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Hey purple_1569 — I know this post is about a year old, so no worries if you're 

booked up or moved on, but if you're still open to writing work I wanted to reach out.

I'm the founder of a small indie team building a story-driven adventure game in 

Unreal 5 — lots of branching dialogue, character voice, and worldbuilding/lore work, 

which lines up with everything you listed. You mentioned being open to rev-share for 

a project you really like: that's exactly how our team works (written agreements, 

milestone vesting), and I'd love the chance to make the case that this is one of 

those projects. One thing we state up front: all story and art is 100% human-written — 

no generative AI content.

If you're interested, reply here and I'll share 

details and a sample scene. If the timing's passed, good luck with your writing either way!

Hey Lavaman94 — saw on your profile you're looking to join a team and learn. I'm the founder of a small UE5 narrative adventure project (rev-share collab, written agreements) and your UE5/Blueprint + writing mix caught my eye. If you're interested, ping me on Discord [your handle] or reply here and I'll share details.

The Aberrant Raven is a small indie studio building Contentment, a two-world narrative game in Unreal Engine 5: by day, a warm life-sim in Fairbanks — a floating city of lantern-lit wooden docks where our protagonist works at a gleaming medical research facility; by night, a turn-based JRPG in a strange, beautiful dreamworld. Two diaries, two worlds, one system. Where we actually are (because rev-share posts should prove they're real): playable vertical slice in active development — custom camera system, dialogue system with per-line cinematic shots, MetaHuman character pipeline, a full battle-system design doc, and a working level with simulated ocean water. Solo founder working full-time, plus a battle-system engineer, a composer, and an accessibility lead. Source control (Diversion), structured onboarding, written collaborator agreements. Target: public demo at Steam Next Fest June 2027. Our AI policy, up front: AI-assisted process, human-authored content. All story, art, music, and voice are 100% human-original — no generative-AI assets ship, ever. If that matters to you as much as it does to us, we'll get along. Open roles (all remote, rev-share via written agreement): - Level/Dungeon Designer (core, ongoing role — our biggest need) - 3D Character/Creature Artist — own our whole dreamworld companion cast, concept through game-ready - Character Clothing/Costume Artist — three wardrobe worlds; MetaHuman experience a big plus - Character/Machine Animator — medical machines + creature battle sets - UI/UX Designer (UMG) — diegetic vitals monitors; accessibility is a day-one requirement - VFX Artist (Niagara) — battle effects and dreamworld atmosphere - Gameplay Coder — dockside mini-games (Blueprint) - Assistant Dialogue Writer — short two-round trial; strong character-voice writers wanted - Props/Set-Dressing Artist — small game-ready objects that tell story without dialogue What we want most: genre-fit and enthusiasm. If "cozy-but-something's-off narrative drama wrapped around a JRPG heart" is the game you've been waiting to help make, tell us that — it matters more than your year count. To apply: theaberrantraven@gmail.com or Discord theaberrantraven_53269 with the role, a portfolio/reel or samples, and 2–3 sentences on why this project specifically. We reply to everyone.

Contentment (The Aberrant Raven) is a two-world narrative game: a cozy dockside life-sim by day, and a strange, layered turn-based JRPG dreamworld by night, building toward a mysterious central Core. The founder has been designing this world solo alongside everything else — we're looking for a dedicated level/dungeon designer to take real ownership of it going forward. This is a core, ongoing role, not a one-off task — closer to a second lead than a scoped contributor. You'd own the dream world's layout, pacing, encounter density, boss arenas, verticality, and environmental storytelling, working closely with our battle-system engineer (encounter and trap placement) and our animation/VFX artists (atmosphere and creature staging). What we're looking for: genuine love of JRPG dungeon design as a craft — the kind of person who thinks about pacing and secrets and boss-arena tension for fun, not just on the clock. Portfolio should show spatial/pacing thinking (Metroidvania layouts, narrative environment work, dungeon blockouts — engine doesn't have to be Unreal). Process, transparently: portfolio review, then a small non-spoiler design test (block out a short dungeon with a few encounter beats and a boss arena, to a brief we provide), then a conversation about fit. If it clicks, you're in — full creative access to the world you'd be shaping. Rev-share via written agreement · fully remote · human-authored content policy (no generative AI ships). Apply: theaberrantraven@gmail.com or Discord theaberrantraven_53269 with portfolio + a couple sentences on a dungeon or level design you're proudest of and why.

Hi, I'm Brandon — founder of **The Aberrant Raven**, a small indie studio building **Contentment**, a six-chapter narrative adventure in **Unreal Engine 5.7**, and I'm looking to bring on a few collaborators.

The game: Two worlds, mechanically coupled. 

The Wake World: is a grounded near-future medical drama —A nurse practitioner at a medical research facility, as a new drug called Contentment rapidly moves through society. Social deduction encounters. All choices influence the game

The Dream world:

A full turn-based JRPG layer — a six-character party, ATP-gauge combat, skill trees, — and what happens in one world bleeds into the other. Story-first, systems-heavy, tonally somewhere between quiet realism and strange fantasy.

All in-engine, current build, one level of many — clockwise from top left: sunset over the water; one of the level's larger structures; top-down of the full level (part dressed, part blockout — honest current state); the live contextual interaction system, where objects carry multiple verbs and optional tasks already have dialogue consequences when skipped.*

Where it actually stands: 

- Playable-in-editor with live quest/task and interaction systems — see above

- Rebuilt third-person camera architecture, custom input contexts

- Git source control on an 855-file baseline

- Maintained lore bible + technical bible, with a formal scoped-handoff process — every task is documented, bounded, and verifiable

- Full combat system designed and entering implementation currently

- Environment dressing uses a professional marketplace asset pipeline (Fab / KitBash3D kits, project-licensed) with custom work layered on — so as a collaborator you're building with a real asset library from day one, not gray boxes. Assets ship with the project files; you don't need to own any licenses yourself.

- On a two-year plan targeting a Steam Next Fest demo — and the timeline is calibrated so **no collaborator's hours are load-bearing**. You accelerate the project; you never carry it.

Roles I'm looking for:

- 3D Artist (environment/props/clothes) — building out two very different worlds: near-future urban/clinical spaces and fantasy biomes

- Character Artist / Animator / Rigger — game-ready characters and combat animation into UE5

- Programmer (Blueprint and/or C++) — combat implementation, data-driven quest/task tooling, editor utilities

- Level Designer — blockout-to-polish on story-driven spaces across both worlds, working with the existing asset library and/or custom builds

- Narrative Scripter (Writer + Blueprint) — a hybrid role for someone who can both write and implement: ambient NPC dialogue, barks, and side-conversation systems, built in-engine. The world's story and canon are authored and locked, so this is writing *within* an established universe in close collaboration with me — great fit if you enjoy bringing a world to life rather than inventing one from scratch.

- Concept Artist — visual development for dream-world creatures, characters, and environments

- VFX (Niagara) — combat and dream-world effects

(Music and audio are covered in-house. Voice acting will come later in production — not casting yet.)

Terms: This is a passion/hobby collaboration at present — full credit, scoped tasks rather than vague open-ended asks, and terms discussed openly and honestly before you commit an hour. I run this project with documentation and structure because I want collaborators' time respected.

Interested?  Reply here with the role you're interested in and a portfolio link, or add me on Discord: **theaberrantraven** Happy to show you the build and the docs before you decide anything.

Hi — six years of branching narrative and character work is a serious skill set, so let me pitch you something specific and be upfront about its shape.

I'm Brandon, founder of The Aberrant Raven, building **Contentment** in **Unreal Engine 5.7** — a six-chapter narrative adventure across two mechanically coupled worlds. The wake world: a near-future medical drama following an ICU nurse practitioner as a new drug fractures society. The dream world: a full turn-based JRPG layer with a six-character party. The story runs deep — there's a maintained lore bible, and the central narrative, cosmology, and endings are authored and locked.

So here's the honest shape of the role: this isn't blank-canvas worldbuilding — it's writing *within* a rich established canon. What that actually means in practice is substantial: dialogue and consequence branches (optional tasks already carry dialogue repercussions when skipped), side content and NPC writing across two very different tonal registers, and quest/task text that has to land both as medical realism and as fantasy. If you're the kind of narrative designer who enjoys the discipline of an established world — think staff writer on a show with a strong showrunner — there's years of meaningful work here. If blank-canvas is what feeds you, this honestly isn't the right fit, and I'd rather say so now.

The project is real and organized: playable-in-editor, source-controlled, maintained lore and tech bibles, formal scoped handoffs. Passion/hobby collaboration at present, full credit, terms discussed openly.

If writing inside a big, strange, carefully built world sounds appealing, add me on Discord: **theaberrantraven** (new account — easier if you add me) and I'll show you the world properly.

Hi — your range caught my attention, because my project is essentially your portfolio's stated interests fused into one game.

I'm Brandon, founder of The Aberrant Raven, building **Contentment** in **Unreal Engine 5.7** — a narrative adventure split across two coupled worlds. The wake world is grounded near-future: an ICU nurse practitioner in a society fracturing around a new drug — clinics, city districts, quiet domestic spaces. The dream world is full fantasy: a JRPG layer with a six-character party, strange biomes, and creature design that runs from whimsical to genuinely unsettling. Character and creature concept work is exactly what the dream world needs — the wake world is cast, but the dream world's inhabitants are still waiting for someone to give them faces.

The project is real and organized, not an idea thread: playable-in-editor, source-controlled, with a maintained design bible — so concept work you do actually flows into a game being built, and eventually into key art for a Steam page, which is strong portfolio material for someone finishing their studies.

Terms honestly: passion/hobby collaboration at present, full credit, everything discussed openly up front — and scoped pieces, not vague open-ended asks.

If the two-world premise interests you, add me on Discord: **theaberrantraven** (my account's new, so it's easier if you add me) — I'll show you the worlds and a few characters that need concepting, and you can judge whether the idea earns your time.

Hi Tobias — fully aware I'm replying to a post from a few years back, so feel free to ignore this if you've long since moved on. But on the chance you're still doing Unreal collabs, this seemed worth a shot.

I'm Brandon, founder of The Aberrant Raven, building **Contentment** in **UE 5.7** — a narrative two-world adventure: a near-future medical drama in the wake world, a full turn-based JRPG layer in the dream world, mechanically coupled. Your Blueprint focus and interest in AI/Behaviour Trees is a direct fit — the combat system (ATP-gauge turn-based, six-character party) is fully designed and entering implementation, and enemy AI is on the near horizon.

The project is real and organized: playable-in-editor, Git source control, and a maintained tech bible with a formal scoped-handoff process. Passion/hobby collaboration, credited, terms discussed openly.

If you're still active and curious, add me on Discord: **theaberrantraven**. If not — no worries at all, and best of luck with whatever you're building now.

Hey Blohnk — your UE background caught my eye, so pitching you directly here since I couldn't reach you on Discord (friend request sent).

I'm Brandon, founder of The Aberrant Raven, building **Contentment** — a narrative two-world adventure in **Unreal Engine 5.7**. The wake world is a near-future medical drama following an ICU nurse practitioner as a new drug fractures society; the dream world is a full turn-based JRPG layer (ATP-gauge combat, six-character skill trees, social-deduction encounters), mechanically coupled to the wake world.

It's a real, organized project, not an idea post: playable-in-editor with live quest/task systems, rebuilt third-person camera architecture, Git source control on an 855-file baseline, and a maintained tech bible with a formal scoped-handoff process — every task comes documented and verifiable. The combat system is fully designed and entering implementation now, which is exactly where a UE4/5 engineer with your experience would land.

No pressure toward a big commitment — if you're heads-down on Brackeys this month, happy to talk after the jam. Passion/hobby collaboration at present, full credit, terms discussed openly up front.

If you're interested, add me on Discord: **theaberrantraven** (I just made and account and sent you a friend request) — I'll walk you through the build there.

Hi Jordi — your post reads like exactly the kind of collaborator I've been hoping to find, so let me pitch you the project honestly.

I'm Brandon, founder of The Aberrant Raven, a small indie studio building **Contentment** — a narrative two-world adventure game in **Unreal Engine 5.7**. The wake world is a near-future medical drama following a nurse practitioner in an ICU as a new drug fractures society; the dream world is a full JRPG layer with turn-based combat (ATP gauge system, skill trees for a six-member party, social-deduction puzzle encounters). The two worlds are mechanically coupled — what happens in one bleeds into the other. Six chapters, story-first, systems-heavy.

Where it actually stands (since you'll rightly want proof this is real): playable-in-editor with live quest/task systems, a rebuilt third-person camera system, custom input contexts, Git source control on an 855-file baseline, and a maintained technical design bible with a formal scoped-handoff protocol for contributors. The full battle system is designed and documented, entering implementation now. We're on a two-year plan targeting a demo at Steam Next Fest, and the timeline is deliberately calibrated so no collaborator's hours are load-bearing — you'd be accelerating, never carrying.

Given your RPG-dynamics background and that you enjoy building tools to smooth game creation, there's a lot here that would fit: combat implementation, data-driven task/quest tooling, and editor utilities are all live workstreams.

This is a passion/hobby collaboration at present — credited, with terms discussed openly and honestly up front. If that sounds interesting, add me on Discord: **theaberrantraven** — happy to show you the project in detail there.

Either way, good luck with the search — your post was one of the most substantive on this board.