Need Graphics Artist: Void Crypt

I am looking for a graphics artist to collaborate on my next game. Development will start as soon as I have found the right person. The development time for the game will be approximately 6-8 months. Below are some details about what the game will actually be.

When completed, this game will be distributed for free on PC, Android, and OUYA. I cannot pay a graphics artist, but you will have a fine completed game for your portfolio that you can be proud of. I’ve had some success with my previous game Ramble Planet (currently 2500 downloads across various platforms), so you can have satisfaction knowing some people will probably play this and see your graphics.

Good work ethic is a must for this. If you do not have any time to work on the graphics, or think that you have any chance of getting bored and quitting, then this partnership won’t work out. I've finished nearly every game I've ever start, and I expect the same from an artist.

You would be expected to have the majority of the graphics done in 4 months. However, I am willing to give you a lot of freedom to create your own style and aesthetic. See the bottom of this post for details on the artist’s specific responsibilities.



Design Document for Void Crypt [Working Title]

***Premise:

You have been banished to the Void Crypt for crimes against the Prime Pharaoh. This labyrinthine space station dungeon hurtles through the endless Deep Void. It is populated by criminals and horrific Void Monsters. Can you defeat the Monster Goddess Ammit and escape through the Warp Door?

Void Crypt is a science fiction RPG dungeon crawl. The player controls a single hero.



***Dungeon:

The Void Crypt is a pyramid-shaped dungeon comprised of 36 single-screen rooms. It is divided into 3 areas, each with more difficult foes than the last. The player must collect a key and defeat a boss to progress to the next area.

Each room will somewhat unique and contain various puzzles and hidden objects. Although the number of rooms is small, there will be many challenges and secrets.



***System:

Battles will use the turn-based OHR battle system and will be very streamlined. Battles will only ever be against 1 monster at a time. Before a battle starts, the player may attempt to flee. Once a battle has begun the player will only be able to attack and use items.

There are 6 stats divided between Combat Stats and Exploration Stats. Combat stats only matter in battles. Exploration Stats have a marginal effect in battle, but mostly will be used to overcome certain obstacles in the dungeon. For instance, Strength might be required to break open a box or Dexterity to avoid a trap.

Combat Stats:
Attack: Damage of attacks.
Defense: Reduces damage.
Hit Points: Damage that can be taken before the hero dies.

Exploration Stats:
Strength: Marginally increases Attack and Defense.
Dexterity: Increases likelihood to flee battles.
Intelligence: Increases likelihood of enemies leaving items.

The hero does not gain levels in the traditional sense. Instead his stats are increased through acquiring stat-boosting Implants. Implants may be dropped by monsters or bought at a store. Implants increase the hero’s stats when they are held in his inventory. For instance, if the hero owns 30 Strength Implants, his strength will be 30. He could sell 5 of these and reduce his Strength to 25. In this way, the hero’s stats will be somewhat fluid.

The player may also spend money on items. Items can heal the hero, cause damage in combat, allow the hero avoid battles, or teleport the hero quickly around the dungeon.



***Character Creation:

The player can choose from 3 different character classes. The choice has an affect on the hero’s starting stats, but is primarily narrative. Certain text boxes will read differently depending on your class, especially the game’s ending. The classes are Scribe, Soldier, and Slave.



***Treasures:

For additional challenge, 50 treasures will be hidden throughout the dungeon. Collecting more of these will provide better endings when the player completes the game.



***Expectation of Graphics Artist:

The graphics artist will have a fair amount of freedom. I will provide text descriptions, reference photos, and sketches which can be interpreted how they please. The graphics artist will have to make the following:

3 sets of map tiles: Each should have lots of variations of floor, wall, and decorative tiles.

24 monsters: 18 are common monsters and 6 are bosses. Since there is only 1 enemy at a time, these will only be large-sized.

3 hero walkabouts: There is no hero battle sprite. The battles will appear to be in first person.

3 attack animations: These are for the heroes’ attack and 2 different items. The enemies will not have attack animations since there will be no hero sprite.

200+ NPC walkabouts: The various rooms in the dungeon will have many things to interact with, so there will be probably be a lot of these.

5+ full screens: These are the title screen and various story scenes.

3 battle backgrounds: 1 for each of the dungeon’s 3 areas.

Aesthetics:

The graphics can be done in a style of your choosing. There are no limitations on color palette. The theme combines ancient Egyptian and industrial motifs. Below are the 3 areas of the dungeon and what they might look like.

Area 1: The walls and floor tiles should look like and decrepit and decaying ancient pyramid but with elements of scientific laboratory. Electric generators, vats of fluids, and tubes containing scientific specimens are spread about. However, it is all in a bad state of disrepair. This area will be mostly large square rooms. The primary color of this area will be orange.

Area 2: This area is the underbelly of the dungeon. It should look like a basement mixed with a sewer. There will be narrow utilitarian halls and tunnels filled with conduits, pipes, valves, and pumps. Dirt and trash will be strewn everywhere. The Egyptian motifs will still be prevalent. This area will be narrow maze-like passages. The primary color will be green.

Area 3: This will look like a space station combined with a crystal cave. There will be metal furniture and parts of spaceships. The walls will be made of a jagged crystalline substance. Egyptian motifs will still be prevalent. This area will be organic cave-like rooms. The primary color will be purple.

Monsters will be futuristic variations on Egyptian gods and desert creatures. Examples could be a robotic Osiris or a mutant cobra-falcon crossbreed.

I got back to you in Work for Hire...

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� C O L L A B M U S I C: https://dustpuppets.bandcamp.com/releases

This sounds very cool!

The game sounds like it would be a roughly even mix of battles and outside of battle aspects, right?

That's the idea. I play a fair amount of pen-and-paper role-playing. I've always appreciated the fact that those games have systems to model events outside of combat. I wish more RPG video games would do that. So I'm trying to incorporate some of that here.

I like this idea. It's kind of what I'm going for with Kinvesard and what I liked about Dungeonmen. The more games like this the better I say.
I wonder why you wouldn't want to make it with the style of graphics you always do. I love those.
Anyways, I'll go ahead and throw my hat in here, though I welcome better graphic artists to step up and take willy's offer up on this one instead of myself.
I'm not the best artist and he's a great designer.

I read many reviews of Ramble Planet from outside the OHR community that started with something like, "Don't be turned away by the graphics..."

Also, having a graphics artist will hopefully speed the development process along.

However, if a collaboration doesn't work out, then I will do the graphics myself.

I read some of those, and always interpreted that as reviewers loving the graphics, but being afraid that other people might not feel the same way... but that could just be me projecting my own love for your graphics on others ;)

Can I try to make graphics for your game
I'm very interrested because the description sounds so awesome, and I could send you some examples for my art style mixed with your game idea.