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Game Design Director (The Sims)
At Maxis, we excel at outrageous thinking. It's the fuel that inspires the best games in the world. We're creators and great storytellers. Our mission is not just about amazing our peers – it's about amazing our fans. Taking risks. Working with each other. Daring to dream big. Together, we can improve the way millions play every day.
As a Game Design Director for The Sims, you'll work with a large (but tight-knit) team of enthusiastic industry craftspeople from all walks of life. Your job will be to use your passion, knowledge, and leadership to inspire creativity, provide and communicate vision, and create incredible experiences that surprise and delight millions of gamers around the world.
You will report to the Studio Creative Director.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Champion the creative direction for The Sims on an ongoing basis, inspiring the team through progressive creative design and leadership.
- Oversee design vision and implementation, working directly with designers, producers, programmers, artists, and development.
- Work with leadership and brand to establish the creative direction for our games.
- Understand new trends driving player expectations and behaviors.
- Sensitivity to mass-market appeal, and the ability to create new experiences within it.
- Partner with consumer insights to break down and understand the underlying motivations, and then driving solutions to problems and opportunities.
- Understand how user-generated content and experiences are shaping products in the market.
- Track and communicate progress and resolution of problems with the ability to set guidelines for peers and external support groups.
- Provide guidance and mentorship to peers and junior design staff, help them resolve complex problems, and growing their careers.
- Represent the game including delivering presentations, taking responsibility for internal reviews, and handling external interviews with the media.
Recommended Skills and Experience:
- 10+ years experience in a creative role within the gaming/entertainment industry.
- 5+ years of experience leading game teams and defining game design and narrative direction.
- Experience designing, launching, monitoring, and evolving a live service.
- Experience designing and launching cross-platform titles (PC/Mac, Console, Mobile)
- Experience creating simulation and life experiences that surprise and delight players
- Experience creating social experiences that bring players and player creations together in new ways
- Experience developing games that support user-generated content
- Experience inspiring an organization irrespective of reporting lines; a vocal champion of the work that knows when to defend the work and when feedback will make the idea stronger.
- Welcome feedback and criticism, and enjoy working in a collaborative, iterative, and agile process.
- Organized, and can break down complex problems into consumable pieces for others.
- Experience working with research departments to establish tests and interpret data to improve the design.
About EA
At Electronic Arts, we exist to Inspire the World to Play. We create extraordinary new game experiences for our millions of players everywhere by bringing together talented people that combine creativity, innovation, and passion. We know that our strength lies in the diversity of our people. We immerse our employees into an inclusive culture, and provide opportunities for learning and leading that allow them to do the most impactful and rewarding work of their careers. We put our people first. We provide comprehensive benefit packages with a focus on health and wellbeing to support your needs and help you balance your career and personal life. We provide access to dynamic and collaborative work environments, opportunities to connect and contribute through our Employee Resource Groups, and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free video games and so much more! 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. Electronic Arts also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.
