Level Designer (Senior+)

Level Designer (Senior+) 
Hybrid/Onsite 
Full time 
Toronto, Ontario, Canada 

Description 

At Velan Studios, we foster a culture of curiosity. Our games embrace diversity and are fueled by the adventurous spirit of our team. We are the creative minds behind titles like Star Fox, Knockout City, Midnight Murder Club, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, Bounce Arcade (VR), and our journey continues! Our studio's mission is to pioneer groundbreaking gaming experiences and reimagine play in new ways. We're committed to pushing the boundaries of traditional gaming, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, and revolutionizing the industry one game at a time.

Are you a level designer with experience creating levels from brainstorming and high-level concept planning to shippable quality? Have you prototyped interesting new gameplay elements, play tested and iterated towards a fun experience? If the responsibilities listed below sound like your dream job, we’d like to talk to you!

Velan Studios is looking for an experienced Level Designer who can own the layout, planning, grey-boxing, and gameplay, as well as collaborate with others towards the creation of compelling level designs throughout the project.

Responsibilities   

• Brainstorm, innovate, create, refine, and finalize 3D level layouts
• Greybox layout to determine gameplay spaces, high level pacing, and identify key moments 
• Prototype and script gameplay sequences alongside encounters to gain meaningful feedback in early development 
• Own the design of the moment-to-moment and overall pacing of multiple levels in collaboration with environment artists and gameplay engineers
• Work closely with the Game Director, Designers, and Artists on the design, layout, and construction of our game levels and environments, as well as scripted level mechanics and events. 
• Help define and implement unique gameplay mechanics that fit your levels 
• Work closely with the Game Director and other Lead Designers to shape and implement compelling level and quest content.
  

Requirements

• 5+ years of design experience
• At least one shipped title as a level designer
• Experience grey-boxing to blockout of gameplay spaces and establishing landmarks 
• An understanding of level pacing and encounter design 
• Ability to do quick prototypes to prove out gameplay ideas
• Familiarity with tool-use and basic scripting in any major game-engine such as Unity, Unreal or equivalent

Big Plusses  

• Experience in creating Co-Op gameplay 
• Experience crafting cinematic gameplay moments, an eye for camera 
• Familiarity with any major 3D art creation tool such as 3d Studio Max, Maya, or Blender 
• Other areas of design expertise (systems, combat, etc.) to contribute on different teams and projects. 

This is a hybrid or onsite position. Hybrid is 3 days a week in studio. Our Ontario studio is located in downtown Toronto (near Queen and University). 

Velan Studios is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about a role, but your experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to submit a General Application. Velan Studios is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion, diversity, and providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. We seek to create a work culture that matches the diversity of our players.