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Level Artist
4 years ago
ABOUT GHOST STORY GAMES
Ghost Story Games (formerly known as Irrational Games) is a self-publishing game studio owned by Take-Two Interactive. Our mission is simple: to create immersive, story-driven video games for people who love games that ask something of them.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
We are seeking a highly experienced and talented level artist to supplement our team. In this role, you are directly responsible for crafting and creating our worlds by laying out levels, composing environments using asset placement, terrain sculpting, and painting. You will need to combine a strong aesthetic sense in creating visually interesting spaces with a solid understanding of how game-play is affected by level art. You will also need to possess the technical skills to ensure that your levels work within the constraints of the game technology.
WHAT WE OFFER
- The opportunity to work on a creatively ambitious project in the immersive sim genre.
- A world-class team of less than 40 people. We are committed to making games that we judge by quality, not arbitrary timeliness. We are proud to be home to some of the most talented, smartest, nicest and hardest-working colleagues. We make mistakes sometimes, but we help each other by finding mistakes early and depending on each other to fix them quickly.
- Open Communication: Our team members are welcome to join any meeting, and we have a mostly flat structure. Do you have a question or a concern? Just walk up (or Slack) anyone and ask! Team-based decision making is important to us, regardless of your position – every opinion counts and is considered.
- Flexible Hours: We understand that sometimes people need to juggle work and family life, so we have flexible work hours and a support structure that allows people to work from home if needed. Every Friday is a default WFH day for us, so no meetings planned that day!
- The Space: We love our studio space and all the comfortable perks that come with it, such as a fully stocked kitchen (drinks, fruit, snacks, breakfast food), plenty of shops, restaurants, services and urgent care within walking distance, a game room, a quiet room, outdoor deck, free parking, public transportation connections including the Amtrak train into Boston + NY and maybe, just maybe, we have a bathysphere whiskey bar.
- Free Merchandise: Every new employee is welcomed with an onboarding swag package to make sure they blend right in. Additionally, each of our team members can expect to receive a new merchandise item every time one goes live in our fan store. For fans of other Take-Two studios, there is a discounted employee store where you can find the latest games and swag from our sister studios.
- On-Site Support: Our world-class IT and Operations teams make sure that you get what you need to do what you do best. They keep us working, fed, hydrated and happy. Full team-catered lunches for new employee welcomes or significant team meetings? Receiving your online shopping orders? Getting you an aspirin when needed? They have your back!
Great Place to Work ® has certified our workplace culture. At Ghost Story Games, 100 percent of employees say their workplace is great.
RESPONSIBILITIES
We are a small team without the specialists you might find at a larger studio. You will be expected to own the levels you create, from first block outs to final polish and optimization.
- Lay out, build, and light levels, from initial block-out to final polish, in Unreal 4.
- Tell deep and meaningful stories within the environment.
- Work with the art team to ensure artistic unity across the entire project.
- Work with the design team to make gameplay and levels function harmoniously.
- Excel at maintaining consistent aesthetic and technical quality in all environments.
- Prototype rough level layouts quickly and efficiently.
- Set up and implement level streaming.
Optimize levels for performance and memory.
QUALIFICATIONS
- 5+ years of experience in the game industry.
- Credit on at least one highly rated (85+) game title, or a title that we love anyway.
- Experience with modular level construction and lighting/atmosphere.
- Unreal Engine 4 experience, including terrain/landscape editing.
- Advanced understanding of physically based shading materials and lighting.
- Able to respond elegantly to difficult creative changes, often late in the process.
- Quickly learn and adapt to art and production pipelines.
- Must be eligible to work in the U.S.
- Experience with first-person shooters and modular building techniques.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Strong foundational skills, including composition, design, and color theory.
- Self-motivated toward solving creative problems and able to work well independently.
- Able to work well under pressure and with deadlines.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
- Understanding of source control via Perforce or equivalent.
- Traditional art skills (figure drawing, landscape, animals, painting, composition, perspective, etc.) a plus.
- Understanding of procedural art systems in games.
- Experience working with outsourcing a plus.
- Architectural knowledge.
WHEN APPLYING FOR THIS POSITION
Please have played or at least be familiar with our legacy games System Shock 2 , BioShock , and BioShock Infinite . View this video from Ken Levine’s 2014 GDC talk, which explains on a high level some aspects of the game we’re working on.
Along with your resume, please provide a portfolio showcasing your most recent work.
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