Black Forest Games is part of the fastest growing publisher in Europe, Embracer Group, and the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna. Our last release was the highly successful remake of ‘Destroy All Humans!’.

Here in the south of Germany, directly at the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio with the financial security of a big publisher.

We are an international team and we foster diversity. Sharing this mindset is a must for us. We are happy for every candidate who contributes to the diversity of our team.

Mission Designer (f/m/d)

We are currently looking for a Mission Designer to work on our upcoming projects with Unreal Engine. You will be responsible for all aspects of content creation, from the initial design phase, white boxing and first playable, through to the final polish phase. This role will have frequent communication and interaction with the lead level designer, lead game designer, environment artists and gameplay programmers.

Responsibilities:

Preparing mission document drafts.
Designing, prototyping, iterating on and polishing the in-game part of the open world including missions, enemy encounters, and other gameplay elements, using the Unreal Engine 4 tools and blueprint system.
Collaborating with game designers to ensure that the level design contributes to and enhances the gameplay.
Collaborating with environment artists on crafting spaces where gameplay flow and visual composition form memorable experiences.
Collaborating with narrative designers to provide unique and immersive gaming experiences
Conducting play-testing sessions and gathering feedback and action points to refine the levels and gameplay. Taking part in other play-testing sessions, providing feedback and suggestions to help fine tune and improve the game.

Reporting Lines:

Reporting directly to the lead mission designer

Requirements:

2+ years’ experience at a game studio working as a level designer or mission designer.
Experience with 3D engine game editors.
Experience with open world games.
Ability to design missions – from the concept phase to polish and debug – through an iterative process based on playtests feedback
Excellent communication skills & proven ability to work within a team.

Pluses:

Experience with Unreal 4 tools and blueprint system.
Ability to create map layouts at all stages – from simple drawings to fully functional world locations in at least one of the existing game engines.
Shipped at least 1 title as a level designer.

Examples of previous work done are appreciated.

What else do we offer?

Flexible working hours
28 days of holiday
Competitive salary
Green office, fresh fruits, coffee and drinks
Fitness area in the studio
Free German language classes
Stability of a successful publisher paired with creative freedom of an independent studio

And the chance to work with a great team in an open culture where your opinion and input is always welcome and considered, beyond your dedicated task.

Why join Black Forest Games?

We are a team with a long history of looking for long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This is an important part of our company philosophy. Talent is always welcome no matter where you are from. We offer a family-friendly work-life balance and a lot of flexibility.

Here you can work on IPs known worldwide and have a hand in shaping them.

As a bonus, Black Forest Games is located in one of the most beautiful and wealthiest areas in the South of Germany, located closely to Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Basel. Getting here is easy, because of excellent traffic conditions – 3 airports about 30 minutes away, the Autobahn and the ICE station right around the corner. All of this in a region where kids still play in the nature and drive to school by bike.

You love everything about us, but you don’t want to live in Germany? No problem, lots of our developers are living cross the border in Strasbourg, France and get here easily by train or car. Strasbourg is one of the biggest cities in France with 500.000 citizens.