start with teams as diverse as the players and communities we serve. At Electronic Arts, the only limit is your imagination.
EEOText:
About Electronic Arts
Everything we do is designed to inspire the world to play. Through our cutting-edge games, innovative services, and powerful technologies, we bring worlds with infinite possibilities to millions of players and fans around the globe.
We’re looking for collaborative and inclusive people with diverse perspectives who will enrich our culture and challenge us. We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support our people through every chapter of life. We provide comprehensive benefit packages and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. Our goal is to provide a safe and respectful workplace that empowers you to thrive in both work and life.
Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.
Days Open: 10
Can this position be remote?: 1
EEO Employer Verbiage:
About Electronic Arts
Everything we do is designed to inspire the world to play. Through our cutting-edge games, innovative services, and powerful technologies, we bring worlds with infinite possibilities to millions of players and fans around the globe.
We’re looking for collaborative and inclusive people with diverse perspectives who will enrich our culture and challenge us. We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support our people through every chapter of life. We provide comprehensive benefit packages and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. Our goal is to provide a safe and respectful workplace that empowers you to thrive in both work and life.
Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.