Empathy looking for 3D artists and animators.

Empathy is an adventure game with emphasis on storytelling and experience. A game about emotions, good intentions and human nature, where you embark on a journey through a dying world to discover its story and wonders. It is being developed in UDK for a PC and tablet release. It isn't your ordinary point and click filled with jokes (as much as I love classics like monkey island) but features a serious and engaging theme set in an atmospheric world. We have a passion for creating a game that isn't just for fun, but has a message behind it, a moral. That does not prevent us however to make the gameplay engaging and interesting.

After over a year in pre-production which allowed us to develop a solid technical core you can see in video below, as well as refine the design of the game, we are now looking to expand our art team to start the work on visual content. We currently have all core features working and are starting developing the content, where more manpower is desirable. We are looking for people who share our passion for games that put the overall experience and atmosphere first and who are tired of arcade and FPS games. You are someone who wants to contribute to the creation of an experience that will charm the player, amaze them as they are taken on a journey through the slumbering world. You probably enjoy games such as Proteus, Journey, Stalker or Quel Solaar.

Empathy introduces a gameplay mechanic which allows you to alter the world around you by using emotions, you can see the concept in the work in the video below. This mechanic allows us to create stunning scene changes where player can play around with the world, changing and bending it, to see what changes and how the world will react. Please note that all the models used in the tech demo are placeholder and were meant just to test the concept.

You can view our tech demo here

We are currently looking for the following:

3D artists
We are looking for an artist, not simply a modeler follows the concept art. You have a passion for art and an eye for detail. The game will not require much normal mapping or sculpturing, instead asking you to focus on composition, colors and shapes. You are expected to have great self critique and creativity. Skills in traditional art is a big plus as you will have to utilize somewhat artistic texturing approach. The art style is technically simple, so you will be able to focus on the artistic side instead of counting polygons and making specular maps.

Modeling of assets
Focus on color and form
Import of assets in UDK and setup of materials
Experience with UDK shaders and materials is a plus

Character modeler and animator(This role can be split into two, a character modeler and rigger/animator)
Empathy will feature simplistic characters, with focus on the shape and silhouette, rather than detail, which gives you as an artist a great opportunity to further sharpen your skills in animation, modeling and anatomy without having to focus on details. Apart from the main protagonist that is almost finished the game will feature no advanced animation, mostly requiring character modeling and basic movements.

Traditional drawing skills, you are expected to at least sketch the character you are going to model.
Character modeling.
Character rigging and animation.
Import and setup of the character inside UDK.

What can we offer?

An established project with a developed core.
Dedicated and passionate team.
Detailed feedback on your work to help you advance in your area of expertise.
Atmospheric and engaging game.

If interested, please get in touch with me at [email protected] by attaching your portfolio, telling a bit about yourself and why you are interested in the project for more information and story details. The only guaranteed compensation is royalty based, even if we will try to find a publisher to get funding prior to that.