Game Designer - Suzerain: Galmland (M/F/D)

Location: Berlin, GermanyContract 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: The Game Designer is responsible for designing and iterating gameplay systems and player-facing features for Suzerain: Galmland. 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.

Responsibilities

• Design and iterate core gameplay systems and player-facing features for Suzerain: Galmland, 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.

Requirements

• 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.
• 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.

Preferred qualifications

Benefits

• Health & Wellbeing: Free Urban Sports Club membership (Berlin employees).
• Transport: Fully covered Deutschland-Ticket (Berlin employees).
• Flexible Hours: Start your day between 8:00 and 10:00 CET, with core working hours from 10:00 to 15:00 CET.
• Hybrid Work: Work 3 days in the office and 2 days remotely (Berlin employees).
• Work from Abroad: Up to 10 remote working days per year outside Germany (employees).
• Team Events: Regular team events and access to the NLND community network.
• Feedback & Growth: Regular feedback and development sessions.
• Annual Bonus: Performance-based bonus.
• Vacation: 24 paid vacation days per year (full-time employees).