Job Overview
| Detail | Information |
| Studio Name | Last Arrow Games |
| Position | Experienced Game Animator (Creature Focus) |
| Location | Hybrid (UK Based) |
| Contract Type | Fixed-Term (4 Months initial) |
| Conversion Scope | Potential for permanent conversion |
About Last Arrow Games
Last Arrow Games is a new studio founded by industry veterans, united by the core philosophy that game development should focus on creating fun, player-first experiences. We are building a team of passionate, grounded, and collaborative developers eager to return to the essence of what makes games exciting. This is a rare and compelling opportunity to join us at the foundational stage, helping to shape a brand-new, original Game IP from the ground up within a highly creative and supportive environment.
This role is initially structured as a four-month fixed-term contract, reflecting our early development stage. However, for the right candidate who demonstrates exceptional skill, cultural fit, and commitment to the project vision, there is significant scope for the role to transition into a permanent position.
The Role: Animator (Creature Specialist)
As an Animator at Last Arrow Games, you will be a vital creative force responsible for breathing life into the core gameplay experience. Your primary focus will be on the 3rd person player character and a diverse, challenging range of creatures. This spectrum includes grounded natural wildlife and complex, twisted, and unnatural horror entities.
Your animations will be fundamental to the player experience, endowing these entities with distinct personality, critical weight, and palpable threat. You will directly influence how players perceive the world, impacting both the emotional tension and the core mechanical interactions of the game.
You will be deeply embedded in a collaborative workflow, working closely with Game Designers, Artists, and Engineers. This ensures that all animation assets—from subtle behavioural loops and complex locomotion to intense combat encounters and reaction states—are cohesive, highly responsive, and seamlessly integrated into the Unreal Engine 5 gameplay framework. You will be instrumental in defining the visual language of creature movement and contributing to the development of our robust, efficient animation pipeline as the studio expands.
Key Responsibilities
| Area of Focus | Detailed Responsibilities |
| Animation Creation | Create and implement high-quality, production-ready animations for the 3rd person player character and a diverse array of mutated and natural creatures. |
| Physicality & Weight | Develop movement sequences that effectively convey believability, weight, and true physicality, extending this ability to unnatural forms or aberrant behaviours unique to the horror genre. |
| Behavioral Depth | Animate a wide functional range of creature states, including locomotion (walk, run, climb), traversal, idle behavioural loops, attacks, hit reactions, and key cinematic/scripted moments. |
| Gameplay Collaboration | Collaborate directly with game designers to rapidly prototype and refine creature mechanics, behavioral systems, and player combat encounters. |
| Asset & Rigging Synergy | Work in tandem with the modelling team to ensure all creature and character rigs and assets fully support the specific gameplay and complex animation requirements. |
| Pipeline Improvement | Actively contribute to improving animation workflows, tools, and the overall animation pipeline structure as the studio scales. |
| Review and Quality | Participate constructively in regular animation reviews, providing and receiving critical feedback to maintain an exceptionally high standard of artistic and technical quality. |
| Production Communication | Maintain clear and precise communication with the Production team, accurately estimating the scope of work and updating progress to ensure deadlines and project scope remain realistic. |
Required Skills & Experience
The successful candidate must demonstrate a history of professional excellence and a specialized skill set:
- Professional Experience: Proven track record animating creatures and characters for games with a realistically styled aesthetic.
- Rigging Fundamentals: Demonstrable experience with rigging non-humanoid creatures to facilitate complex and varied movement.
- Industry Tenure: A minimum of 3 years of professional experience in game development, including contribution to at least one shipped title (Unreal Engine 5 experience is highly preferable).
- Locomotion Mastery: A strong understanding of real-world animal locomotion, coupled with the creative ability to exaggerate and push beyond realism for mutated, unpredictable motion.
- Emotional & Mechanical Communication: Ability to create movement that clearly communicates core gameplay states such as threat level, unpredictability, and mood to the player.
- Software Proficiency: Expert proficiency with industry-standard software, including Maya, Blender, or equivalent 3D animation packages.
- Engine Integration: Solid experience integrating and implementing animations directly into Unreal Engine.
- Soft Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication, strong collaboration skills, and superior time-management and organizational abilities.
- Portfolio: A comprehensive portfolio demonstrating diverse creature animation, crucially showcasing work that transitions between realistic motion and imaginative, unnatural forms.
Bonus Skills (Highly Desirable)
1. Experience in Technical Animation or advanced rigging concepts.
2. Familiarity with advanced animation systems like Motion Matching, Control Rig, or procedural animation techniques.
3. Proven experience creating high-fidelity animation specifically for cinematic sequences.
4. Fundamental knowledge of creature design, concepting, or sculpting.
5. Direct experience implementing animations and Animation Blueprints (ABPs) within Unreal Engine 5.
Education
- Professional animation training is desirable but not strictly essential.
- We firmly believe that a strong portfolio and practical experience are the most important factors for success in this role.
What We’re Looking For in a Colleague
We are cultivating a studio environment defined by passionate, grounded, and collaborative developers. The ideal candidate will bring a high degree of creativity, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine desire to continuously push the boundaries of their craft.
We value confidence without ego and are deeply committed to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Join Last Arrow Games as we embark on the journey of creating something truly special from the ground up, placing the player experience at the heart of every decision.
Note: Candidates MUST BE ELIGIBLE TO WORK IN THE UK. We are not considering outsource studios for this role.
