The Mammoth Needs You!
Indie Games Studio seeks C# Programmer for collaboration
Electric Mammoth Studios is a start-up indie games studio located in Melbourne. The small, passionate and talented team currently consists of five members and has all areas of 3D modelling, rigging, animating, 2D art, game design, marketing and project management covered. At present we are working remotely with a programmer based in Queensland and are around two months away from finishing and launching our first game.
What we are looking for is a Melbourne-based programmer to join our team. Using our remote contractor is fine; however, at Electric Mammoth we believe that there is no substitute for working together as a team in the same physical space. It allows for immediate sharing and consultation (both technical and artistic) and creates a more tangible sense of collaborative energy and achievement. At the moment the team meets once a week (on Sundays) and spends a full day working together. Our Sunday studio space is fully equipped with four fast workstations. We also work independently during the week but are in constant contact through Skype, Gmail etc.
We are using the Unity3D game engine and working on a fairly simple but very fun and polished game that will be launched initially as a browser game before being ported to mobile platforms and beyond. The game has an embedded capacity for revenue-raising through micro-transactions and the in-game economy.
At present the team is working on a profit-share basis and while this collaborative structure might raise inherent (and justified) concerns for you, our potential collaborator; there are some things to consider that may alleviate those concerns:
• The profit share agreement is legally binding with documentation drawn up and validated by a business accountant and a lawyer. There is no potential for getting ‘screwed over’ at Electric Mammoth.
• This is not a ‘profit’ sharing arrangement; it is a ‘revenue’ sharing arrangement. Every dollar that the game makes gets shared according to pre-set percentages. The studio founder (me) cannot, by law, claim that due to various expenses, the game’s PROFIT is far less than the game’s overall REVENUE.
• One common concern held by people entering this kind of collaborative arrangement is that the project will never see completion and that a lot of time and effort will have been invested for nothing. This game will be completed and released – end of story. A massive investment of time, energy and money has already gone into its creation and the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together as the production process enters the last couple of months. All team members are 100% committed to the project and you will be joining a passionate, dedicated team.
• Incidentals are covered. EMS will pay for all your travel expenses and provide all the delicious, nutritious food and drinks you can handle during a Sunday session (seriously – the lunches we have are awesome).
• You will be working with a fantastic group of people who share your passion for game development. It is a great opportunity to learn, network and have fun.
• You will be joining a team that is truly collaborative. Your ideas and opinions will be valued and all major decisions (even those concerning the budget expenditure) are made with genuine consultation with the team.
This post is already far too long so I will stop there.
Please get in touch if you have any interest in joining our team or if there are any questions you would like to ask. If you could also tell us a little bit about yourself and your programming experience that would be great.
Tim