The role
You will own character animation on a fully original 3D action title (Unreal Engine 5) set in the myths and martial arts of the East. We motion-capture real martial artists performing authentic kung fu, then refine them by hand into action players can feel in their hands.
Over time we would like you to lead the team: animation specs, quality control and outsourcing supervision.
What you will do
- Combat animation for the player character: attacks, evasion, hit reactions and locomotion
- Animation for demons, bosses and multi-jointed creatures
- Clean up motion-capture data and push it further with hand-keyed timing and exaggeration
- Implement in Unreal Engine 5 (Animation Blueprints, Montages, root motion)
- Tune hit-stop, cancels and frame timing together with the combat designer
- Design and build the animation workflow
Why it is exciting
- You shape the feel of combat in an original IP made for players worldwide.
- You get to bring authentic Chinese martial arts to life in cutting-edge 3D.
- In a small, focused team, your ideas go straight into the game.
Requirements
- 2+ years of professional character animation on 3D action games
- Hand-keyed animation in Maya, 3ds Max, MotionBuilder or similar DCC tools
- Experience setting up standard rigs and skinning
Nice to have
- Animation implementation in Unreal Engine 4 / 5 (Animation Blueprints, Montages)
- Motion-capture shoots and data editing
- Background in martial arts, fighting sports or dance
- Automation with Python or MEL
- Lead or supervision experience
You are someone who
- Loves action games and cares deeply about how controls feel
- Obsesses over a single frame and refines it in discussion with designers and engineers
- Is curious about kung fu and other martial arts and wants to turn them into new kinds of action
- Wants to grow the company and the title with us
Tools
- Maya / 3ds Max / MotionBuilder
- Unreal Engine 5
- Vicon or similar motion capture (a plus)
How to apply
Please include a motion reel (video link or file), noting which shots you made and your role in each. The team works mainly in Japanese; English and Chinese are also spoken.
