Team name:
New company startup: Forsaken Studios

Project name:
Embers of Caerus

Brief description:
We are developing a next-generation Sandbox MMORPG of an epic scale, with many novel features never before seen in an MMORPG (I know, heard that before right?!). We cannot currently discuss specifics of the features we have planned until an NDA is signed, but for information on the vision of the project, please read our Creative Directors vision post here: The Vision
The team was started by a group of individually skilled friends who met through various MMORPG games and and communities over the last decade. The team shared two things, passion for the genre, and a view that while other MMORPGs have had great vision, none of them have actually managed to hit the mark with the right balance of features and content to promote a full and healthy sandbox game.
Through personal friends and associates, we have managed to grow the team to its current size, but we still have a few specific roles that need filling, hence this recruitment post.
The lore and backstory for the game has been in development by Rob Steele over the last few years, and is based on an unfinished novel with its associated notes. This has since been expanded and adapted to fit an MMORPG sandbox setting, and include extra depth and diversity where needed.

Target aim:
Retail - We have a projected 4-5 year development plan, leading to the retail release of our game.

Compensation:
Initially, no compensation is available. The entire team (currently 40+) is working on a voluntary basis, due to their passion for what we are doing, their belief in the project, and the opportunity this project provides.
Later in the development cycle however, Investment will be secured, and at that point anyone who is committed to the project, and is up to the required standard will be invited out to the Texas office and offered a wage to work full time on the project. That wage will obviously not be huge, as we are independant and running on a very tight budget, but you should be able to survive! Anyone wishing to stay on after that time as a volunteer/intern to gain more experience will be welcomed.

Technology:
We are developing for the PC market solely, and we are working with the Vision 8 engine from Trinigy, along with other third party packages (e.g. speedtree 5 etc).
The artists are currently working with Maya, 3DS max, Zbrush, photoshop, blender and world building using vForge.
The coders are using visual studio 2010, and vForge script editing tools.
The audio team are using a variety of self-owned equipment and software.

Talent needed:
Programmers to join the coding team:

• UI programmer - knowledge of AS/Flash required, C++ and LUA script desirable
• AI programmer - knowledge of C++ and AI technicques required, LUA script desirable
• Graphics programmers - knowledge of programming shaders etc required (HLSL), C++ desirable
• Core/network/feature programmers - C++ required, C# and LUA script desirable

Art team:

• Skilled animators/riggers
• Texture artists

Sound team:

• SFX engineer - Required to create, implement and integrate sound effects into the game engine

All applicants will be subject to an interview, and will be required to sign an NDA to commence work on the project.

Team structure:
Creative Director - Rob Steele
Art Director - Lee Perkins
Technical Director/Lead Programmer - David Belcher (me)
Project Manager - Nick West (ex-director EA europe)

Sub-team sizes* (not including management):
Writing team - 2 writers working with the creative director
Art team - 6 junior modelers, 5 senior modelers, 6 convept artists, 7 enviromental artists
Code team - 2 mid-level programmers, 1 junior programmer
Audio team - 1 lead composer, 2 audio team members
Community team - 3 community managers (1 lead, 2 support)
Other (design/research etc) - 5 people

Website:
Company Site - http://www.forsakenstudios.com
Game Site - http://www.embersofcaerus.com
Company/Game Forum - http://www.embersofcaerus.com/forum/forum.php

Contacts:
Programmers contact me - davebelcher (at) forsakenstudios.com
Writers contact Rob Steele - robsteele (at) forsakenstudios.com
Artists/Modellers/Animators contact Lee Perkins - leeperkins (at) forsakenstudios.com

alternatively, post in this thread, or PM me on either these forums, or our own (link above).

Previous Work by Team:
This is the first project being undertaken by this team as a whole.

Additional Info:
Much more information can be found out about the game by visiting our forum at http://forums.forsakenstudios.com
We are a team of gamers who got tired of companies doing it wrong, and figured it was about time we stepped up and did it right. It wont be an easy journey, but we are 100% dedicated to this game and its vision, and we WILL succeed. Finally we will get the game we all want to play

Engine test showing some game assets in a small test scene, with a test of dynamic weather, sound etc (watch in HD):

[media][/media]

Concept art for Aaldnarech, one of our continents:



Some art assets from the same continent:



A couple of videos of a junior modeller creating an in-game asset:

[media][/media]
[media][/media]

Feedback:
ANY

* Team sizes were correct at time of posting, but may change over time as people join/leave the project.

Updated to add a SFX engineer post.

I am curious as to what is the expected involvement of the writer position(s)? Creating thousands of quests? Helping flesh out already created content? Technical documentation? Are there any prerequisites for the position?

Hi there Caldenfor, and thank you for your interest.

In answer to your question, allow me to quote our creative director:

[quote name='Rob Steele']Writers interested in working with Forsaken Studios should be prepared for a myriad of different tasks. They can be asked to work on anything from short stand-alone stories about specific characters or asked to make one up within a certain theme; write lore or history about particular locations which need to be fleshed out or built on with greater detail while adhering to the theme desired. Sometimes making up multiple part quest lines that can be interwoven into a story, and they may be asked to read through other writers work to help find errors, offer suggestions to improve the work, or to build on the idea themselves. Writers can also expect to be called into short meetings to discuss plots and story lines and future plans, as well as working closely with concept artists.
We prefer someone with a background and interest in RPG style PC games, table-top games, or other similar experiences. No degrees or professional experience is required, so long as the writer has a strong vocabulary, and the desire to be creative, part of a team, work to improve, and most of all have fun with the position.[/quote]

I hope that answers your question!

Dave

What's with the videos of creating an asset in Maya? Doesn't seem very relevant.

We have been running a series of Livestream events for our community, allowing them to watch in real time our artists and modellers working on game art and assets, and chat to the developer and each other while doing so. The community has been very responsive to these events, as they enjoying seeing things come together, and it gives them a sneak peek at some of the things we are developing for the game. I included the videos here as they were available, and show some of the work being done by one of our junior modellers.

I felt this was appropriate for the "Additional Info" section of the template, however I apologise if you do not feel this is the case.

Edited to add the project name "Embers of Caerus", and also to add an engine test video we released today. The engine test is the result of six weeks working with our new game engine (Vision 8), and is primarily to test/demonstrate some of our game assets in the world, and some other systems such as dynamic weather and sounds.

Cheers,