Absurd Ventures, the media company established by Rockstar Games co-found and former creative director Dan Houser is seemingly working on an open-world action-adventure game.
This is according to a job listing from the company that is looking for applications for the role of Lead Gameplay Designer.
The listing notes that those applying will “become the primary vision holder and hands-on contributor for character, controls, and camera design in an open-world action-adventure game.”
Along with this, the listing noted that the person hired will also lead a team of multi-disciplinary specialists to deliver best-in-class combat and third-person action across multiple game modes.
Below, you can find the full responsibilities and requirements for the position.
Responsibilities
- Drive the design and implementation of all moment-to-moment player-feel gameplay in alignment with direction from a senior leadership team.
- Establish a gameplay vision that serves the player fantasies and creative direction, then evangelize that vision to the broader team.
- Lead designers, engineers, animators, artists, and external co-dev partners to deliver playable progress at regular intervals as part of a rapid iterative process.
- Incorporate feedback from peers, playtests, and senior leadership to refine and pivot as the game demands.
- Go beyond documentation and management to lead from the trenches, with hands-on contributions to the playable experience.
- Establish metrics and best practices for environment and encounter design to support optimal gameplay.
Qualifications
- 5 or more years of experience in combat design for an action game
- Experience developing both melee and shooting action mechanics
- Sensitivity to animation systems and how they relate to combat and action gameplay design
- Awareness of casual gamers’ needs and ability to reduce barriers to entry with accessible moment-to-moment gameplay
- High attention to detail with the ability to communicate and directly implement precision refinements that take an experience from good to great
- High confidence and comfort in the technical, aesthetic, and design aspects of gameplay and player-feel
- Recent experience with direct implementation in the form of visual scripting, animation, or other individual contributions to action gameplay
- Experience developing non-combat forms of action gameplay (driving, mounts, climbing, traversal, platforming, etc.)
- Experience leading multidisciplinary teams is a plus
- Multiplayer combat design experience is a plus
- Experience in UE4 or UE5 is a plus
- Experience working with co-development partners is a plus
Based on these requirements and how recently the posting was made, this new project is likely fairly ambitious and still in the early stages of development.
About Absurd Ventures
Absurd Ventures was established by Dan Houser following his departure from Rockstar Games in 2020.
It was officially revealed in June last year with the goal of “building narrative worlds, creating characters, and writing stories for a diverse variety of genres.”
Last year, in November, Absurd Ventures also announced that it was launching two new universes with graphic novels and podcasts, with the goal being to expand across a wide range of formats and platforms – both are expected to be released sometime this year.
It is unclear whether the new game will be based on either of these new IPs.
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