u/EntangledRedPanda

Hey everyone!

I've been developing a 2D arena shooter game with bioelectrical creatures in Unity, for over a year now. I'm targeting a demo release on Steam late December or early January. I'm looking for an artist to help with visual effects (shaders, particles, etc.).

Budget: $32-35 per hour, up to $5,000 total

Game/Work Context
The game features bioelectric creatures, various gun types from energy-beam weapons to shotguns and rocket launchers, electrical shields, dashing + down-thrusting, and enemies that can wander the whole map to chase you.

Here's a few screenshots & brief footage of existing art/VFX in game. I'm happy to share more visuals of the game over private messages.

What I'm looking for:
Much of the core art and gameplay is already implemented. I'm looking for help with improving visuals across various areas of the game, including:

• Polishing effects for 11 weapons (already implemented with recoil): Improving a large beam visual (scrolling texture), adding muzzle fire, explosion particles, etc.
• Adding new ability VFX, including an electric ground pound/slam explosion
• Adding environmental VFX such as embers and smoke on a blown-up bridge, wind, etc.

Required skillset
You should definitely have:
- Experience creating visuals with Shaders, Particle systems, and Lighting.
- Game Engine experience (Unity strongly preferred, but Godot experience welcome too)
- Past-work of game visuals that you're proud of (2D or 3D)

Collaboration
There is an established visual/artistic direction, but I'm happy to give you lots of creative freedom within it.

I'm looking for a long-term collaborator: someone who can average at least 10-12 hours a week, most weeks (exceptions are fine), so we can make steady progress to release the demo.

We would start the first week as a paid test period to see if the collaboration is a good fit for both of us.

Reaching Out
If you're interested in collaborating to help finish the game's demo, feel free to DM me with a link to your past VFX work or games you worked on, and how many hours you can commit consistently most weeks. I'm happy to discuss more details and answer any questions.

You can also message me on Discord
Username: glacionninja
*If you need to be in the same server to message me, I'm in the Discord Server r/gamedev

Hey!

I've been developing a 2D arena-shooter game inspired by Raze 2 and Strike Force Heroes, where all creatures can self-navigate the entire platformer map. [Gameplay Footage]. The game emphasizes shielding and dashing.

I already have a fully playable prototype and have run several playtests on Discord with positive feedback. I am targeting to finish a longer demo and release the demo on Steam by late June or July.

I'm currently doing all the coding and art (digitally drawn, no AI).

Current Gameplay Summary:

- fast paced 2d shooter with non-uniform terrain and floating platforms

- AI teammates that navigate the entire platformer map

- shielding and dashing mechanics

- various game-modes (not revealed in footage)

- focus on combat flow and replayability

What I'm looking for:

As I'm entering the art polish phase (lots of redrawing and polishing), I'm looking for an artist I can collaborate with over the next 1-3 months to speed up development. I need help primarily with:

- drawing ~3 2D environment maps for the DEMO.

- Environment maps are slightly stylized (see temporary map background in gameplay footage) with a semi-realistic vibe on an alien planet (not Earth)

I can offer you (the artist):

- Pay hourly ($25/hr, flexible) for the first 60 hours. Longer collaboration could be pay or rev share

- lots of creative freedom with the environment art and game-ideas!

(Optional) If you're interested in contributing more, you can!

- you can have tons of creative influence on the existing story and lore

- help brainstorm the level design before drawing maps

- work on other types of art (ex. new creatures, UI, etc.) if you feel motivated

I of course will continue actively drawing/animating too (polishing weapons, UI, new creatures and outfits)

*I would ask the artist to draw in a 2d art style that is similar or meshes well with the one I've already been using (semi-realistic, not too cartoony or too realistic).

Game Story/Lore:

The dialogue for the demo is ~70% complete. I co-wrote it with a close friend over a year, and we have planned the story/lore far beyond what is needed for the initial demo.

The story has a serious tone, exploring the tradeoff between societal peace and freedom and the inevitability of war. It focuses on 3 related species (sharing a common ancestor), one of which is extinct (see a rough drawing of all 3 in the link above!)

Again, I'm more than happy to let the artist creatively influence/edit/add to the existing story/lore.

More about me:

I'm 23. I was a backend developer for 2 years after graduating college with a bachelors in computer engineering (minor in physics). Recently left my software job to finish and release this demo on Steam. I've used the Unity Game Engine for around a decade. In the past, I released 4 mobile games before 2019, and also had used my game-dev skills at software internships. Again, I do both the coding and current art for this game.

If you're an artist and interested in creatively collaborating to help complete this game's DEMO for Steam, DM me with your portfolio and general availability!