u/ProdigyLoverC

Hey! I'm a solo college student developer building a cozy multiplayer social game called Sprouthaven, think of Club Penguin for the Discord era. Players hop into a colorful island town, hang out with friends in voice chat, customize their character which is a "Sprout", play mini-games, and collect tiny companion creatures called Sproutlings.

I'm putting this post up to find people for different roles as the project grows. Right now I'm specifically looking for a lead artist to help design rooms/backgrounds/maps, but also have my radar out for a sound designer and a 3D artist for the character and clothing articles. If any of those fit you, read on.

HONEST UP FRONT

This is currently an unpaid passion project. I'm a college student building this in my spare time. I can't pay industry rates or really any rates right now, what I can offer is:

- Real creative ownership of the visual direction
- Portfolio piece in a project with a clear vision and ongoing development
- Full credit in-game and across all marketing
- If the game eventually monetizes, fair revenue share for anyone who contributed meaningfully
- A serious collaborator who's going to actually ship something, not someone who'll ghost in 3 months

If/when the project finds funding, paying collaborators is the first thing I'd want to do. But right now I won't pretend I can.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

🎨 2D/LEAD ARTIST (need now)
Help shape the visual identity from the ground up. Environmental art, character design, props, cosmetics, backgrounds. Looking for a real creative partner, not someone to execute my specs.

🎵 SOUND DESIGNER / COMPOSER
Cozy ambient music, mini-game sound effects, environmental audio. Flag interest now even if not ready to start.

🧩 3D ARTIST
The character a humanoid "Sprout" will eventually be a 3D model rendered on top of 2D backgrounds - like Club Penguin's 3D penguins on flat rooms. Need a rigged base character with skeleton and bone-attached cosmetic meshes.

WHERE I'M AT

I have a rough idea for the world, loose storyboarding done, gameplay loops mapped out, and a working understanding of what the game should feel like. But I wouldn't call it a clear visual vision yet, I genuinely need someone with artistic instincts to help shape that with me.

I have some mockups/references and rough map idea I can share.

WHO I'M LOOKING FOR

Honestly, someone in a similar life stage to me. Another student, another hobbyist, someone who genuinely loves cozy social games and preferably holds a game like club penguin dear to their heart and wants to help build one. Someone who'll push back on ideas, bring their own creative vision, and treat this as a real collaboration rather than a side gig.

Style direction so far (still evolving): cozy, bright, kid-friendly cartoon. References: Club Penguin, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley.
I will say it is mostly club penguin inspired specifically with its 2000s hand drawn styling.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED

DM me or leave a comment with:
- Which role
- Portfolio/Any Previous Work
- A bit about yourself and what would make this fun for you
- Discord for contact!

Happy to share the progress and current state of
the project in DM. Looking forward to chatting! 🌱

Editor Photo: https://imgur.com/a/IeCTWtb
Demo Video: https://imgur.com/i1PY9Po

Most of my experience has been in Unity/Unreal development specifically plugins and packages, so I have always dabbled in the gamedev space. Happy to show a little bit of my work off privately.