Jobs in Palo Alto, CA, U.S
(Qualified individuals can contact us at jobs@punch-entertainment.com)
Art Director / Senior Game Artist
The Art Director / Senior Artist is a critical role at the company. This individual will set the creative tone for Punch products
The Art Director is responsible for the overall visual integrity of our games. Working closely with the art and design team, they help ensure the game’s graphic style tracks to a consistent and stunning artistic vision. The Art Director helps set the creative and technical standards and determines the best tools and techniques for the team to hit those standards.
The Art Director will also help ensure that the art team stays on schedule and on budget while maintaining high quality art
Role:
Manage a team of onshore and offshore artists in a dynamically changing game production environment.
Ensure accuracy of art scope, schedule, and budget in the context of achieving high quality results
Create and lead a formal informal critique and feedback process for the art team
Research, define and execute improvements in the art pipeline to effectively get art assets into the games and maximize the efficiency of the art team
Integrate tools and processes to improve the quality, speed and workflow of the art team
Guide and mentor artists, including hiring, onboarding and managing performance of team members, contractors and external partners
Research, explore, and communicate industry best practices in art, animation and UI and discern how to incorporate and exceed these benchmarks within Punch
Identify inconsistencies and opportunities for improvement within the creative process
Create and implement action plans for the art department's future success, emphasizing training and development.
Work with production and design to help create and manage team schedules and ensure task execution by the art team.
Requirements:
A minimum of 3 years experience in artistic leadership roles within game development
Bachelor’s degree in Arts, Graphic Arts or related field
Expertise with Adobe Creative Suite (CS5)
Professional experience and advanced leadership including communication and project management skills
Successful track record in leading multi-disciplinary art teams to uncommon results
Expert understanding of art direction and visual storytelling
Experience managing multiple projects, priorities and deadlines
Experience scheduling, critiquing, and administering performance reviews for a team of artists
Expertise in art process, pipelines and tools and demonstrated ability to direct and enhance the efforts of other artists
An exceptional understanding of form, shape, structure, and silhouette
Superior eye for light, shade, color, and detail
Able to effectively collaborate with game designers, engineers, and producers
Proven ability to think conceptually and broadly about projects and to develop and evolve creative systems
Self-motivated, driven to excel with a can-do attitude and demonstrated ability to work well within a team
A strong passion for video games
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GAME DESIGNER
Our ideal candidates are experienced Flash and social game designers with a strong desire to create casual games and social games. The ideal candidate should possess design experience across a wide variety of game genres and must be able to design, document, implement and tune gameplay mechanics. You should have a strong writing, technical, or artistic background. You must also be able to proactively create, manage and coordinate the implementation of game designs with a primary focus on product quality and fun
Duties & Responsibilities:
Develop compelling game concepts based on an idea, brand or theme
Take strong ideas from all disciplines throughout the company and incorporate them into Punch products
Generate detailed game design documents
Develop gameplay mechanics, leveling/reward systems and user interface elements
Deliver unique, innovative, and engaging designs while dealing with technical limitations
Collaborate with artists, programmers, QA, other members of the design team, and executive staff
Balance game play features and mechanics, and tune the game throughout development
Ideal Requirements:
2-3 + years of experience in a key design role, including game credits
Creative writing or artistic skills highly
Proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash animation
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
Solid understanding of gameplay and game mechanics
Ability to take direction and accept critical review of your work
Work well in a creative team environment
Ability to demonstrate creativity and innovation
Strong problem-solving abilities
Excellent oral and written communication skills; writing clearly and effectively is a must
Proactive
Expert MS Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio).
Personal Attributes
Broad and deep knowledge of games for all platforms, digital and otherwise
Ability to create something genuinely original
Familiar with social games and social game trends
Must be responsible and accountable
Good communicator who possesses strong written and oral communication skills
Enthusiastic and outgoing
Able to listen to and implement constructive feedback
Well-organized and detail-oriented
Demonstrates excellent analytical skills
Thinks “out of the box” with ability to come up with creative solutions
Strong team player
GAME PRODUCER
Responsibilities:
Enforce and improve the production process
Facilitate communication throughout the studio and with external partners
Ensure projects are done on time and on budget
Improve the overall quality of all Punch games
Requirements:
A passion for making and playing computer games.
2+ years of experience working as a games producer on mobile, casual or social games.
Ability to gracefully balance schedule needs with creative imperatives. You push for quality, innovation and fun while managing budget and time.
Formidable project management skills: you are comfortable maintaining multiple projects at once with short release cycles.
Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently.
Experience with agile software development: short sprints and frequent iterations
Superb organizational skills
Strong attention to detail
Nice to have:
Experience managing live games - where the game is continuously iterated and improved after shipping.
Familiarity with virtual goods and in-game commerce concepts.
Experience in non-producer roles (artist, designer, engineer) in the game development life cycle.
Jobs in Hanoi, Vietnam
(Qualified individuals can contact us at jobs@punch-entertainment.com)
Game Engineer – Hanoi Office
Assist in the full cycle development of cross-platform video games from start to finish. Day-to-day responsibilities include development, writing and debugging of code, integrating graphic, sound, and networking/database components. We’re looking for people with experience in Flash programming, Web programming, mobile game development, database programming, and/or cross platform integration.
Requirements
You are highly motivated, with a passion for video games.
Self starter, creative thinker, you like teamwork
2+ years of OpenGL / DirectX
Demonstrated skills of code optimization
Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
Good communication skills
Extras
2D/3D programming on GBA / NGage / PDA / Mobile
2+ years in 3D rendering algorithms (Strong 3D math skills)
2+ years in 3D graphics engine programming in games
Senior Flash Developer – Hanoi Office
Experienced with Flash and database driven websites to help us design and engineer our web-based multiplayer games and integrated communities.
Requirements
Passion for games and game development.
Experience creating Flash websites and components with an XML or XHTML backbone.
Knowledge of ActionScript and OOP concepts.
Experience with scripted animation techniques.
Experience with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS website development.
Experience with client and server integration using MySQL and PHP.
Preferred
Experience developing for a web-based MMO.
Experience with version control systems (SVN).
Experience as a game designer or game artist.
Game Artist – Hanoi Office
Execute game art and work with a project team (game designers, engineers, QA), from the concept through delivery.
Good all-round experience (applications from self-taught candidates will also be accepted).
Requirements
You are highly motivated, with a passion for video games.
You have a strong fundamental understanding of the principles of animation.
You have a solid background in drawing, sketching and/or illustration.
Strong experience in Flash Animation.
You are proficient in Photoshop (or other drawing software).
You are proficient in 3Ds Max, Maya and/or other 3D software.
You can do low poly modeling and textures.
Preferred
Experience developing for a web-based MMO.
Experience with version control systems (SVN).
Experience as a game designer or game artist.
Quality Assurance – Hanoi Office
Finding and reporting bugs for cross-platform applications (Web, mobile phone, PC).
Following a test plan.
Reporting to QA Project Lead.
Testing applications against standards.
Working closely with the other members of the QA team in order to streamline testing process
Requirements
You are highly motivated, with a passion for video games.
Self starter, creative thinker, you like teamwork.
Bachelor's degree, or equivalent.
Able to pass English reading and writing test.
