Game Designer (Systems & Economy)

About DRAMA STUDIOS

DRAMA STUDIOS is an independent game studio based in Rennes, France. We focus on creating immersive, gameplay-driven experiences through close collaboration between design, art, and technology.

About UNRECORD

DRAMA STUDIOS is currently developing UNRECORD, a narrative open-world tactical FPS built with Unreal Engine 5.

UNRECORD aims to deliver a highly immersive experience through realism, systemic gameplay, and a strong narrative approach. The project sits at an AA ambition level, combining creative freedom with solid production pipelines and technical rigor.

Our goal is to craft believable worlds, meaningful player interactions, and gameplay systems that feel grounded, intense, and coherent.

THE ROLE

Working closely with the programming team, you design and balance the systems that give UNRECORD its long-term depth, focusing on fun, challenge, and game flow across its open-world experience.

This is a systems-focused design role: you think in loops, curves, and spreadsheets as much as in player emotions, and you validate your designs in engine, through playtests and data.

Regular on-site presence is expected. Partial remote work is possible.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design reward and progression systems, building on existing systems where possible, consistent with the tone and realism of the game
• Own the in-game economy: repartition of content rewards, items, XP
• Design weapons and gear at a system level with the gameplay team
• Build and maintain balancing models and data tables, and keep them in sync with the engine
• Prototype and tune systems directly in Unreal Engine with designers and programmers
• Define the telemetry you need, and use playtest data to iterate on balance
• Liaise with other teams to prepare playtests, helping to identify UX pain points, and balance the overall open-world experience
• Document systems clearly for the whole team

REQUIREMENTS

• Experience in systems design, economy design, or balancing on a shipped or advanced project
• Strong analytical skills: comfortable building models in spreadsheets and reasoning about curves and probabilities
• Good understanding of FPS mechanics and what makes weapons feel fair and distinct
• Ability to defend design decisions with data and playtest evidence
• Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine, comfortable prototyping and tuning directly in the editor
• Fluent or professional working proficiency in English (written and spoken)
• Experience on realistic or systems-driven shooters is a plus
• Culture of large single-player open-world and FPS games is a plus
• Scripting skills (Blueprints, Python, or similar) for tooling your own analyses is a plus
• Familiarity with telemetry pipelines and dashboards is a plus

WHY JOIN DRAMA STUDIOS

• Work on a UE5-based open-world AA production
• Ownership of systems and economy design
• Direct impact on game depth and balance
• Close collaboration with gameplay and design teams