Forge Environment Artist

Discussion in 'Halo and Forge Discussion' started by ForgeHub, Nov 13, 2015.

By ForgeHub on Nov 13, 2015 at 9:03 PM
  1. ForgeHub

    ForgeHub The heart of the Forge community
    Administrator Senior Member

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    343 INDUSTRIES IS LOOKING FOR A FORGE ENVIRONMENT ARTIST
    343 Industries - Microsoft — Kirkland, WA, United States of America — Job Type: Permanent — Posted: 30 October 2015


    Job Description

    343 Industries has one single mission: Build great HALO experiences. 343 Industries, part of Microsoft Studios, is home to the game industries top talent and we are dedicated to the HALO universe. We build the stories, the worlds, and the gameplay that make HALO what it is today. And we need exceptional artists to help us achieve that goal.

    343 has an incredible opportunity for a motivated, experienced User Generated Content (UGC) Environment Lead who is highly skilled in creating AAA quality UGC content for our games. The ideal candidate will have a superior eye for silhouette, color and composition and be capable of delivering hard surface or organic 3D models at the expected quality level of HALO. The candidate will also have exceptional artistic skills in creating materials and texture maps for our worlds. You are knowledgeable and up to date on modern trends of UGC content creation techniques and understand how to create highly optimized content to run at frame rate and within the expected constraints. Candidate should have experience managing a small team and has worked extensively with outsourcers and production partners. Additionally, you will be highly efficient and deliver on all technical requirements of the art.

    You should have a strong understanding of modern construction processes for game environments including collision and performance. The candidate should be highly organized, self-motivating and able to adapt and learn in a fast paced environment. This candidate is expected to be extremely creative, highly collaborative and be effective in communicating and incorporating feedback. You will work closely with Lead MP Environment Artist, Art Director and Design Leads. The ideal candidate must be highly effective and positive in ambiguous situations, able to self-motivate to high performance, managing your time effectively and react quickly to changing requirements.


    Skills & Requirements

    Candidate Responsibilities:

    • Take ownership of the artistic vision and aesthetic standards for Forge
    • Develop and maintain systems and processes for the implementation and tracking of Forge assets
    • Work closely with Design to create Forge assets that are highly playable, performant and visually attractive
    • Manage a small team of artist (in-house and outsource) in the creation and maintenance of hundreds of assets.
    • Provide feedback for and influence the design of Forge tools and systems
    • Ensure consistent artistic standards across Forge assets
    • Constantly improve and advocate for best in class content creation and production practices
    • Collaborate across discipline peers to build the best multiplayer experience possible
    • Be aware of and work within technical\performance constraints
    • Create optimized, high-quality low and high poly 3D models and textures for real-time rendering
    • Work in ambiguity while still delivering timely and high quality results
    • Contribute to all phases of Forge development process
    • Actively provides, seeks out and incorporates feedback from peers and directors
    • Highly motivated and contributes to a positive working environment

    Candidate Requirements:

    • 5+ years of experience with multiple shipped AAA console products
    • 3+ years as a map or mission lead for shipped AAA multiplayer games
    • Extensive knowledge of and experience with User Generated Content Art and Systems
    • Ability to drive Outsourcing efforts
    • Highly organized and detail driven with excellent spoken and written communication skills, able to manage the disparate aspects of the Forge art
    • Eye for detail, ability to focus on those details across systems and hundreds of assets
    • Versatility, ability to manage the many facets and constraints that are part of Forge
    • Superior eye for composition, light, shade, color, form and detail
    • Superb high and low polygon modeling\sculpting skills as well as texture map creation
    • Highly proficient with industry standard 3D software like Maya, 3DS Max, Softimage, ZBrush, MudBox and Adobe Creative Suite tools
    • Experience managing a small team
    • Experience working with next gen Real Time Shaders and Texturing workflows
    • Experience working closely with game design to build UGC systems
    • Excellent Time Management, Creative Process and Production Process skills
    • Experience working on FPS games
    • Experience working with terrain systems is a plus
    • Experience with Forge is a plus

    All candidates must deliver a full resume with link to sample art work to be considered for this position.

    Portfolio review and presentation will be required.


    Additional Information

    Relocation assistance is offered


    How to Apply

    To apply, please go to:

    https://careers.microsoft.com/jobdetails.aspx?ss=&pg=0&so=&rw=11&jid=200111&jlang=EN&pp=SS

    Please Reference the ArtStation job posting in your application on the website


    About the Company

    343 Industries has a single mission: Build incredible Halo experiences. 343 Industries is part of Microsoft Studios, and the steward of the Halo universe. We build the stories, the worlds, and the gameplay that make Halo such an iconic and innovative franchise.

    Halo is one of the largest entertainment properties in the world. With over 65 million games sold, New York Times best-selling novels, action figures, apparel and much, much more, this multi-billion dollar franchise has revolutionized console gaming and established a rich and expansive universe for its devoted fans. This is your chance to contribute your passion and vision to one of the most exciting intellectual properties and on one of the most talented teams in the industry.
     
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Comments

Discussion in 'Halo and Forge Discussion' started by ForgeHub, Nov 13, 2015.

    1. Ray Benefield
      Ray Benefield
      So which one of you are going to get this job? GO GO GO!!!
      MultiLockOn likes this.
    2. Skyward Shoe
      Skyward Shoe
      • 5+ years of experience with multiple shipped AAA console products
      • 3+ years as a map or mission lead for shipped AAA multiplayer games
      As fantastic as the community is, I don't know if anyone here meets these qualifications.
    3. Nitro
      Nitro
      THIS^^^ As much as my quals are, I am better off trying to become their Net/Sys Admin.
    4. Ray Benefield
      Ray Benefield
      If you never try, then you will never get it. Apply and keep improving. They didn't say professional experience. Do work in CS:GO, Halo, Unreal, etc. Also repeat applications helps them remember you. Helps them see how you grow. Trust me. Go for it before you dismiss it. Success is directly proportional to the amount of awkward situations you put yourself in. This is one of those. Get yourself out there. It is better to try. You may even get lucky and they'll contact you and give you hints to what you are missing. Anything is better than not trying.
    5. xzamplez
      xzamplez
      So 343 is looking for somebody to forgehub forge?
    6. CommanderColson
      CommanderColson
      Godly's got a point^ I've seen more impossible things occur
      Blaze and Ray Benefield like this.
    7. Skyward Shoe
      Skyward Shoe
      I'm not saying no one should try, but applying to a job that you do not even come close to meeting the requirements for is a bit ridiculous. Judging by the fact that they are looking for someone who has shipped multiple AAA titles, I think professional experience is exactly what they want.

      If this is the kind of job you are looking for but you have not worked on a AAA game, then this is a good long term goal, but not one to just apply and hope for. Look at the skills required and work to develop those skills. Start in a lower position, maybe as a tester or in QA. Make connections, develop your skill set, and prove that you are reliable, and then you become the person they are looking for.
      MartianMallCop and The Omicron like this.
    8. A Haunted Army
      A Haunted Army
      how many times had you applied for 343i and CA again? :p

      definitely no harm in trying but i think its fairly clear that people with a lot of prior experience in the industry has a much better chance. IMO the best bet for people outside the industry would be to get into the modding community and build up a portfolio.
    9. Ray Benefield
      Ray Benefield
      Complete opposite. Typically companies keep track of those that applied and those that have potential based on profile and previous experience and they will watch how you progress. And when entry level positions open up they tend to reach into those files and contact people interested. Those requirements aren't hard and fast. Most will take equivalents. For example, mod experience, indie development experience, mixed in with commercial design experience, etc. Otherwise they couldn't grab from other industries. Also putting in applications is actually part of making connections and getting your foot in the door. You can prove you're reliable outside of the game industry. You can prove your capabilities through community involvement.

      The requirements are put into place are the things that get the people they want. But what they are really looking for is a combination of characteristics that those requirements equate to. If you can figure out that combination of characteristics you can pitch yourself to cover those characteristics without needing to meet the actual requirements.

      Passion, initiative, and team skills are typically enough to get people in the door. Most companies nowadays will take on lesser skilled people if they have those traits because those people can be nurtured into exactly what they need. Community has passion, and when you make maps for matchmaking you end up working on your content in a similar way to actual dev teams. If you can prove prior experience with the entire pipeline and can mix that with professional experience in a team environment you can definitely fit the role.

      And @A Haunted Army , I've only applied once to 343 and it was for a Producer role which I'm pretty sure I was beaten out by Bravo who got the job a bit after I applied. lol... which makes total sense and I'm not complaining. Also I had no job at the time and hadn't had a job for several years. Now I'm a lead application engineer for a fortune 100 and making 6 digits. That was 2-3 years ago. Never applied to CA. If I wanted a job there now I could probably work into a Software Engineer role with my experience now. But my target is no longer Seattle, I'm directing myself towards Silicon Valley next.

      I've found that a lot of people stop gap themselves thinking that they don't have the experience. And then it is the people who have less experience than them that get the jobs because they were more proactive. There is no harm in applying to a good company. And if the companies puts you down for your passion, then maybe that's not the right company for you to begin with. When you try to get an interview you should also be interviewing the company that you will be working for. Halo thrives off of community involvement and 343 recognizes that which is why Jessica, Andy, Tashi, and many pro players have been hired on. Jessica was a blogger, Andy was a pro player/social medias guy. Rukari, another good name big in the forums. I've met most of these people from my trip to 343 as a Cartographer before Halo 4 came out and I guarantee a ton of individuals who were major community members didn't meet the exact requirements for their positions.
      MultiLockOn likes this.
    10. Skyward Shoe
      Skyward Shoe
      You make some good points GP. Your original post seemed to me to be insinuating that people could apply at their current skill level and expect they might be hired. I suppose it would not be a bad idea to apply if this is a job you would be interested in, regardless of skill level, but I would warn people to not get their expectations up that they have much chance of being hired now if they don't have a lot of experience. This is for getting hired much latter on.
      Last edited: Nov 14, 2015
      MartianMallCop and The Omicron like this.
    11. xzamplez
      xzamplez
      @godly (I can't believe you still use this name...): I understand, and agree with your overall point, but I don't see why mentioning your pay was necessary. Modesty, man.

      I'm just another person who doesn't fit these qualifications, but even if I did, art is the opposite of where my passion in map design lies.
    12. xxBRYTExx
      xxBRYTExx
      I went the mechanical route. So I could build them a robot. lasers optional. but everybody loves lasers.
      AnonomissX likes this.
    13. Blaze
      Blaze
      I feel like who gets hired for this job hardly matters, they simply need a consultant that actually forges to execute it correctly. From a forgers perspective alpine could be much better, not that it's bad but this is why a forger with non-AAA experience would be better than just any environmental artist with skill.
    14. A Haunted Army
      A Haunted Army
      @GodlyPerfection, oh i might be confusing you with agentpapercraft. can't really argue with that advice when i have no experience myself and it looks pretty solid to me.
    15. Preacher001
      Preacher001
      I think everyone is focusing on the wrong thing. What really matters is:

      !!343 INDUSTRIES IS LOOKING FOR A FORGE ENVIRONMENT ARTIST!!

      Who will -

      • Have exceptional artistic skills in creating materials and texture maps for our worlds
      • Work closely with Design to create Forge assets that are highly playable, performant and visually attractive
      • Manage a small team of artist in the creation and maintenance of hundreds of assets
      • Constantly improve and advocate for best in class content creation and production practices
      • Collaborate across discipline peers to build the best multiplayer experience possible

      Sounds like the new Forge is going to be the type of awesome that just keeps getting better!!!
    16. NOKYARD
      NOKYARD
      We've been saying this for almost two months. The maps you see tomorrow are just the tip of the Ice Mountain Terrain piece.
      xzamplez and CommanderColson like this.
    17. CommanderColson
      CommanderColson
      So BTB tomorrow? (Half Life 3 confirmed?)
    18. xzamplez
      xzamplez
      If that mountain has glass, we're all fu**ed.

      Probably the most important question about forged asked thus far: Can I still force a grid into natural geometry and wait 2 minutes for the host to finally get to the menu option to end the game?

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