Chef d'équipe

Overview Lead Level Artist role at Highdive for Blood Message, a game set in historical China with a realistic visual style and authentic traditional combat gameplay. The project uses Unreal Engine 5 and is co-developed between Montreal and our main studio in China. The position is open to candidates in Montreal or Toronto. Responsibilities Artistic Leadership and Vision: Collaborate with the Art Director to define and implement the artistic direction for game levels, ensuring environments are visually striking, authentic to historical China, and balanced with gameplay functionality. Contribute innovative ideas to shape the visual style, drawing inspiration from Chinese history, culture, films, and art. Research and Cultural Authenticity: Conduct research into historical Chinese geography, architecture, and cultural elements to ensure authenticity in level design. Use reference materials to guide artistic license while maintaining a unique and engaging aesthetic. Environment Production: Oversee end-to-end production pipeline for level art, from concept to final polish, creating lush, pixel-perfect levels that support Blood Message's realistic visual style. Ensure environments support exploration, storytelling, and gameplay mechanics like traditional combat and traversal. Narrative-Driven Design: Work with Level Designers, narrative teams, and the Art Director to craft environments that support storytelling through details, lighting, composition, and contrast, conveying emotional and narrative depth aligned with the game's themes. Team Leadership and Mentorship: Lead and mentor a team of level artists, providing constructive feedback, setting quality standards, and fostering a collaborative environment. Act as a bridge between the Art Director and the team to maintain visual consistency, manage workloads, and meet project milestones. Pipeline and Workflow Development: Establish and maintain efficient art pipelines and workflows for level creation, optimization, and integration into Unreal Engine 5. Contribute innovative ideas to streamline processes and ensure seamless collaboration with the China-based studio. Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Foster communication and collaboration with Level Designers, programmers, animators, and QA teams to balance gameplay mechanics and visual storytelling. Participate in production meetings to identify, prioritize, and distribute tasks, ensuring a smooth workflow and alignment with the China studio's objectives. Problem-Solving and Innovation: Troubleshoot artistic and technical challenges, devising creative solutions to maintain visual excellence and performance. Stay updated on industry trends and Unreal Engine 5 advancements to incorporate cutting-edge techniques. Communication with China Studio: Provide regular progress updates and maintain effective communication with the China-based headquarters to ensure alignment on artistic vision, cultural authenticity, and project milestones. Qualifications Experience: 5+ years in a Lead Level Artist or similar role, with a proven track record of delivering high-quality levels for AAA titles. 8+ years of overall game development experience is a plus, especially in historical or culturally specific settings. Technical Skills: Proficiency in 3D software (e.g., Blender, 3ds Max, ZBrush) and game engines (Unreal Engine 5, Unity). Strong understanding of level design principles, environmental storytelling, gameplay flow optimization, and asset optimization for performance across platforms. Expertise in lighting, color theory, composition, and technical constraints like memory and frame rate optimization. Artistic Skills: Exceptional artistic vision with a keen eye for composition, lighting, and color theory, capable of creating immersive, culturally authentic environments that balance realism and gameplay needs. Leadership: Proven leadership and mentorship skills, with experience managing teams, providing feedback, and maintaining schedules. Ability to act as a bridge between the Art Director and the team, fostering collaboration and communication. Collaboration: Strong verbal and written communication skills to work effectively with cross-disciplinary teams and the China-based studio, ensuring alignment on artistic and technical goals. Portfolio: A robust portfolio showcasing diverse, high-quality level designs and environments, demonstrating expertise in realistic visual styles, environmental storytelling, and composition. Cultural Knowledge: Familiarity with Chinese history, culture, or aesthetics is highly desirable to ensure authenticity in Blood Message. Agile Understanding: Strong understanding of Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum, to manage iterative art pipelines and facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. Participate in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives to align level art with project milestones. Why Highdive We are Highdive, a NetEase Games ThunderFire development studio from Montreal. Bond by no borders, we create games that let us dive into pure emotions, together. Benefits Remote or office-based work options Insurance coverage and telemedicine from day one Transportation and meal allowance Referral bonus RRSP with employer contribution Additional Details Seniority level: Mid-Senior level Employment type: Full-time Job function: Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology Industries: Computer Games #J-18808-Ljbffr