Gameplay Designer; Creatures

At Gardens Interactive, we believe that games have the power to connect people and foster meaningful relationships. Our studio is dedicated to creating critically acclaimed and commercially successful live-service games through a sustainable and collaborative development process.

• Prototype, iterate, and maintain creature behaviors and abilities for both combat and non-combat scenarios in an online multiplayer environment.
• Own the implementation and continuous maintenance of creature behaviors using Unreal Behaviors Trees and Blackboards from prototyping to polish.
• Collaborate with engineers, artists, animators, and audio designers to bring your creature designs to the player experience.

• Own creatures, their abilities, and their behaviors while staying aligned with gameplay design and leadership.
• Collaborate with cross‑disciplinary partners to align creature design with art, narrative, 3C’s gameplay, and technical requirements.
• Balance and tune difficulty and behavior to create engaging encounters for multiplayer situations.
• Advocate for the player experience, ensuring creature interactions are fun, surprising, and memorable.
• Partner with Animation to tune movement sets and provide pathfinding logic to ensure locomotion feels grounded and purposeful.
• Act as a key bridge between Art/Animation and Engineering to troubleshoot visual state logic and optimize creature performance.

• Understanding of how players approach multiplayer play in order to create compelling and engaging creatures (and creature behaviors) that elevate the player experience.
• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to communicate ideas clearly and succinctly.
• Strong play testing and iteration habits to maintain creative goals while also having a focus on how design decisions affect interpersonal player behavior and relationships.

• Extensive Unreal Engine experience, with strong proficiency in Unreal Engine Behavior Trees, Blackboards, and Blueprint Scripting.
• Experience working with and strong understanding of the Gameplay Ability System (GAS) in Unreal Engine.
• Passion for ecological design, systemic world building, or player‑driven emergent gameplay.
• Love for and understanding of the animal kingdom, creature biology, and natural ecologies.

• This role reports to the Co‑Design Leads.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States or Canada. Gardens cannot assist with work authorizations or work visas. The applicant must also be willing to work within North American time zones.

We're a game studio founded by the creators behind titles such as Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, Blaseball, Dustforce, Ashen, Guild Wars 2, Firewatch, and more! Our name reflects our mission: to cultivate rich, immersive worlds that foster meaningful connections and lasting friendships. We believe in creating lush, living environments where players can engage in surprising multiplayer experiences and grow together with the support of their communities.

Our commitment to inclusivity and transparency drives us to create a work environment where every voice is heard and valued. We are a fully distributed and remote studio.

We offer competitive pay, stock options, flexible non‑accrual paid time off, and comprehensive benefits, including full medical, vision, dental, and 401(k) contributions.

• Competitive Salaries and Pay Transparency
• Stock Options
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage (100% for Individuals and 90% for Dependents)
• Life Insurance, Short Term & Long Term Disability, and numerous other benefits
• 401(k) contributions (USA) / RRSP plan + DPSP contributions (Canada)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Biannual Company Retreats
• Continued Education Allowance
• A fully‑distributed studio across North American Timezones (US & Canada)

Benefits and perks listed may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Gardens and the country in which you work.

We believe that diverse perspectives make our team stronger and our games better. If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. Studies show that marginalized groups, especially those of women and people of color, are less likely to apply unless they meet every criterion. At Gardens Interactive, we value potential, passion, and a willingness to grow.

We hope you will join us in shaping the future of gaming.

Compensation Range: $172.1K – $206.4K