x4000
07-17-2009, 08:00 AM
UPDATE: See the second post below, this topic is closed. Thanks for all the people who took the time to submit!
I'm the developer of AI War: Fleet Command (http://www.arcengames.com/), an indie RTS title. I'm looking for an artist, but first a brief bit of background so you know where I am coming from:
About Us
The game is complete, and has been quite well received so far (see our Press & Player Reactions page, check out our forums, etc). The game has been habitually selling well since late May on Stardock's Impulse (right now we are the 33rd most popular game across all genres, among indie and AAA titles, but a few weeks ago we were 7th after a sale. We tend to be in the 12th to 20th region, but are at a lower point right this second). The game is clearly a hit at Impulse, but we're not really very visible outside that one community yet; we're working on that.
We're running a weekly free DLC campaign, that also includes lots of ideas and content based on player suggestions, an expansion is in the planning stages, and we're also working on a 2D puzzle game called Feedback (this has not yet been announced on our site). Feedback has just passed out of the prototype phase, and depending on how development goes it should be released in approximately four months at the very outside.
Our team currently consists of me (the company founder, all programming, most game design, all writing, marketing, etc), and two contractors. Pablo, our composer, handles music and sound (the sound effects for AI War were originally from a different source, and Pablo is in the process of upgrading them). The other contractor is Lars, a friend of mine and a game designer I have partnered with solely for purposes of creating the game Feedback at this point. If you notice what is missing from this team, that is an artist.
What We Are Looking For
What we need in an artist is a bit of a nebulous thing, honestly. At the moment AI War is well received enough even just with graphics that either I cobbled together, or which come from free sources (primarily Daniel Cook's work, without which AI War probably couldn't exist). I'm an amateur artist myself, and I do a fair job I think, just nothing outstanding. We could probably continue on like this for another 6+ months if we have to. However, now that AI War is out and actually making some money, I've thought it would be good to do a bit of an upgrade to the graphics to hopefully attract a larger audience (those who might be turned off by limited graphics and so not even get a chance to see the awesome game behind them).
The biggest items on my list:
1. Shot/Explosion graphics for AI War.
2. Interface upgrades for AI War.
3. Block designs for Feedback, and also possibly some background elements.
4. New ship designs, as needed, for the AI War expansions and free DLC.
5. Anything else that a competent artist might look at and say "I can do better, and people will notice."
There are a couple of ways that this can go, depending on the artist and their situation. The simplest way is that we can just set up an hourly rate, and I'll pay for those things that seem to be most important. We have money to spend, but not huge amounts of it, so I'm going to be pretty picky about what I do and don't spend on it. If the game continues on its current trajectory and funds continue to increase in volume, then this could turn into a full-time job if you are interested.
Alternatively, and what I would probably prefer, would be a royalty arrangement. Right now all the rest of us are working under this sort of style, all of us collecting our royalties as the games we create make money. It's not enough for any one of us to make a living off of yet, but there's a lot of promise there and I think that with the right artist as part of the ongoing team, we'll have all of the elements we need for some even higher levels of success (just check out the music, and the actual gameplay/AI to see why we've been so popular thus far). The actual royalty rate would be something that I would need to discuss with the artist we contract with, just because it would be dependent on what sort of overhauling and work the artist is willing to put in. We tend to be pretty fair, and won't try to cheat you or work you to death for nothing, though. Our goal is a long-term working relationship with a small group of staff, and that's not going to be furthered by stabbing staff in the back.
If Interested
If you're interested, please send an email to chrispark7 (at) gmail (dot) com. Items to include:
- Please take a look at our site and our games first, to see what I'm talking about, and then let me know whether you are interested in an hourly arrangement or a royalty arrangement (and what your hourly fee would be if that's what you want).
- Please send a link to your portfolio. Take a look at the existing art in the AI War game -- I don't plan on doing a complete overhaul of the art in that game, just certain elements, so please make sure that you are confident you can do art in a style that will fit in there.
- Also please include a brief, general proposal for what you'd like to change in the art of AI War. I'm just looking for broad proposals here, so that I can know what sort of things you think you can upgrade, what you're not interested in, and the overall amount of time/effort likely to be involved on your part.
- If you have any other questions, please let me know.
I will be out of the office on vacation from today through the 27th, but I will have access to email and can respond to general questions during this time. I don't expect to make a decision until after I return, but I'll be taking a look at any emails that come in during that time.
Thanks for considering Arcen!
Chris Park
Arcen Games, LLC
I'm the developer of AI War: Fleet Command (http://www.arcengames.com/), an indie RTS title. I'm looking for an artist, but first a brief bit of background so you know where I am coming from:
About Us
The game is complete, and has been quite well received so far (see our Press & Player Reactions page, check out our forums, etc). The game has been habitually selling well since late May on Stardock's Impulse (right now we are the 33rd most popular game across all genres, among indie and AAA titles, but a few weeks ago we were 7th after a sale. We tend to be in the 12th to 20th region, but are at a lower point right this second). The game is clearly a hit at Impulse, but we're not really very visible outside that one community yet; we're working on that.
We're running a weekly free DLC campaign, that also includes lots of ideas and content based on player suggestions, an expansion is in the planning stages, and we're also working on a 2D puzzle game called Feedback (this has not yet been announced on our site). Feedback has just passed out of the prototype phase, and depending on how development goes it should be released in approximately four months at the very outside.
Our team currently consists of me (the company founder, all programming, most game design, all writing, marketing, etc), and two contractors. Pablo, our composer, handles music and sound (the sound effects for AI War were originally from a different source, and Pablo is in the process of upgrading them). The other contractor is Lars, a friend of mine and a game designer I have partnered with solely for purposes of creating the game Feedback at this point. If you notice what is missing from this team, that is an artist.
What We Are Looking For
What we need in an artist is a bit of a nebulous thing, honestly. At the moment AI War is well received enough even just with graphics that either I cobbled together, or which come from free sources (primarily Daniel Cook's work, without which AI War probably couldn't exist). I'm an amateur artist myself, and I do a fair job I think, just nothing outstanding. We could probably continue on like this for another 6+ months if we have to. However, now that AI War is out and actually making some money, I've thought it would be good to do a bit of an upgrade to the graphics to hopefully attract a larger audience (those who might be turned off by limited graphics and so not even get a chance to see the awesome game behind them).
The biggest items on my list:
1. Shot/Explosion graphics for AI War.
2. Interface upgrades for AI War.
3. Block designs for Feedback, and also possibly some background elements.
4. New ship designs, as needed, for the AI War expansions and free DLC.
5. Anything else that a competent artist might look at and say "I can do better, and people will notice."
There are a couple of ways that this can go, depending on the artist and their situation. The simplest way is that we can just set up an hourly rate, and I'll pay for those things that seem to be most important. We have money to spend, but not huge amounts of it, so I'm going to be pretty picky about what I do and don't spend on it. If the game continues on its current trajectory and funds continue to increase in volume, then this could turn into a full-time job if you are interested.
Alternatively, and what I would probably prefer, would be a royalty arrangement. Right now all the rest of us are working under this sort of style, all of us collecting our royalties as the games we create make money. It's not enough for any one of us to make a living off of yet, but there's a lot of promise there and I think that with the right artist as part of the ongoing team, we'll have all of the elements we need for some even higher levels of success (just check out the music, and the actual gameplay/AI to see why we've been so popular thus far). The actual royalty rate would be something that I would need to discuss with the artist we contract with, just because it would be dependent on what sort of overhauling and work the artist is willing to put in. We tend to be pretty fair, and won't try to cheat you or work you to death for nothing, though. Our goal is a long-term working relationship with a small group of staff, and that's not going to be furthered by stabbing staff in the back.
If Interested
If you're interested, please send an email to chrispark7 (at) gmail (dot) com. Items to include:
- Please take a look at our site and our games first, to see what I'm talking about, and then let me know whether you are interested in an hourly arrangement or a royalty arrangement (and what your hourly fee would be if that's what you want).
- Please send a link to your portfolio. Take a look at the existing art in the AI War game -- I don't plan on doing a complete overhaul of the art in that game, just certain elements, so please make sure that you are confident you can do art in a style that will fit in there.
- Also please include a brief, general proposal for what you'd like to change in the art of AI War. I'm just looking for broad proposals here, so that I can know what sort of things you think you can upgrade, what you're not interested in, and the overall amount of time/effort likely to be involved on your part.
- If you have any other questions, please let me know.
I will be out of the office on vacation from today through the 27th, but I will have access to email and can respond to general questions during this time. I don't expect to make a decision until after I return, but I'll be taking a look at any emails that come in during that time.
Thanks for considering Arcen!
Chris Park
Arcen Games, LLC