We are Darkbright Studios, creators of Smolbound! We are a dynamic, growing startup led by a decorated team of industry veterans, and backed by some of the biggest names in the gaming space. We’re dedicated to showing the world that web3 isn’t a genre - it’s a platform that best-in-class, unforgettable experiences can be built on!
We are seeking a Systems Designer to join the team and help us craft extensible experiences that will delight and engage players for years to come. You will be designing and building progression and skill systems, shaping and creating a robust in-game ecosystem, and evolving our combat into a true agricultural achievement. If you’re the kind of person who thinks that working on your core means getting your core loops tighter, if you’ve created or prototyped a board/card/video game just because you had ideas you wanted to try out, or you have looked at MMO system diagrams and thought “Is that it?” then you might be who we’ve been looking for!
Here at Darkbright, we operate on open-minded ownership as inspired builders of passion. That’s all fancy words to just say–we put product, quality, and fun first. We are scrappy, nimble, and happy to move with some ambiguity. We each bring strong discipline and passion each day, and most of all, we love games. If working in a tight-knit, collaborative team within a high impact role sounds like what you want, we'd love to chat!
You see games as an interconnected and complex piece of machinery - and you’re able to understand how changing one aspect will alter other facets of a player’s experience
You’re extremely comfortable with advanced mathematics, able to tell how designs and values influence a player’s journey, and guiding them with thoughtful intention
You know how to own and drive features within a game, taking a team through the phases of ambiguity into certainty and confidence
You’re comfortable in all phases of systems design, from inception and ideation, to implementation, testing and polish
You’re experienced working within Unity, Unreal, or other comparable tools
You are committed to understanding who your players are, and creating experiences that leave them clamoring for more!
You’re willing to get playful with your designs and approach when appropriate - able to tell when to lean in to the idiosyncrasies of a world or game, and when to play closer to player’s expectations
You’re able to work well with others in a remote-only environment across disciplines, receive feedback, and clearly communicate design and intentions across multiple mediums
Work with the Creative Director and other team members to design, refine, prototype, implement, validate, and polish core facets of the Smolbound experience
Own features from start to finish, collaborating with team members to drive them to completion
Own the game’s meta economy and progression, working with other team members and leadership to ensure that the needs of the game are met
Take a proactive role in the game’s development, identifying weaknesses or areas of opportunity, and creating proposals to address them
Organize and participate in playtests, soliciting feedback on your work, as well as providing feedback to others to ensure the highest quality experience possible
You’ve had at least 5 years of experience within a Systems Design capacity, and have specific examples of your contributions and how they impacted the titles you have worked on
You’ve had demonstrable experience in some or all of the following areas: character/player progression, skill and combat design, itemization and progression economies, or RPG / MMO progression systems
You have a deep love for gaming as a whole, and can thoughtfully articulate why gamers resonate and attach to different genres, mechanics, tones, and aesthetics
Experience working with Unity (or equivalent), scripting experience is a plus
Able to work remotely within North American time zones (UTC-5 - UTC-8)
You have a demonstrable interest in web3, and pushing the platform forward with best in class game design and unparalleled experiences
You’ve had experience with marketplace, gacha, or other comparable forms of monetization design
You’re passionate about RPGs, Action, and Simulation games, and the thought of merging those together in new and interesting ways sends your mind spiraling with exciting possibilities
You’re an anime fan (or you at least know how to talk to and understand them)
These items are just a list, but bullet points seldom capture the whole picture of a person. We want to assess all of you, including who you are and the potential of who you can be. If you have some or all of what we’re seeking, please apply!
To apply, please send us the following materials:
Your resume
(Optional) A cover letter
If you choose to include a cover letter, what you put is up to you - but we’d love to learn more about you and why the world of Smolbound speaks to you. The most important part is to be genuine and have fun with it - we want to know you, not just what you’ve done!