Game developer seeks artistic partner for fun and profit.
Hi guys, I'm new to this forum, but have been a regular on GameDev.net for nearly 10 years.
I'm a software developer residing near Seattle who is looking for a partner who can produce quality, "low-fidelity" art that has unique style. By "low-fidelity" I mean that the types of games and platforms I would most like to target don't need millions (or even thousands) of polygons, or massive textures. In fact, what has drawn me to the talent on this forum is the truly awesome Low-Poly Challenge works that many of you have posted. For any of you who may have missed it, those works were on the order of 500 triangles, along with 128x128 textures. This is the kind of artwork I would typically be needing from this artist -- 500ish triangles, simple skeletal animations, smallish textures, and perhaps some 2D tile art and larger-scale stuff (UI, Title Screen) from time to time. Themes I had in mind range from organic to mechanical, and in my mind most (save some of the mechanical) have an element of whimsy.
For my part, I began developing games seriously during my high school years around age 14. I had (and still have) a fondness for classic 8- and 16-bit jRPGs, so I have a couple 2D tile-based RPG engines under my belt that, while complete, never hosted more than short demos. I also developed a number of tools for those engines, including very complete paint packages. I eventually went to college, attaining a degree in Real-Time Interactive Simulation from DigiPen Institute of Technology. I've continued to study and hone my development skills, but haven't yet applied my degree in the industry -- I've had offers, but have chosen to stick with a more lucrative job that is also less demanding of my time, in large part because it allows me to pursue game development on my own terms and schedule.
The focus of my recent efforts, and those of the immediate future, are on portable devices like the iPhone/iTouch, and Windows Mobile devices. While I realize that the competition is fierce, I believe that marketplaces like Apple's AppStore and the soon-to-be Windows Mobile Marketplace offer a level playing field for AAA developers and indies alike. Systems like Steam, Xbox Live Arcade (or community games), the Playstation Store and WiiWare/DSiWare are also attractive but have higher barriers to entry either due to artistic demands and/or development licensing -- It is possible that these platforms might one day be a target for ports, but that's not a major focus right now (though my Windows Mobile Technology also runs on the desktop, for the most part).
I have several ideas for games, most of which are relatively light on artwork (and either do not exist on the target platforms or have not been done well) -- but I'm very willing to receive creative input on these ideas, or even completely new ideas from this artist. Really what I am looking for is a creative partner, someone who can help refine the game designs as well as producing quality artwork.
I would like to make some money from these titles, and this artist will reap those rewards as well. I can't offer payment up front, so I am offering a percentage of any money that is made. I don't have exact figures worked out, but I would like to invest 40-50 percent of proceeds back into future work to cover things like tools, content licensing, hardware and possibly some monthly stipends to hold us over between titles. The rest would be split accordingly to workload, and my intent is not to say that "art is easy, you get 10%." -- I'm actually a competent pixel artist (static backgrounds) myself and know that art is not easy. My goal is to reach a point that enough money is coming in to support a 3-man studio with a comfortable wage and quarterly profit sharing.
If anyone is interested in this proposition I would love to chat with you. Please send me an email or private message through my profile, and include a means to contact you. Instant messaging would be great (I use MSN, Yahoo and AIM), direct email works, I'm not sure how this forum's messaging works, but if it allows for back-and-forth conversation that would be fine also. Finally, linkage to any work you have produced or your portfolio would be super.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I'm a software developer residing near Seattle who is looking for a partner who can produce quality, "low-fidelity" art that has unique style. By "low-fidelity" I mean that the types of games and platforms I would most like to target don't need millions (or even thousands) of polygons, or massive textures. In fact, what has drawn me to the talent on this forum is the truly awesome Low-Poly Challenge works that many of you have posted. For any of you who may have missed it, those works were on the order of 500 triangles, along with 128x128 textures. This is the kind of artwork I would typically be needing from this artist -- 500ish triangles, simple skeletal animations, smallish textures, and perhaps some 2D tile art and larger-scale stuff (UI, Title Screen) from time to time. Themes I had in mind range from organic to mechanical, and in my mind most (save some of the mechanical) have an element of whimsy.
For my part, I began developing games seriously during my high school years around age 14. I had (and still have) a fondness for classic 8- and 16-bit jRPGs, so I have a couple 2D tile-based RPG engines under my belt that, while complete, never hosted more than short demos. I also developed a number of tools for those engines, including very complete paint packages. I eventually went to college, attaining a degree in Real-Time Interactive Simulation from DigiPen Institute of Technology. I've continued to study and hone my development skills, but haven't yet applied my degree in the industry -- I've had offers, but have chosen to stick with a more lucrative job that is also less demanding of my time, in large part because it allows me to pursue game development on my own terms and schedule.
The focus of my recent efforts, and those of the immediate future, are on portable devices like the iPhone/iTouch, and Windows Mobile devices. While I realize that the competition is fierce, I believe that marketplaces like Apple's AppStore and the soon-to-be Windows Mobile Marketplace offer a level playing field for AAA developers and indies alike. Systems like Steam, Xbox Live Arcade (or community games), the Playstation Store and WiiWare/DSiWare are also attractive but have higher barriers to entry either due to artistic demands and/or development licensing -- It is possible that these platforms might one day be a target for ports, but that's not a major focus right now (though my Windows Mobile Technology also runs on the desktop, for the most part).
I have several ideas for games, most of which are relatively light on artwork (and either do not exist on the target platforms or have not been done well) -- but I'm very willing to receive creative input on these ideas, or even completely new ideas from this artist. Really what I am looking for is a creative partner, someone who can help refine the game designs as well as producing quality artwork.
I would like to make some money from these titles, and this artist will reap those rewards as well. I can't offer payment up front, so I am offering a percentage of any money that is made. I don't have exact figures worked out, but I would like to invest 40-50 percent of proceeds back into future work to cover things like tools, content licensing, hardware and possibly some monthly stipends to hold us over between titles. The rest would be split accordingly to workload, and my intent is not to say that "art is easy, you get 10%." -- I'm actually a competent pixel artist (static backgrounds) myself and know that art is not easy. My goal is to reach a point that enough money is coming in to support a 3-man studio with a comfortable wage and quarterly profit sharing.
If anyone is interested in this proposition I would love to chat with you. Please send me an email or private message through my profile, and include a means to contact you. Instant messaging would be great (I use MSN, Yahoo and AIM), direct email works, I'm not sure how this forum's messaging works, but if it allows for back-and-forth conversation that would be fine also. Finally, linkage to any work you have produced or your portfolio would be super.
I look forward to hearing from you.