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 a VFX artist to help with development.
The game features bioelectric creatures, various gun types from energy-beam weapons to shotguns and rocket launchers, bioelectric shields, dashing + down-thrusting, and enemies that can wander the whole map to chase you.
Much of the core art and gameplay is already implemented. I'm looking for someone who can both polish existing art with VFX and add new VFX (ex. improve the draft visuals of a large beam/energy-burst weapon, add missing muzzle fire/smoke to weapons, add environment particles from wind to glowing dust for specific levels, improve lighting/glow, etc.).
Budget: $25-35 USD/hour based on skillset, up to $5,000 total
Here's a few brief screenshots of existing art/VFX. I'm happy to share more visuals of the game over private messages.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1i4hJMJXDCMp8wSYzE73mJo_GlDcrtkpy?usp=sharing
Weapon VFX
I've currently drawn and implemented 11 weapons with recoil, the majority of which have rough VFX and need polishing. I'm looking for help adding muzzle flashes, improving projectile/beam effects, impacts, sparks, trails, explosions, and other weapon-specific polish where appropriate.
Bioelectric ability VFX
I'd like help creating additional ability visual effects, including:
- A new ground pound/slam effect that complements the bioelectric down-thrust in game (see screenshot 4).
- A new area-stun damage effect that complements the bioelectric dash (see screenshot 1).
Environmental VFX
Some environments need additional atmospheric particle work.
For example, one level takes place on a heavily damaged/exploded bridge with fires. It could use polished effects for smoke, fire and embers, wind/debris, etc.
What you get:
- $25-35/hr, based on your skillset (negotiable)
- A clear visual direction with existing art, but I can grant you lots of creative freedom and am open to hearing any creative suggestions/ideas you have.
Good fit
You're a good fit if you enjoy creating 2D visuals with shaders in a game engine (ideally Unity, but engines like Godot or GameMaker are totally fine!).
You should definitely have:
- experience creating Shaders and using particle systems
- be able to share past-work of visuals you created inside game engines that you're proud of (2D or 3D)
- basic knowledge about optimizing shaders/materials (ex. batching)
- some experience with 2D lighting
I'm looking for a long-term collaborator: someone who can average at least 10-12 hours a week, most weeks (exceptions are fine), to make steady progress. Someone who is open to collaborating for 3-4 months, enjoys discussing ideas back and forth, and thrives with creative freedom. If the game's demo does well, we could continue collaboration further and even consider revshare then.
The first week or so would be a test/trial-period (paid still) to see if the collaboration goes well for both sides.
Nice to have (optional but let me know!):
- experience with Unity URP (Universal Render Pipeline)
- 2D art background
- coding background
If you're interested, feel free to message me on Discord (@glacionninja) or reply here. I'm in the following Discord servers: IndieGames and r/GameDev, if you need a mutual server to message me.
In your message, please share any images/videos/links to your past work, your experience with shaders + particles, and how many hours you can commit consistently most weeks.
Thanks!