Looking for artists, graphic designers ect.

[343gamers]

I'm Currently in the process of designing a game, It's a 2D java based game, I have currently one artist but I need more artists and a team in general.
I am looking for people who can be chill and relaxed, have fun, and most of all enjoy creating the art that is video games!
I am also looking for Programmers, Sound artists, Community Ambassadors, Testers and more!

Message me or email me: [email protected]

 

Many Minds, Singular Results - OzerHex Industries

 

[IAmVicar]

Depends on if I'd be paid for the work or if you expect people to work for free.

[343gamers]

@IAmVicar You will be payed a commission of each product sold.

[343gamers]

.

Edited February 29, 2016 by 343gamers

[Vagrant0]

@IAmVicar You will be payed a commission of each product sold.

Going from personal experience as well as what I've seen over the years, as much as this might seem like a great thing... 9/10 times it ends up being both a logistical and legal nightmare. To the point where I've seen more than one developer have to close down production or their services to remove and replace assets, or close things down completely because of legal disputes. Financial, contractual, copyright, there are many places where this sort of plan can go horribly wrong for everyone involved. Sometimes, yes, it can work if the developer is paying out to one or two artists they personally know... But over the internet, this is a very large red flag for anyone who works professionally. It is essentially asking an artist to do professional quality work and everything it entails on a promise of eventual payment... Nevermind the issues that can occur if an artist submits work that isn't entirely their own.

 

Generally, the best way to approach the matter is by agreeing to a singular payment upon work being completed and ownership of those assets being transferred from the artist to the game owner. It's more expensive up front, but is much less open to the majority of the issues that can occur. There are some stipulations that can still be defined within the contract, such as half the fee initially, the other half at time of release, or similar to decrease the initial cost and keep the artist invested in the success of the project. But these need to be established clearly initially in full before any work is done. Part of getting professional work for your project means having to pay the costs of that work. You still have to be doubly sure on the validity to work claims, but unlike with the previous situation, you own all responsibility related to those assets but can usually sue the artist for fraud outright.

 

Understandably, your average indie developer can't go dishing out hundreds of dollars to artists for assets. Usually, the budget is only about as much as it costs to rent webspace, pay for software licenses, and pay a distributor (like Steam) their publishing fee. Nobody is questioning this... But this is also why there are plenty of artists out there who will work for free, who just want the exposure, the work experience, or being able to claim your project as part of their portfolio. If you can't afford the costs of an artist... Don't waste their time, don't waste your own time dangling a carrot over their head and expect to get anywhere. Work within the bounds of your capability and your budget. The moment you start trying to extend beyond either, you will usually run into serious problems. Again, checking the validity of work is still very important... And you still own the responsibility of any copyright claims against you. But you also didn't pay for those assets so don't have to deal with lawyers unless you refuse to remove those assets or dispute those claims.

 

 

All that aside... There are a number of concerning issues regarding your post.

 

First off, your project should probably be either in a feature complete stage using placeholder art before bringing in professional artists, or very close to. Not only will this make it less likely that you will end up having artists work on things that you ultimately will not use, but also gives any artist a very clear idea of what exactly you need done... Less back and forth means quicker production and deliberation. It also buys you additional time before release to bug-fix and optimize your game as those final assets are produced and implemented. Professional game companies do this in-house through phasing since they have a budget that holds them to completion of the project; indie developers usually have no budget with the majority of projects crashing and burning before they are out of alpha just because they try to split production too many ways. From an artist's standpoint, the more complete your game is, the more likely they will see any benefit from it. If the game is early in development... you should be doing as much of this in-house as possible, even if 3/4 of your graphics were made in MS paint and all your sounds came from someone speaking into a $10 headset microphone. All these things can be fixed and adjusted when the game is in Beta.

 

Second... Java is generally not very good for the purposes of a commercial game product. I know it can still work, but it does add complications to things like publishing and selling a finished product. Minecraft made this work since they invested early in a website and login system in order to use their game, but they could get away with it since the game involved online and multiplayer at an early stage. Other games however may not work well with this plan, and some publishers might completely reject your game because of how Java can cause issues, be poorly supported by Windows, or just be absolute hell to handle DRM... For artists, It also goes back to some of the first point, but also brings into question just how marketable your game is before they will even think of working on it. Regardless of contract, it usually isn't worth their time to work on something if it isn't something that isn't marketable or won't get any meaningful attention. Sorry to say, but the reality is that there is an absolute shitload of games out there being made by indie developers, many of these games also looking for additional help to get them to completion. But if your business plan isn't sound, it doesn't matter how new or unique your title is, or even how complete the game is, it can still be failure with your first game setting the tone of anything you follow it up with.

 

Long story short... Keep within your in-house capability and budget for the majority of development. Have a solid development and have publishing plan sorted before you even consider outside help. Keep outside contracts simple and concise so that you don't have lawyers beating down your door.

 

You may also want to use an official e-mail for your company to communicate with outside help instead of a personal e-mail... For a large number of reasons.

[343gamers]

 

@IAmVicar You will be payed a commission of each product sold.

Going from personal experience as well as what I've seen over the years, as much as this might seem like a great thing... 9/10 times it ends up being both a logistical and legal nightmare. To the point where I've seen more than one developer have to close down production or their services to remove and replace assets, or close things down completely because of legal disputes. Financial, contractual, copyright, there are many places where this sort of plan can go horribly wrong for everyone involved. Sometimes, yes, it can work if the developer is paying out to one or two artists they personally know... But over the internet, this is a very large red flag for anyone who works professionally. It is essentially asking an artist to do professional quality work and everything it entails on a promise of eventual payment... Nevermind the issues that can occur if an artist submits work that isn't entirely their own.

 

Generally, the best way to approach the matter is by agreeing to a singular payment upon work being completed and ownership of those assets being transferred from the artist to the game owner. It's more expensive up front, but is much less open to the majority of the issues that can occur. There are some stipulations that can still be defined within the contract, such as half the fee initially, the other half at time of release, or similar to decrease the initial cost and keep the artist invested in the success of the project. But these need to be established clearly initially in full before any work is done. Part of getting professional work for your project means having to pay the costs of that work. You still have to be doubly sure on the validity to work claims, but unlike with the previous situation, you own all responsibility related to those assets but can usually sue the artist for fraud outright.

 

Understandably, your average indie developer can't go dishing out hundreds of dollars to artists for assets. Usually, the budget is only about as much as it costs to rent webspace, pay for software licenses, and pay a distributor (like Steam) their publishing fee. Nobody is questioning this... But this is also why there are plenty of artists out there who will work for free, who just want the exposure, the work experience, or being able to claim your project as part of their portfolio. If you can't afford the costs of an artist... Don't waste their time, don't waste your own time dangling a carrot over their head and expect to get anywhere. Work within the bounds of your capability and your budget. The moment you start trying to extend beyond either, you will usually run into serious problems. Again, checking the validity of work is still very important... And you still own the responsibility of any copyright claims against you. But you also didn't pay for those assets so don't have to deal with lawyers unless you refuse to remove those assets or dispute those claims.

 

 

All that aside... There are a number of concerning issues regarding your post.

 

First off, your project should probably be either in a feature complete stage using placeholder art before bringing in professional artists, or very close to. Not only will this make it less likely that you will end up having artists work on things that you ultimately will not use, but also gives any artist a very clear idea of what exactly you need done... Less back and forth means quicker production and deliberation. It also buys you additional time before release to bug-fix and optimize your game as those final assets are produced and implemented. Professional game companies do this in-house through phasing since they have a budget that holds them to completion of the project; indie developers usually have no budget with the majority of projects crashing and burning before they are out of alpha just because they try to split production too many ways. From an artist's standpoint, the more complete your game is, the more likely they will see any benefit from it. If the game is early in development... you should be doing as much of this in-house as possible, even if 3/4 of your graphics were made in MS paint and all your sounds came from someone speaking into a $10 headset microphone. All these things can be fixed and adjusted when the game is in Beta.

 

Second... Java is generally not very good for the purposes of a commercial game product. I know it can still work, but it does add complications to things like publishing and selling a finished product. Minecraft made this work since they invested early in a website and login system in order to use their game, but they could get away with it since the game involved online and multiplayer at an early stage. Other games however may not work well with this plan, and some publishers might completely reject your game because of how Java can cause issues, be poorly supported by Windows, or just be absolute hell to handle DRM... For artists, It also goes back to some of the first point, but also brings into question just how marketable your game is before they will even think of working on it. Regardless of contract, it usually isn't worth their time to work on something if it isn't something that isn't marketable or won't get any meaningful attention. Sorry to say, but the reality is that there is an absolute shitload of games out there being made by indie developers, many of these games also looking for additional help to get them to completion. But if your business plan isn't sound, it doesn't matter how new or unique your title is, or even how complete the game is, it can still be failure with your first game setting the tone of anything you follow it up with.

 

Long story short... Keep within your in-house capability and budget for the majority of development. Have a solid development and have publishing plan sorted before you even consider outside help. Keep outside contracts simple and concise so that you don't have lawyers beating down your door.

 

You may also want to use an official e-mail for your company to communicate with outside help instead of a personal e-mail... For a large number of reasons.

 

Alright, Reading through your lengthy and honestly quite boring reply filled with needless facts I've already looked upon you miss the main idea of game development: Having fun. Video games have since long become a product rather than an art form, with large companies releasing a new piece of a franchise every year game quality has dwindled. I personally see that and look to try to show others as well. I am not looking for a business making a ton of money, no I want to get some people together who share the passion and joy of developing video games from scratch.

 

I chose to reach out upon the forums and among other places not for professionals who aim to make money, but amateur artists looking to have fun and get their name out there. I see lots of talent in the modding community and I am looking to possibly invite some artists into the joy of game development while maintaining the calm and carefree feeling of modding.

 

As for my choice in Java, I know the issues I have finished and received a certificate proceeding the Java program. I understand the problematic issues that may arise but, I am okay with it. I have 4 years experience with Java and have found fixes to many of the issues. As for it being a poor choice I completely disagree. First of all basing myself off of the concept of freedom of modifying game files or in common tongue game modding. Java is the simplest route to go, making it easy to develop an API for players. secondly Java is a language I love and know, with it being an object oriented language it's quite easy to optimise and create effective solutions to tasks. Alas this is my first video game I am willing to distribute to the public, I am not expecting AAA quality C++ written game with the newest graphics and best 3D models. I am building a 2D RPG and Java makes that quite easy with Canvas.

 

I don't expect every single person to jump on this, I am asking and reaching out to people looking for recognition and wanting to make a little cash for there work. It's as simple as that. No official bull, no tricks, just Good Ol' Game development.

 

Also I noticed you mentioned legal issues, I've already discussed this with a personal friend. I've concluded the artist will maintain ownership over anything designed for the game, but the company has full use within a set commercial market (A.K.A the current development project) that's it.

 

Last note, with so many indie games, and quite a lot being similar, I want to build something as different as I possibly can with a let's say.. More relaxed and 'at will' team behind it. Like I've said earlier games are supposed to be an art, not a product.

[Vagrant0]

 

Alright, Reading through your lengthy and honestly quite boring reply filled with needless facts I've already looked upon you miss the main idea of game development: Having fun. Video games have since long become a product rather than an art form, with large companies releasing a new piece of a franchise every year game quality has dwindled. I personally see that and look to try to show others as well. I am not looking for a business making a ton of money, no I want to get some people together who share the passion and joy of developing video games from scratch.

Then don't even involve money. If you're doing it for fun, look for artists who also want to do it for fun. The moment money comes into play, either by means of hiring an artist or selling a product, it becomes a business. What you make becomes your product, the people you sell to become your customers. Meanwhile things like governments and anyone who can be bothered enough to hire a lawyer will want their share. Meanwhile most professionals won't even give it a second thought unless you show that you are serious about it. You can still have fun while being serious. You can still have a relaxed approach. But money means dealing with all that other stuff that goes along with it.

 

There are a large number of ways to do something like this without going the business route these days... But most of them involve releasing a free-to-use product when all is said and done.

[Mortalambition84]

I would be willing to do some small time work, depending on the work itself. Message back if you are still looking, also note Vagrant0 is 100% correct, however I will give you very fair, upfront prices.

[TheCoolUnicorn]

I want to help but I can't :(

[Runen666]

I am also looking to make my own game, and have been teaching my self through YouTube and find that what i am trying to achieve is very difficult for one person to do. I a as well have the same out look that games are meant to be fun, and unfortunately FPS are just a waste of time. a game is fun even if it meant challenging your mind at things to get past certain points. now games are run by mindless drones that we call what will take over as kids. what happen to fun games that were challenging, i want something like final fantasy with skyrim mixed in an open world but with more realism. its not impossible. but very difficult for one to do alone. so if i can help i will or am looking for those as well that want to just meet up get your name out there for the big companies looking for talent if you want to make money. my game will be free. I only ask for help from those who dont mind putting some time to another persons goal to bring back the old school gaming way.