3D Animator job

Hello artists!

We're looking for a 3D animator to breath some life into the models and environments that my team and I have created for our indie game project. Subnet is first person stealth, hacking and parkour first person game, set in a futuristic England. The story is a mix of Orwellian dystopia and the cyberpunk genre, further influenced by games like Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, and Mirrors Edge.

Subnet's USP is the networking system; everything in the world can be hacked, and the hacking system is quite in-depth. Most of the mechanical aspects of the game have already been developed (although there are some omissions and bugs to fix etc) in prototype, and more things are being added all the time. Most of the remaining work is art based; modelling, uv mapping, animation, concept art etc.
I have spent a considerable amount of time organizing the project, putting together prototypes, and building up the team up over the last year. The team currently consists of 2 concept artists, 2 3D modellers, a composer / sound designer and myself (programmer, team lead, game designer, level designer, story / script writer etc!). The team is split between the US and the UK at the moment, and the studio is a UK company. I give everyone lots of creative freedom, and the project is quite relaxed... but we're getting a lot of stuff done at the same time!

We all work remotely using Google Groups, Google Docs, Dropbox, Skype, git and Google Hangouts to collaborate. The game is currently in production, though as with everything indie, we are also still prototyping some elements and doing lots of R&D. There is lots and lots of supporting material available to get you started, and I provide detail briefs where necessary.
Although I direct and manage the project, I'm very keen on getting self-motivated individuals on the team; everyone is welcome to help out with any element of the design process, and all feedback is encouraged - the more involved you are the better :) This is a long-term project, and you should only commit to it if you have the time, and are willing to get stuck in.

You will be rigging and animating various models; first person character hands / feet, various humanoid model states (I imagine this will end up fairly complex depending on the AI implementation), and potentially robots and environmental props etc. Although it is science fiction, we are aiming for realism in everything from the story to animations.

You would be filling the last space on the Subnet team, too. There may be future requirements for more environmental artists, but for now, all we need is an animator to really get things moving.

Minimum age is 18, and you must have decent English communication skills - both written and spoken. Communication is key; you will be expected to be part of the team, and communicate with everyone as often as possible, posting updates and questions to the team group, and communicating with other team members on Skype. If we've learned anything over the last year, it's that almost daily communication is required, especially at the R&D stages.

Lastly - and most importantly for some - this is a profit share. This is a project that started out between two friends as a hobby, and quickly escalated to a full-blown production. We are just over a year into the development process, and aren't expecting to stop any time soon. You will be expected to sign an NDA, and agree a contract - the contract is very flexible / freelancer friendly, and I'm open to modifications as needed, but I'm afraid it's an important prerequisite.

The project is relaxed, but we all work on it almost every day to some degree. Obviously we all have downtime, and most of us only work on the project in our spare time, but it tends to be passion that drives us more than anything else. We're looking for people who are willing to jump in headfirst and do things they're not 100% comfortable with - which is basically what we're all doing, day-in-day out!

Please read the content on our website and apply using the contact form, including your portfolio or some examples of your animation work. You don't need game development experience, but you must be able to demonstrate an understanding of animation techniques - as we would be mostly relying on you for all the animations in the game. If you don't have high quality animation examples to show us, we can arrange a test to see if you have the goods!

Website: www.nineteenstoneninjas.com
Twitter: @NineteenNinjas
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ninteenstoneninjas
IndieDB: www.indiedb.com/projects/subnet

To Apply

Contact form on website