itch.io

Okay, so right off the bat, we're not a team just starting out; we've been working for a while, even through the pandemic, and have accomplished quite a lot. Hopefully, the video below will show you that this isn't just an idea on paper; this is an active team who are actually making a game:

The elevator pitch is: The Secret of NIMH meets Hollow Knight by way of Lovecraft.

The slightly longer explanation is that we're making a two-level demo for a metroidvania style game, in which the player plays as "Furrow," a squirrel coming out of hibernation to find that something terrible has happened to their village, and they must go into--and under--the mountains beyond to uncover the mystery and put an end to a growing darkness which as awakened there.

We're starting with a two-level demo, just two 'zones' with a handful of enemy types and a boss. This demo can--at minimum--serve as a portfolio piece for everyone involved, and is intended to be used to generate interest in a full-length game.

We already have a nearly-full team, from design and coding to music and sound effects, to character animation. What we're missing is an environmental artist; someone to create 2D static layer backgrounds and foregrounds to bring the 'rooms' of the demo to life. We have a process all worked out for it to make it as straightforward as possible, and just need someone active who can help develop the look and style of the environments, and create the assets themselves.

This is a volunteer project for everyone involved, which is part of the reason we're only doing a demo to start with; to limit the level of volunteer commitment anyone has to make. We're also obviously not requiring a 'full-time' work schedule, but we do need someone who is active and engaged, and can work at a steady pace.

If you're interested, we'd love to hear from you, and see any prior work you have! You can contact us by email at RoanArts@gmail.com, or by adding Roan Arts#5750 on Discord!

Thanks so much for your time, and stay safe!

Thanks so much to everyone who applied for the Environmental Artist position! It's been filled on a tentative basis for now, though other candidates will be kept on-hand!

Hey! That's great to hear! There's not a "test" per se, but it helps if there's a way to get an idea of your skill, experience, and style. The best way to do that is if you have a portfolio or examples of your prior work that we can take a look at. If you'd like, feel free to get in touch with me on Discord (Roan Arts#5750) and we can discuss more!

Thanks so much to everyone who applied for the Sound FX Designer position! It's been filled on a tentative basis for now, though other candidates will be kept on-hand if it doesn't work out. We're still looking for an Environmental Artist!

Sent you a friend request on Discord! Looking forward to talking with you!

Hi, Rachel! I'm glad you're interested in joining the team! Do you have a portfolio, or prior work I could take a look at?

Hi there! My name's James and I'm an indie game designer and developer. For the last handful of months, I've been working with a great small team of people building a prototype / demo for a metroidvania-style platformer we've been calling "Furrow." Today, I'm here looking to add to our team--but first, let me show you where we are so far with a short run-through of the current development build, so you can see up front that this isn't just an idea on paper; we're actively working on this.

The elevator pitch for the game is simple:

The Secret Of NIMH meets Hollow Knight by way of Lovecraft.

The expanded pitch for the story is:

During the winter, while Furrow the squirrel hibernated, something awoke in the mountains near their small village of Bough’s End. Now, coming out of hibernation in the final days before spring, Furrow discovers that rather than preparing for the coming change of seasons, Bough’s End is abandoned, and all of the creatures who lived there have vanished into the mountains or become terrible monsters. Following a trail of clues which point to a shared nightmare and a spreading sickness of the spirit, it is up to Furrow to venture into the mountains, delving into lost ruins and forgotten places, and face a nameless evil--uncovering the secrets of the distant past, and witnessing an entire world beyond their own.

In essence, what we're looking to do is put together a short (about a half hour or less) prototype / demo covering the opening of what would be the full game, to use for building interest and potentially funding (as well as being a portfolio piece for everyone involved). If, once that's complete, the team decides to stick together and continue development, that's outstanding and we'll transition into a full and more formal development cycle of the game. So far, we have a fantastic character animator and a wonderful composer, and I'm handling the narrative, game design, and programming, so many of the most vital skill sets are covered. However, we're still lacking one or two key positions to help bring this fully to life, and hoping to find people interested in joining our team to fill them.

The positions we need are:

Environmental Artist
While character animation is covered, we're looking for a dedicated environmental artist to create the art for rooms, levels, props, and backgrounds. The style we're going for is a traditional hand-drawn 2D illustration style, using layering and parallax scrolling to develop a sense of depth and place. There is aimed to be as little animation involved in the environmental art itself as possible, so while animation experience is helpful, it's not strictly necessary. In essence, we're aiming for a similar thing to Hollow Knight; each room drawn onto multiple overlapping layers, like this: https://i.imgur.com/0fADPGb.mp4

Sound FX Designer
Music and composition is handled already, but at the moment we're using free sound effects and it would be of great help to have someone on the team who can create sound assets tailored to what the game needs. This would involve everything from interface sounds, to basic player sounds (footsteps, sword swinging, etc), to enemy sounds and ambient environmental tracks to play alongside (or even in place of) the music.

We're certainly not asking for anything resembling full-time work, here; especially not for the creation of a prototype / demo like this, and especially not with this all being on a volunteer / rev-share basis for the time being. We currently coordinate with each other over Discord on a daily to weekly basis, with updates on our individual progress, task assignments, discussion, and feedback. We're really looking for a team partnership, with everyone being engaged and having a say in things.

I know this is a long post, and I appreciate you taking the time to read through it, and for any interest you might have in helping out. If you're interested in joining the team, while you can of course reply to this post, the most effective ways to reach out are to either email me at RoanArts@gmail.com, or add me on Discord at Roan Arts#5750. As part of saying hello, I'd love to see your portfolio or prior work!

Thanks for your time! I look forward to hearing from you!

The artist position is now filled, too!

Hi there! I'd definitely be down to talk! Give me a shout/add me on Discord, when you get the chance! I'm a little burnt out today from Extra Life yesterday, but I'd love to have a discussion in the next day or two. Thanks!

Hey, awesome! I'm away from my computer at the moment, but I'll be checking it out and getting in touch!

Looks like we've got our first member, Alecxs, joining as the composer / sound designer! The post has been updated.

Still very much looking for an artist as our priority for going forward and developing the visual style for the demo!

Hey, thank you! I really like your music as well! I'd love to talk more, would you mind tossing me a message or friend request on Discord when you get the chance? Roan Arts#5750

First things first: I have something playable to hopefully show that this won't be a waste of your time. I know the post below is long, but stick around to the end--or just skip down there first.

Hi there! My name's James and I'm an indie game designer and developer. I started out a few years ago in physical games and fan games, made a few self-published board and card games, and even ran a very small (~$3,000) but successful Kickstarter for one of them a while back. For the last handful of years, I've been working with volunteer game dev teams, teaching myself coding, doing game jams, and making small game prototypes for practice, in order to start getting into making indie video games.

And that's where things are now. I'm looking to put together a small team to create a prototype / demo for a 2D platformer Metroidvania style game. Just a handful of rooms and levels, enough to convey the feel and style of the game to a player, and tease the story behind it. Call it a playable teaser. I don't want to ask people to commit to a complete development cycle until we can see if the game is fun and compelling, and have something we can put in people's hands to play and generate interest. From there, we'd discuss whether or not to move forward into full-on development as a team.

The elevator pitch for the game concept is simple:

The Secret Of NIMH meets Hollow Knight by way of Lovecraft.

The expanded 'trailer' pitch for the story is:

During the winter, while Furrow the squirrel and their pet firefly Glint hibernated, something awoke in the mountains near their small village of Bough’s End. Now, awakening in the final days before spring, Furrow discovers that rather than preparing for the coming change of seasons, Bough’s End is abandoned, and all of the creatures who lived there have vanished into the mountains. Following a trail of clues which point to a shared nightmare and a spreading sickness of the spirit, it is up to Furrow to venture into the mountains, delving into lost ruins and forgotten places, and save the creatures of Bough’s End from a nameless evil--uncovering the secrets of the distant past, and witnessing an entire world beyond their own.

So, what am I looking for in terms of a team? Ideally, I'd like to bring on four people; an artist, a sound designer, a narrative designer, and a level designer. I would be handling coding and overall mechanical design.

Artist
I'm looking for an artist to help develop the visual style and aesthetic feel of the game. The concept I have in my head is a vaguely Secret of NIMH style, in a Hollow Knight type execution when it comes to how the assets are implemented and used. But I'm not an artist myself, so you're definitely going to know better than I am what works and what doesn't.

Sound Designer
Simply put, I'm looking for someone to design sound effects, ambiance, and music. Someone who can work closely with the artist to make the art and sound work cohesively, with the music serving to reinforce the mood of environments and situations. I have in mind a fairly subtle use of music, with a focus on ambiance, but that's something to discuss between us.

Narrative Designer (Optional)
The narrative designer's job would be, essentially, to help develop the story and design how it plays out from beat to beat, write text for dialogue / interactions and so on, and aid in the process of contextualizing gameplay mechanics in a way which doesn't leave them divorced from the story.

Level Designer (Optional)
While I plan to handle the programming and overall mechanical design, I'd like to have a level designer dedicated to taking those mechanics and using them to create environments which are fun and interesting for the player to traverse, working closely with the other team members to gel things into a cohesive whole.

I'm certainly not asking for anything resembling full-time work, here; especially not for the creation of a prototype / demo like this, and especially not with this all being on a volunteer / rev-share basis for the time being. I'd like us to work out a basic schedule, say with a weekly Discord meeting to update where we are and assign tasks and deadlines going forward. I'm really looking for a team partnership, with everyone having a say in things; I have no interest in being a dictator or treating people like employees.

Now, I promised at the beginning that I had something playable; I've been working for a little while on a movement demo to get feedback from friends and playtesters about the movement mechanics I have in mind, and currently it's on the third iteration. Feel free to play around with it and try things out. You'll need an Xbox-compatible PC gamepad.

Download the third movement demo here.

I know this is a long post, and I appreciate you taking the time to read through it, and for any interest you might have in helping out. If you're interested in joining the team, the best ways to reach out are to either email me at RoanArts@gmail.com, or catch me on Discord at Roan Arts#5750. As part of saying hello, I'd love to see any portfolio or prior work you've done.

Thanks for your time! I look forward to hearing from you.