What are the responsibilities and job description for the Game Director position at OtherSide Entertainment?
Who We Are
OtherSide Entertainment is an independent game studio with offices in Concord, MA, and remote staff throughout North America. Our mission is to create deeply immersive games that draw players into richly imagined worlds; games that empower players to choose their own play-style, making their experience unique and personal; games that encourage players to team up with their friends and weave their own shared narrative; the kind of games that are powered by our players’ vision as much as our own. Together, we aim to evolve the “player-authored” tradition of Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Thief, and Deus Ex – all games developed by the company’s founders, Paul Neurath and Warren Spector.
The Opportunity
Within our organization, the Game Director (GD) leads a major PC/console game project, focused on delivering the best possible player experience. The GD is a constant champion for making the best game we can, in close partnership with the lead producer, whose role is to make sure that we can deliver that game on time and on budget. We feel this is a key interface between the team, studio management, and our publishing partners, maintaining consistency and clarity of communication around the game’s vision, promise, and audience. An effective GD is comfortable managing up the chain to the c-suite as needed to advocate for the team and the project, as well as messaging down the chain to leads and IC’s, while helping evaluate day to day progress in the build in delivering against the vision.
This role will initially be on an original multiplayer PvPvE game, as such, we are looking for someone with deep insights into multiplayer audiences, play patterns, conventions, and opportunities for innovation.
You'll report directly to the CEO, Paul Neurath for this position.
Job Responsibilities
This is a full-time, remote working role, with competitive compensation and a full suite of benefits available anywhere in the United States. All team members may be asked to occasionally travel for key meetings, as part of their job responsibilities.
At OtherSide Entertainment, we know our success depends on our people. Just as our mission is oriented around empowering our players, we open our doors to all kinds of candidates. Our development process and players benefit from a variety of points of view, united by a shared passion for making fun and engaging experiences. If you don’t hit every one of our bullets, unless otherwise noted, feel free to still submit an application if you too resonate with our mission. If you require any accommodations to ensure an equitable interviewing experience please let us know!
A Warning About Job Scams - We hate that we have to say it, but there are always bad actors trying to take advantage of people. We've become aware that there are scammers impersonating us with job interview messages. Please keep diligent and know that we will never have you download anything for an interview (We use Teamtailor, which is a SaaS product) and not Telegram or other message services. We also will not ever ask you for money, for you to buy your own equipment, or that you travel somewhere for an interview and we will reimburse you. When in doubt, please feel free to message the recruiter listed for each role on LinkedIn, or our CPO Juliette (https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliettedupre/) about the legitimacy of any messages.
OtherSide Entertainment is an independent game studio with offices in Concord, MA, and remote staff throughout North America. Our mission is to create deeply immersive games that draw players into richly imagined worlds; games that empower players to choose their own play-style, making their experience unique and personal; games that encourage players to team up with their friends and weave their own shared narrative; the kind of games that are powered by our players’ vision as much as our own. Together, we aim to evolve the “player-authored” tradition of Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Thief, and Deus Ex – all games developed by the company’s founders, Paul Neurath and Warren Spector.
The Opportunity
Within our organization, the Game Director (GD) leads a major PC/console game project, focused on delivering the best possible player experience. The GD is a constant champion for making the best game we can, in close partnership with the lead producer, whose role is to make sure that we can deliver that game on time and on budget. We feel this is a key interface between the team, studio management, and our publishing partners, maintaining consistency and clarity of communication around the game’s vision, promise, and audience. An effective GD is comfortable managing up the chain to the c-suite as needed to advocate for the team and the project, as well as messaging down the chain to leads and IC’s, while helping evaluate day to day progress in the build in delivering against the vision.
This role will initially be on an original multiplayer PvPvE game, as such, we are looking for someone with deep insights into multiplayer audiences, play patterns, conventions, and opportunities for innovation.
You'll report directly to the CEO, Paul Neurath for this position.
Job Responsibilities
- Ensure that every team member and every part of the game are aligned in making a great player experience.
- Refine the game's vision, working across all aspects of development to deliver a player-empowering, innovative, and critically acclaimed title.
- Lead and inspire a multidisciplinary development team, while collaborating closely with product management, engineering, QA, and publishing.
- Establish clear frameworks and strategies to guide the design and execution of game features, ensuring alignment with the overall vision and audience targets.
- Prepare for the successful operation of the Game-as-a-Service components of the game intended to engage players for years to come.
- Coach and mentor team leads and members encouraging professional growth.
- Keep company leadership and other key stakeholders informed of the project’s plans and progress via participation in routine meetings as well as written documentation and periodic presentations.
- Balance personal creative insight with team and player feedback to deliver the best possible game, knowing how to use data to refine, adapt, and validate the vision and execution details of the game.
- Adhere to and support OSE’s values and standards of conduct as outlined in the Employee Handbook and related docs.
- Champion in-person participation at offsite events and meetings which may require travel of up to 20% annually, including potentially on nights and weekends.
- Exceptional leadership skills, with a track record of motivating and guiding game development teams to excellence.
- Proven experience as a Game Director or in a similar leadership role within the video game industry, including creative and team management responsibilities.
- Recent experience in a Game Director or similar role on a successfully launched game with a significant multiplayer component.
- Deep understanding of game design, player psychology, and what makes a game engaging and innovative.
- Effective at championing the project both internally and externally.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, capable of fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment.
- Commitment to our core values of committing to excellence, embracing innovation, highly collaborative teams, owning one's work, and seeking joy in the work we do.
- Experience working on an immersive sim game
This is a full-time, remote working role, with competitive compensation and a full suite of benefits available anywhere in the United States. All team members may be asked to occasionally travel for key meetings, as part of their job responsibilities.
At OtherSide Entertainment, we know our success depends on our people. Just as our mission is oriented around empowering our players, we open our doors to all kinds of candidates. Our development process and players benefit from a variety of points of view, united by a shared passion for making fun and engaging experiences. If you don’t hit every one of our bullets, unless otherwise noted, feel free to still submit an application if you too resonate with our mission. If you require any accommodations to ensure an equitable interviewing experience please let us know!
A Warning About Job Scams - We hate that we have to say it, but there are always bad actors trying to take advantage of people. We've become aware that there are scammers impersonating us with job interview messages. Please keep diligent and know that we will never have you download anything for an interview (We use Teamtailor, which is a SaaS product) and not Telegram or other message services. We also will not ever ask you for money, for you to buy your own equipment, or that you travel somewhere for an interview and we will reimburse you. When in doubt, please feel free to message the recruiter listed for each role on LinkedIn, or our CPO Juliette (https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliettedupre/) about the legitimacy of any messages.
