Character Modelers, Animators, Texture Artists and more needed for Single Player RPG

Interesting. I have a questions.
Have you guys ever made any game before?
Is there anything you've made that we can really look at (instead of you just telling us you have skills)?
What is the scope of this RPG? Do you expect it to be the size of RPGs on the shelves, or half the size, or have a tenth of the content?
How long a commitment do you think you'll need from a team member? 3 months? 5 years?

Why an RPG? How do you forsee yourself competing against gigantic companies full of the worlds most talented and experienced game makers who have incredible budgets?

If these companies often times end up making lousy RPGs, how do you forsee yourself making a good one with unexperienced team of part time employees and no budget?

And finally what will make this project different from the many many many similiar indie projects with smaller scopes that have failed?

Keratin,

Thanks for the reply. I'll see if I can clear up some of the misconceptions you might be under. By the way, did you read the entire post or check out the web site? The blogs there by myself and my partner kind of go into some of the things you may be concerned with, but just in case you did not read them or don't plan to, I'll try to address your points as professionally and concisely as possible.

Quote:

Interesting. I have a questions. Have you guys ever made any game before? Is there anything you've made that we can really look at (instead of you just telling us you have skills)?

No, we have not made any games before. Nothing complete that is. Both of us have been working with various languages, SDKs and other products to try and find what was going to work best for us. We tinkered with the Ogre Renderer (great stuff), Axiom, and Torque, but in the end decided that we really wanted to produce our work in the rapid development environment that C# provides. True, Axiom is a C# product, but it's not really being maintained outside of the RealmForge crew, and I just didn't see much benefit over going straight to the Managed DirectX SDK. Too many extra features, and not enough access to what we want. Anyways, I digress.

Oh, and all the apps I've made for contracts in the past are used at government facilities, and Phaeden's are all in military hardware, so sorry, really can't show you any of it. I could show you our game dev screenshots, but we are programmers without any custom art assets, so why on Earth would you want to see those? I could show you certification certificates, college degrees, etc, but that really doesn't prove a hill of beans. You'll just have to come to your own conclusion about our level of truthfulness by reading what we write and coming to your own conclusion.

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What is the scope of this RPG? Do you expect it to be the size of RPGs on the shelves, or half the size, or have a tenth of the content? How long a commitment do you think you'll need from a team member? 3 months? 5 years?

The game has been in production in one form or another for a little over two years. During that time, the setting has seen a lot of adjustments till it reached its unique point that it is at now. Our technology testing was all happening during this time too. We got to get our feet wet in a lot of different subjects, trying to figure out what would best suit our needs. Going forward I would assume at least a year, maybe two if things go slowly, before we are ready for final testing.

That does not mean I expect that level of commitment from Freelance team members. That is Phaeden and my commitment (see this through to the end). For the Freelancers, they are free to come and go as they please. The more work they do, the bigger their cut of the assets pool they will receive per purchase. So if a few highly talented artists step up to the plate with a long term commitment, they might see a fairly decent percentage.

Scope wise, I would expect to see about 20-30 hours of playtime from the finished product. This is obviously open to change. I've toyed with a few alternate publishing ideas that might drive down cost and size in favor of a more episodic feel, but have not fully committed to that route yet.

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Why an RPG? How do you forsee yourself competing against gigantic companies full of the worlds most talented and experienced game makers who have incredible budgets?

Gigantic companies have gigantic bloat. We refuse to bloat. I am not about to start maligning the talent of the actually workers within the industry, but frankly the game industry right now is pretty broken, so I don't try to measure myself versus them. Also remember, all indie development studios that make it had to start somewhere.

Why an RPG? Because it's what Phaeden and I enjoy playing the most. We could make any style of game, but you wouldn't want to play a chess game I play, because I suck at chess. You wouldn't want to play a first person shooter Phaeden made, because they make him sick, so his would be really slow. :)

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If these companies often times end up making lousy RPGs, how do you forsee yourself making a good one with unexperienced team of part time employees and no budget?

Well, for one, we are not constrained by an arbitrary schedule set by a bean counter at a publishing company, or a false to market projection by a different bean counter. Do I expect to make the next Diablo? Or the next Final Fantasy? No. But we all have to start somewhere. Also Phaeden and I are not newcomers to software development. We did not just get out of college (or worse, high school). We are both experienced software professionals knowledgeable in the latest development tools and practices, something we have both found lacking in most indie software efforts. I'm NOT trying to trash indie projects here, just answering the question posed to me.

Also by cutting out the bloat between dev and customer I hope to much more responsive to customer issues than someone like Sony or EA could ever be.

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And finally what will make this project different from the many many many similiar indie projects with smaller scopes that have failed?

If that much is not already apparent, then I'm not really sure what I can say at this point other than you will just have to wait and find out. I've tried to be as articulate and forthcoming as possible.

Most indie projects are led by nonsoftware development people. If you have never managed a software development project, you just have no understanding of how it should be done. Phaeden and I both have experience in this area and feel we can apply it to game making. To be clear, I am NOT trying to bash all other indie developers. Some are familiar with software practices and project management. Most aren't. This doesn't mean they are bad, or will fail, just pointing out why most of them that have failed, so far as I've seen.

Just to make sure I was not posting out of place or in the wrong forum, I pulled this off the description of this forum (emphasis added by me):

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Are you looking for a team to join or for someone to join your team? Post about it here. Note: This forum is to help hobbyists and independent game developers connect.

Yep, seems to be the right place then. So, have I failed to answer any of your questions?

- Wraithdrit

No you answered them well. Thank you.

Great. If you have any other questions about the project, feel free to drop me a line or post here. We still need all of the above, so if you are looking for a project to contribute to, let me know.

- Wraithdrit

Good word about this fella, I worked with him on sanctus legacy, and on my own title adventures in purgatory. He's a great guy and a talented coder who can get things done.

*nods*

And another great word and a free bump from me.

I also worked with him for a short time on Sanctus Legacy, but he left for some perfectly understandable reasons.

I'll put it like this: I wish I had him back on my own team, and I know that anything he's operating should go smoothly.

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Update: Our first Concept Artist is hard at work and after several rough drafts and back and forths, we have our first concept sketch completed:



More will follow, and I'll try to keep this thread updated every once in a while with our progress.

[Edited by - Wraithdrit on August 7, 2005 8:50:52 AM]

The stream substations as detailed on the site:

While potential people have contacted me, no one has yet been made an official Freelancer yet. We have an agreement that covers NDA, Work For Hire, and Profit Sharing, and till I get those back, all positions are still open.

Also since this is work for hire sort of set up, I am not necessarily limited in the number of positions. So if you are looking to get your name attached to a successful project, send me an email at wraithdrit@araellia.com.

Check out the site for more background on the game, the lore, and our progress.

More updates to come.

- Wraith

We continue to get concept art rolling in (I'm only posting some of it here, there are a lot more where this came from) but so far I only have a couple of modelers, one potential texture artist, etc.

So if you are looking to join an indie project that will succeed, and to make a little money when it does, come check out Araellia: Into the Maelstrom at http://www.araellia.com or email me at wraithdrit@araellia.com.

- Wraithdrit

Things have been quiet on the outside, but on the inside, things are churning along well at InCharacter Studios, Inc. Work on Araellia: Into the Maelstrom has continued, with the addition of eight Freelancers, and more in the works.

But we still need a few more!

Most important right now are:

Character Modelers, Animators, and Texture Artists.

If you fit these categories and want to work on an indie team that has an exciting unique RPG under development, then send me an email at wraithdrit@araellia.com.

Thanks,
- Wraithdrit
Lead Designer
Araellia: Into the Maelstrom
InCharacter Studios, Inc

I will be able to help with models, weapons, textures,. Could i join, my email reese2000@hotmail.co.uk or just pm me or reply to this!

Thanks,
St33l

ps. It sounds like a really godd project by the way it will be a pleasure to help with!

Heres another bump for these guys, This group of people are very organized and extremely well prepared and dedicated, for the short time i was there, i saw there project move pretty quickly(its to bad a dropped out :( ) Don't be afraid to join them, I'd really like to see this game come to life.

-spl1c3dx

Hi, what kind of musical style are you looking for? Futuristic electronica/ orchestral or what?

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Original post by Rain 7 Hi, what kind of musical style are you looking for? Futuristic electronica/ orchestral or what?

Well, I'm a huge fan of ochestral music, but the game could also lend itself to a more 'rockin' style of score. Influences for me musically would probably land somewhere between the Chronicles of Riddick score, and almost anything John Williams, all the way to modern alternative style music.

So I guess the real answer to your question is that will be determined by how well whomever does the music sells us on which style would fit the game best. :) IE, I'm fairly open to suggestions. That goes for almost anything on the project though, not just music.

- Wraith

Just a quick note. Concept art production has slowed down enough that I'm looking for another concept artist. Please contact me at wraithdrit@araellia.com if you are interested in that or any other position (modeler, animator, texturer, etc).

- Wraith

Another great concept piece by Andy. I made a wallpaper out of it, follow the link to see the larger versions.



- Wraith

Hi!! I am a advanced user of 3dsMax and its plugin The Character Studio. I have been working on MAX for past one and a half year or so. Three months ago i finished Charcter Studio. In Max i have learned almost everything i.e., character modeling, animation, level design, texture mapping, materials, special effects etc. I have made few objects of my own including charcters, ships etc. If you have any interest in considering me, then i'll try my best to help... Thanxx...

Hello. I'm a photoshop guru who's made a lot of indie 2d games in the past. I'm starting to get into 3d using Max, and I'm a pretty good texture artist. I'm also wanting to find something to help me build a portfolio and/or gain a position in the game industry.

This project kind of caught my eye. May I ask more about the actual game? Your website doesn't have a whole lot of info. What type of game are you really shooting for here? Is this an RPG in the more traditional sense? (aka - run around and get into system-based fights and take turns whacking monsters). Or are you going for something more open and broad, like Star Control 2 or other offbeat adventure game style?

I like your philosophy concerning innovation and I, too, have noticed the game industry going downhill for a while. And with production costs going up and up and up, and hardware getting insanely better, I'm just waiting for it all to explode or something. ;) I feel that there aren't enough innovative games and that publishers are only willing to sponser anything that sells. Not that I blame them...but you know. Games need to evolve, not just look prettier.

Anyway, just asking for more info...though I know after all that NDA talk you probably don't want to reveal too much. More than anything, I'd just like to know what style of game you really want this to be. The team sounds promising thusfar.

-CoeRay