Hello everyone! We hope everyone is staying safe in this turbulent time and staying home. Despite what is going on, Overmare Studios continues to work diligently on the next wave of Ashes of Equestria. It will be a busy time for us. We want to provide you with our best, but we need all the help we can get.

We'd like to again highlight that we're still open to recruiting new developers. If you think you have the time, drive, and skills needed to help us build Ashes of Equestria, head over to our application page, where you'll find full information for all relevant departments. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us on our public Discord server. It can be accessed through the invitation in this link.

Still interested? Then keep reading! You'll find details on what every department is looking for below.

3D Team

The 3D Department is looking for animators, modellers, and texture artists.

Requirements for Animators

Animators create all the physical animations in the movements of 3D characters, objects, items, and creatures. An animator’s creative freedom is sometimes very expansive, but other times very restricted. They must know the following:

How to use a 3D modeling program like Maya, Blender, or any similar programs

How to rig given models (e.g., organic and mechanical; everything from weapons, to environment models, to NPCs)

How to create an IK rig for creatures and other complex models

How to create naturalistic skeletal animations based on given concepts and instructions

How to export animations with models as a single FBX

The focus for animators this ongoing wave will be fleshing out interactions and movements in ponies. This includes idle animations, environmental interactions, interactions between other ponies and creatures, and facial expressions.

Requirements for Modellers and Texture Artists

Modellers are tasked with creating all 3D models. Texture artists are tasked with adding visual detail to all of those models. Not all modellers must be texture artists, nor must all texture artists be modellers, but the requirements for each are largely the same. Applicants do not have to know all of these things, but we prefer if they can:

Make detailed, but optimized, low-poly models

Create semi-realistic textures

Bake normal maps using high-poly models (i.e., sculpted or otherwise modeled)

Create metallic and roughness maps

Knowing how to make organic models is a huge plus, but not required. There is already a hefty amount of industrial content in the project.

The programs and tools you choose do not matter. If you can export models in FBX format and textures in PNG, you have nothing to worry about. Just make sure the quality checks out on both. Using programs like Substance Designer or Substance Painter is encouraged, but making textures manually by painting them yourself is also allowed.

2D Team

We are actively looking for artists who know how to design and draw a variety of entities, man-made objects, or organic objects, in a clearly readable style. The ability to use multiple art styles is a plus.

You should have a firm grasp of perspective, detailing, color, and the use of a digital art program (e.g., Photoshop, Clip Studio, or SAI). Traditional artists must own a scanner.

Main Goals as an Artist

As artists within 2D, our jobs are to create the visual look and tone of the world, entities, and objects in Ashes of Equestria. Our work is listed as follows:

Concepts

Object Concepts

Architecture

Landscape Concepts

NPC Profiles

Poster/Billboards/Iconography

Advertisements

Propaganda

Urban Destruction (Graffiti)

Icons/Logos

Branding

Concept Work

Our main bulk of work, concepting, is how we design the look and feel of everything. Think weapons, buildings, or even specific characters. They’re like basic blueprints to create models for the game, usually with a lot of perspectives to showcase the relevant features. And we’ll collaborate with the Design Team to make sure it’s all functional for 3D.



Certain items only require a Style Guide (i.e., a design to be left to 3D’s interpretation). This usually applies for landscape or character profiles, which showcase the looks of a place or character.



Just like with 3D, 2D's current focus is Ponyville. Much of our work right now will be architecture, signs, and objects needed to fill the town.

Poster/Billboards/Iconography

Not everything we concept is handled by 3D. We also do billboards, advertisements, propaganda posters, and more! We’ll make almost anything to flesh out Equestria. Even your local post office sign!

These elements create a real, living world of the wastelands. With these assignments, traditional painting methods or vector work helps. So too will knowledge of various art styles. Understanding the real counterparts of art forms in the context of their time periods helps define the tone and themes we’re creating.

Script Team

It is often said that RPG's live and die upon their stories. Video game writing is a unique, pioneer field ripe with constant discovery. At our current stage of development, it could be argued our writers have Overmare's most important jobs.

Script members are charged with writing many things, primarily the storylines and objectives of our quests. Other tasks include character dialogue for all NPC's and companions, any scripted cutscenes or other scripted game events, banter and vocal stabs spoken by enemies or NPCs, and general plot or quest descriptions. Quests will be formally recorded in dedicated "Quest Documents" in their final stage of development, so there will also be a marginal degree of technical writing.

It is often the writers with the greatest potential who house the greatest doubts. Any and all should apply.

Required Skills & Traits:

Good storytelling ability, plain and simple. Because writing cannot be put into a box, this is hard to define. But rest assured, for we are prepared to properly evaluate any submitted pieces. (We prefer strong dialogue skills in particular.)

Native-level fluency of English, even if you are not a native speaker.

Fair understanding of the Fallout and Fallout: Equestria universes.

An intuitive feel for grammar and spelling. In-depth knowledge of grammar is largely a plus, but not a necessity.

A skill for honestly and healthily meditating on criticism, particularly with one's writing.

An open mind and easy ability to admit when one is incorrect.

Good group work skills and online social skills.

Responsiveness to online messages.

An ability to get work done effectively and efficiently when necessary.

Optional Skills & Traits:

Literature analysis.

Grammarian-level grammar knowledge (again, small, but helpful.)

A philosophical mind which naturally questions others, the self, and the world; good critical thinking skills.

A heavy interest in an academic area such as history, sociology, chemistry, physics, math, philosophy, or engineering.

Any interest in languages, even if it is so simple as the way they sound.

Talent for game design or narrative design.

General computer skills and a willingness to add to them. (You’d learn simple programs and maybe some ultra basic programming.)

Knowledge of poetry or similar forms of interpretative, short works.

Do not be deterred by any of our criteria.

Writers come in various shapes and sorts. Much like the craft itself, they cannot be put into a box. We again encourage all to apply. Overmare is extremely selective of the writers it chooses because game writing is better done with a few writers than a lot, as is seen by the developers of games like Fallout: New Vegas. We can only accept so many to the Script Team.

But again, do not be deterred. Apply regardless of your skill level. We'd love to see anyone's work.

Design Team

Do you like random, floating objects? Confusingly empty spaces? Stairs more translucent than windows?

Neither do we. None of these things belong in our game.

If you agree, you might do well to join our Design Team. You’d tackle problems like these almost daily.

As a designer, you will be asked to:

Flesh out new areas by adding fitting objects or buildings

Decorate the map with small, but impactful details

Determine the placement of enemies and items

Adjust terrain

Import 3D assets into Unity

Fix mistakes (e.g. floating objects, translucent stairs, etc.)

Our designers must already have some experience with game development and know how to use Unity. They need to have a lot of time on their hands and an eye for detail. They need to be people who ask questions, but can work independently.

If you’re lacking in skills, but are driven to devote yourself to this work and learn, please apply. We’re willing to teach if you’re willing to use what you’ve been taught.

Quality Assurance Team

Quality Assurance is a very vital part of the project. Without it, we’d have regressions. We’d be moving backwards instead of forwards. It is therefore super important to have a large and active team of QA members who are ready on a weekly basis to sniff out any mistakes.

As a QA member it is your responsibility to ensure we don’t end up like another Bethesda game littered with bugs. When we’re ready to release a wave, issues need to either be fixed or at least reported.

As a QA member you not only need to find and report bugs but also test any change made to the game and make sure they’ve been done properly.



To some QA may seem like a small way to help out if you’re lacking in other skill departments but QA truly towers above every other department and needs to be ready to say: “No! That’s not good enough. Do it again.”

QA needs to critically analyse changes made to the game and creatively try to break them. If you can’t break it with a simple hammer, get a sledgehammer!

QA members need to:

-Test new builds and make sure nothing got horribly broken

-Test completed tasks and make sure they are working properly

-Find bugs and create tasks to fix them

-Provide feedback on any identified issues such as balance, look and feel of the game

-Be able to read and understand written instructions



Any kind of prior QA experience is welcomed but not required. QA members need to be able to spend time on the project on a weekly basis.

SFX Team

These three little letters carry a lot of weight. The 'nuts and bolts' of the wasteland's immersion lies in its soundscape. This includes everything from creature noises to teapot collisions, dialogue stabs, to the wind whipping through the wasteland.

The role of an SFX member could include (dependent on the specific applicant):

Editing voice and dialogue assets

Field recording

Sound effect creation

Implementation with FMOD Studio

Engine implementation with Unity, C# and FMOD Studio

Must-haves for an SFX member:

Ability to create multiple revisions of an asset from critiques and feedback

Passion and/or talent for sound and audio for video games

Access to a DAW, and be competent in the chosen tool

Nice things for an applicant to have:

Experience in audio middleware (especially FMOD)

Experience in making videos games (doesn’t have to be audio related)

Experience in audio for video games

Audio related experience outside of video games

To apply, an applicant must have a portfolio, showreel, or links to the appropriate media that demonstrates their ability. Direct any questions to James Kelly (James#2301) via Discord.

Final Notes

Forum Removal

The forums have been removed because we have nobody to moderate them.

Discord

Our Discord community server continues to grow. It's now the best place to discuss Ashes of Equestria. We post regular updates and announcements there, so if you want to stay informed or chat with fellow fans, please come join it!

Twitter

Do you prefer the word from the bird? We also post updates and announcements on Twitter! (And also bad memes.) Come follow us by clicking here!

Facebook

Yep, we have a Facebook page too. If you prefer to follow us there, you can!

VK

We also want to let you know Overmare is also on VK so if you want to be kept up to date there, Click here!



























