BLUE CASTLE GAMES (www.bluecastlegames.com) is a full-service, multi-project and multi-platform 3rd party developer located in Vancouver, Canada. Our studio was formed in 2005, fulfilling the desire to start a company where creativity, experience and hard work come together to create outstanding games. Today Blue Castle Games is a 170-person studio and in its short tenure, has developed and shipped The BIGS (published by 2K Sports in June 2007) on PS3, 360, PS2, PSP and Wii and MLB Front Office Manager (published by 2K Sports in January 2009) on PS3, 360 and PC. Currently in development and just announced is our AAA Action project, Dead Rising 2, which will be published by Capcom and released on multiple platforms and The BIGS 2, which will be published by 2K Sports and released on five platforms.
Blue Castle Games is seeking an experienced video game environment artist to work on an unannounced action title and to help us grow for the future. You have either lead a team on a AAA title or have significant senior artist experience and the potential to grow into a leadership role.
At Blue Castle Games you join an existing team to learn our processes in preparation for a lead role on future titles. You oversee the work of a team of environment artists and are responsible for maintaining the aesthetic and technical quality bar for the environment art team.
Your objectives include mentoring and leading a group of talented artists, communicating directly to the Art Director, senior and executive staff and delivering high quality content on time.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Oversees the work of a team of Environment Artists on a daily basis, effectively communicating art direction, and delivering constructive feedback to work in progress. - Make a significant direct contribution to the creation and delivery of art assets (modeling, texturing, lighting). - Works with the Art Director to establish the aesthetic and technical standards for environment art. - Resolves timeline and artistic discrepancies promptly and professionally with the Art - Director and the Production team. - Develops and escalates ongoing feedback and debugging for improvements of process and tools. - Quickly communicates pipeline issues and solutions, and technical guidelines for environment art creation. - Manages, mentors and coaches staff, including writing and delivering performance evaluations for all direct reports. - Leads by example; communicates clear expectations for quality of work, productivity, communication and professionalism to the team. - Maintains and communicates a strong knowledge of innovative game production technologies and the capabilities/limitations of these technologies as they relate to the project goals.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 5+ years previous experience as a Senior Environment Artist within gaming or related industry. - Excellent understanding of the production and development cycle and experience in cross-platform development. - Advanced working and technical knowledge of 3D Max. - Advanced knowledge of 2D photo manipulation and painting software (i.e. Photoshop). - Experience in leading a team of artists and working with project managers/producers. - Diplomatic and inspirational communicator, open to feedback and constructive evaluation. - Seasoned listening skills. - Team player with a positive attitude and influence on others. - Driven and motivated to be the best. - Degree/diploma/certificate or demonstrated skills in art discipline - Genuine enthusiasm and interest in playing and creating video games.
We thank all applicants for applying, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
DEMO REEL REQUIRED: Which must include a detailed breakdown your responsibilities and involvement on each project and why you made the visual choices/decisions you did. Your work should provide samples of solid geometry, texture creation and lighting ability with entire environments that you have created - not just props. This includes providing wireframes of your models and images of your texture wraps.
Online reels are preferred; however, CD or DVD formatted reels can be forwarded to: Blue Castle Games, Inc. - #300 - 4401 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5C 6G9
BLUE CASTLE GAMES (www.bluecastlegames.com) is a full-service, multi-project and multi-platform 3rd party developer located in Vancouver, Canada. The studio was formed in 2005, fulfilling the desire to start a company where creativity, experience and hard work come together to create outstanding games. We are currently a 160 plus-person studio which has more than doubled in the past year. In its short tenure, Blue Castle has already developed and shipped The BIGS (published by 2K Sports in June 2007) on PS3, 360, PS2, PSP and Wii. We are well underway on three new projects - an unannounced Action title and two Sports titles one of which was just announced - MLB Front Office Manager to be released on three platforms.
