Wake Up Call - Sci Fi Single Player FPS Looking for Concept and 3d Artists!
Indiedb: http://www.indiedb.com/games/wake-up-call
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wakeupcallgame
Email: contact@darksynergystudios.com
Intro:
We here at Dark Synergy Studios (previously Leatharian Studios) are looking for an experienced and dedicated 3D Environment Artist. If you have skills and are interested in working on a highly organized and professional team, then read on.
Where the Project Stands:
Right now, the team is preparing Wake Up Call for its Kickstarter campaign and its World Reveal Trailer. Everyone is working hard, but we are finding that we are getting a little behind on the 3D side of things. There is a lot left to do, and we want to start our campaign by the end of August. We have already finished pre-production, with a 75+ page GDD, several levels in white-box form, many core gameplay elements coded/being coded in, etc, etc, etc. Bottom line, this is a project that is past the point of no return, and it is going to get finished one way or another.
Who is Dark Synergy Studios:
Dark Synergy Studios was founded over two years ago. We strive to create detailed, deep worlds with rich narratives and immersive gameplay as the key features. Our team now sits at thirteen very dedicated members, and you can expect our team to be one of the most solid teams you have/will ever join. Here is a list of the dev team:
Team:
Myself-Creative Director/Executive Producer/Level Designer/Writer/Game Designer
Dan Antseliovich-Writer/Game Designer
Rodion Karimov-Lead Programmer
Jeremy Wilson-Concept Artist (Characters, Creatures)
Dan Young-Concept Artist (Characters, Creatures, Foliage, Props)
Andre Oliviera-Concept Artist (Environments, Props, Weapons)
Harris Chatzisimou-3D Artist (Environments, Weapons, Items)
Luis Melendez-3D Artist (Generalist)
Fran Alonso-3D Artist (Characters, Vehicles)
Nathan Vess-3D Artist/Concept Artist) (Environment, Foliage, Creature)
Dylan Rinker-3D Artist (Environment, Foliage)
Kash Javed-Animator
Sam Speakman-Composer
What is Wake Up Call:
Wake Up Call is a single player, sci-fi stealth-action FPS that has a heavy emphasis on atmosphere, story, and immersive gameplay. The game is set in a post-post-apocalypse world, over 150 years after “The Collapse”, in the year 2257 CE. No one knows exactly what happened, beyond that it was a disease of some sort. This disease killed nearly 40% of the world’s population, causing massive destabilization of governments and the ensuing mess of violence and conflict whittled down the world’s population to only 5% of the population before “The Collapse”. 75% of those who weren't killed were mutated and the rest were immune to the bacteria.
The mutated people, known as mutations, had suffered partial skin necrosis, loss of hair color, and other small physical changes, but the main mutation was in their mind. Mutations had an increased vulnerability to insanity, paranoia, and extremely short temper. Despite these differences, mutations were still similar enough to humans that they could interbreed and produce offspring of both the human and mutation genome.
Eventually, society grew again in places all over the world as it stabilized and anarchy ceded to order. Flash forward to 2257 CE, in the old capital city of the USA. A powerful and disturbed dictator, Davos Kaledin, has taken control of The Kalders, the only big organized nation-state in the area. Davos has instituted policy to make humans second-class to mutations. The Scarred, a self-proclaimed resistance group, had launched a failed revolution against Davos in 2254, incurring massive losses on both sides. Now, The Scarred lives in the less-traveled areas of the city and in the forests, utilizing guerrilla tactics to try to keep Davos on his toes.
Kyle Rogers, an ex-special ops soldier from before The Collapse, has been woken up from cryostasis by a young human woman named Tori. He quickly learns of a massive underground Cryostation which holds thousands of humans from before “The Collapse” in cryostasis, and he has to power up a series of four relays before opening the station himself.
But, it won’t be long before Kyle realizes there is more to this world than his mission and that the secrets of this world are more dangerous than the bacteria that caused “The Collapse” in the first place.
Wake Up Call will focus on bringing the world to life, portraying strong characters in a realistic post-apocalyptic scenario, and teleporting the player into the shoes of Kyle Rogers. Wake Up Call aims to set a new mark in indie game development, utilizing the power of the Unreal Development Kit to bring amazing art, wonderful storytelling, and immersive gameplay all into one epic adventure that any and all sci-fi fans will just need to have.
More details will be given upon inquiry into the position.
We plan on having several choices in the game's story that have meaningful impacts (a reasonable number, nothing near Mass Effect level), as well as an emphasis on letting the player choose his/her play-style. The player's choices will also feed into a ruthless/merciful dichotomy that will influence how Kyle interacts with the world (aka, different dialogue will play for a stealthy player than a kill-everything-in-sight player, and this is 100% organic, as in no dialogue wheels). The game is a mix of puzzle and combat gameplay and draws from Mirror's Edge, Splinter Cell Conviction/Blacklist, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution in it's gameplay design, as well as mixing in a few elements of our own design. An example would be the wrist-link, a universal hacking tool that can connect and hack many objects connected to the city's grid. We present combat, and in many cases, puzzle gameplay in a way where we provide an environment and the player decides how they want to use that environment. As for immersion, we plan on several things like, of course, the overall sandbox nature of the game, but also free movement, suppression, several weapon behaviors not generally included in FPS games, and an emphasis on good sound/music.
There is also a large emphasis on the atmosphere in the game. We wanted to create a true sci-fi feel that you can totally place as post-post apocalypse. We also wanted to sell the mutated aspect of the world and that this world is almost alien in its design. The forests are bright and vibrant with color and life, while the city is eerily alive. The player knows that almost no one lives in the city (at least compared to before "The Collapse"), but the city still has a lot of light and vibrancy to it.
Vistas and wide-open expanses were also an important aspect to making this world feel large and to really sell it to the player. Needless to say, the game will have many large expanses and open playing fields, and it will not be all cramped corridor gameplay.
What Can We Offer You:
We can offer you a place on a solid team with lots of experience. We ask for a certain level of experience/skill, but we do not have extremely rigid requirements. We cannot offer compensation yet, but we can offer experience in working in a professional team environment and a great resume/portfolio project for all team members. Additionally, if our Kickstarter campaign were to complete successfully, we would be hiring for a few paid full-time positions, so, if you work hard enough, you might earn yourself a spot there. At the end of the day, though, this going to be a very demanding project, and I am going to expect you to put in AT LEAST 15 HOURS/WEEK. That is right, we are only interested in people who can actually do that. Many of our core team already put in 25+ hours/week, so you will need to keep up.
What Makes Us Different:
There are a few things that make us different. First, organization: We utilize several organizational programs for team and task management as well as a cohesive system to communicate and share WIP and feedback with everyone else. Second, dedication: We are all dedicated members that want to see this game made and want to be a part of it; we all enjoy the game's universe and narrative, and we enjoy it's gameplay aspects. Third, preparation: We have finished all our pre-production work, including a very robust and detailed GDD (which is always added to and updated, but it is at a very strong point right now), Technical Docs (beyond the GDD), a growing asset bank (currently over 250 fully-textured assets, plus decals and tiling textures), and TONS of concept art. Fourth, dedicated leadership: I have been with this project from the beginning, over two years ago (several months of that time was by myself), and put in 25+ hours every week; I make sure people have what they need and try to tackle our hurdles before we hit them, and I do Level Design for the game as well.
In addition, we have been featured on several small-mid size gaming news sites (and the number of them will only get bigger):
http://www.onlysp.com/wake-up-call-will-be-an-fps-experience-any-and-all-sci-fi-fans-will-just-need-to-have/
http://www.onlysp.com/wake-up-call-apc-showcase-trailer/
http://www.gamingcapacity.com/leatharian-studios-interview/
https://www.developersaccomplice.co.uk/dark-synergy-studios-and-wake-up-call-the-game/
Now, hopefully you are still with us and interested in the game. Here are our open spots and some basic qualifications. All members are expected to be fluent in written and verbal English and have strong teamwork skills. We also want people who are used to getting critiques of their work.
3D Artist - Environment: 1 OPEN
We are currently looking for a 3D Environment Artist who specializes in hard-surface environment asset creation (organic asset creation experience is a big plus too). We ask that you have at least two years of experience in 3D Art and a solid portfolio. Previous experience creating game models is a must, and you must know high and low poly modeling, texture creation, normal map baking, and light map UVing. Previous experience using the UDK is not required, but is a HUGE plus. Other skills such as 3D Character art, Concept Art, Animation, or any other artistic skill is a plus.
Here is a selection of other media, so you can see some more of the game:
[ame="
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0yA388f5p8"]APC Showcase Trailer - YouTube[/ame]
Hope you liked it! Be sure to apply by sending an email to contact@darksynergystudios.com with a link to your portfolio if you are interested!
Also, follow us on our indiedb and facebook for updates:
http://www.indiedb.com/games/wake-up-call
http://www.facebook.com/wakeupcallgame
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