Jobs at Torpor Games (Now Hiring) — 2 open

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

• 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.

Preferred qualifications

• 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.

Health & Wellbeing
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).