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Game Designer - Project: Vanguard (M/F/D)
Torpor Games GmbH
- Location
- Hybrid (Berlin)
- Employment
- Full-time
- Level
- Mid Level
Posted 4 days ago
About the Role
Torpor Games GmbH is seeking a Game Designer for Project: Vanguard, a narrative-driven game. This role involves designing and iterating on gameplay systems and player-facing features, collaborating closely with various teams to create an engaging player experience.
Skills
Gameplay Systems Design
Narrative Design
Decision-Based Design
State Management
Game Balancing
Technical Documentation
UX/UI Collaboration
Prototyping
Pacing and Progression
Project Management Tools
Perks
- Free Gym Membership
- Covered Public Transport
- Flexible Hours
- Hybrid Work
- Work From Abroad
- Team Events
- Annual Bonus
Full job details
Location: Berlin, Germany
Contract type: On-Payroll, Full-time (40h/week), fixed-term contract (with a strong possibility of extension or conversion to permanent employment based on performance and project requirements)
Expected Start Date: 01.07.2026
The Game Designer is responsible for designing and iterating gameplay systems and player-facing features for Suzerain: Project Vanguard. This role shapes how player decisions are presented, processed, and reflected across the campaign, ensuring that mechanics, pacing, and reactivity support a coherent and engaging experience within the Suzerain format. The Game Designer works closely with narrative, UX, technical, production, and QA counterparts from concept through implementation. Essential qualifications
Free Urban Sports Club membership for all Berlin-based permanent employees.
Public Transportation
Fully covered Deutschland-Ticket (BVG) for nationwide public transport.
Flexible Hours
Start your day between 8:00–10:00 CET with core hours from 10:00–15:00 CET.
Hybrid Work
We embrace a hybrid work schedule, requiring in-office presence on 3 days, with the flexibility to work remotely for the remaining 2 days of the week (calculation is based on full-time position).
Work from Abroad
Up to 10 remote work days per year from outside Germany.
Team Events
Regular team events and access to the NLND community network.
Feedback & Growth
Regular feedback sessions to support your development.
Annual Bonus
Performance-based annual bonus.
Vacation
24 paid vacation days (full-time).
Contract type: On-Payroll, Full-time (40h/week), fixed-term contract (with a strong possibility of extension or conversion to permanent employment based on performance and project requirements)
Expected Start Date: 01.07.2026
The Game Designer is responsible for designing and iterating gameplay systems and player-facing features for Suzerain: Project Vanguard. This role shapes how player decisions are presented, processed, and reflected across the campaign, ensuring that mechanics, pacing, and reactivity support a coherent and engaging experience within the Suzerain format. The Game Designer works closely with narrative, UX, technical, production, and QA counterparts from concept through implementation. Essential qualifications
- Proven experience as a game designer on narrative-driven and/or systems-focused games.
- Strong understanding of decision-based design, state management, and consequence-driven gameplay.
- Ability to translate high-level design goals into clear, implementable systems and specifications.
- Experience collaborating closely with writers, narrative designers, UX, engineers, and producers.
- Strong analytical and balancing skills related to pacing, progression, and player pressure.
- Clear written communication skills and experience producing structured design documentation.
- Comfort working with task tracking and documentation tools in a production environment.
- Prior experience working on Suzerain or familiarity with its design format and systems.
- Experience designing political, strategy, or simulation-driven gameplay.
- Familiarity with UI-heavy or text-forward game interfaces.
- Experience iterating on live or content-heavy projects within milestone-driven schedules.
- Design and iterate core gameplay systems and player-facing features for Suzerain: Project Vanguard, aligned with the Suzerain format and the new country setting.
- Define decision structures and consequence logic in collaboration with the Lead Writer and Narrative Designer, ensuring choices are clear, readable, and meaningful.
- Specify key variables, state changes, triggers, and outcomes that drive reactivity across events, scenes, and long-term narrative arcs.
- Develop and balance progression, pacing, difficulty, and resource pressures to support a cohesive campaign experience.
- Collaborate with UX and UI to shape information hierarchy, decision presentation, and player feedback loops across interfaces.
- Produce clear and structured design documentation and implementation briefs, including feature specifications, flow diagrams, and acceptance criteria.
- Prototype and validate mechanics or content structures through lightweight prototypes or in-tool test setups to reduce risk and clarify design intent.
- Work closely with technical teams to ensure feasibility, maintainability, and clean integration of systems and content within the project’s tooling and pipeline.
- Partner with Production and QA to plan playtests, triage issues, and iterate based on build feedback and player experience findings.
- Track tasks and maintain design documentation using Codecks, Notion, and Miro, keeping decisions and specifications current and accessible.
Free Urban Sports Club membership for all Berlin-based permanent employees.
Public Transportation
Fully covered Deutschland-Ticket (BVG) for nationwide public transport.
Flexible Hours
Start your day between 8:00–10:00 CET with core hours from 10:00–15:00 CET.
Hybrid Work
We embrace a hybrid work schedule, requiring in-office presence on 3 days, with the flexibility to work remotely for the remaining 2 days of the week (calculation is based on full-time position).
Work from Abroad
Up to 10 remote work days per year from outside Germany.
Team Events
Regular team events and access to the NLND community network.
Feedback & Growth
Regular feedback sessions to support your development.
Annual Bonus
Performance-based annual bonus.
Vacation
24 paid vacation days (full-time).