Experienced LEVEL ARTIST - Worldbuilder/Lighting (Malta/Remote)

Play Magic; United States; Remote; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

HellaGoodAudio seeks an Experienced LEVEL ARTIST - Worldbuilder/Lighting for Malta/Remote work. The role focuses on worldbuilding and lighting for levels, coordinating with the design and environment teams, and ensuring assets meet gameplay and performance targets.

You will collaborate with the Art Director and Producers, balancing early-stage prototyping with later polishing to elevate visuals and gameplay quality across platforms.

Qualifications

• 2.5+ years as a Level Artist in the games industry.
• Strong knowledge of Unreal and Unity engines and Gaia/World Machine.
• Experience with modelling tools like 3ds Max or Maya and Photoshop.
• Ability to prototype quickly and polish later.

Responsibilities

• Be able to whitebox/greybox levels with design to prove gameplay in early stages.
• Plan asset layout for gameplay and story.
• Mix and match assets to maximize the Project’s Asset Library.
• Coordinate with Environment Team for level asset needs.
• Where present, work with Terrain in/out of the Game Engine to meet level requirements.
• Help keep levels under performance budgets and adjust as needed.
• Handle project structure and gameplay-related needs of a level.
• Collaborate with Art Director and Art Lead on game style during development.
• Work with Producers to track development schedule.
• Be flexible to sacrifice quality early for schedule, then polish later.
• Be proactive in researching and solving development issues.

Skills

Team collaboration

Prototyping

Creative input

Communication

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

Gaia/World Machine

3ds Max

Maya

Photoshop

Job description

Experienced LEVEL ARTIST - Worldbuilder/Lighting (Malta/Remote)

About the job Experienced LEVEL ARTIST - Worldbuilder/Lighting (Malta/Remote)

- Malta or remote, fulltime

RESPONSIBILITIES

Worldbuilding

• Be able to whitebox and greybox levels with the help of the Design department to prove gameplay in the early stages
• Plan and execute asset layout, with main and decorative elements, while taking in mind gameplay and story
• Mix and match a different set of assets in creative ways to make the most out of the Project’s Asset Library
• Coordinate well with Environment Team for the level needs when it comes to Assets
• Where present, work with Terrain, in and out of the Game Engine to achieve the level’s requirements
• Help the rest of the team to stay under Performance budgets and do any necessary adjustments to the Level to hit the target scope
• Handle any project structure and gameplay-related needs that a level creates

Lighting

• Plan and gather reference to show the target visual result
• Prepare the scene for lighting, by cleaning the layout and creating the necessary conditions
• Light the scene, under the guided lighting conditions, with Baked or Realtime Lights
• Create different lighting scenarios from already existing, Lighted Scenes
• Use Visual Effects to help focus on specific lighting conditions
• Create and work with Post Processing to push the visual of the game according to the platform needs
• Handle any light and post process-related side work that is needed to complete the level

Development

• Coordinate with Art Director and Art Lead about the style of the game in development
• Work closely with Producers to keep track of the development schedule
• Be flexible in sacrificing quality in an early stage of an asset development to help a schedule to move on, then improving and polishing it at the appropriate stage of a project
• Be proactive in research and suggest solutions for various development issues that may arise

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

2.5+ years of professional experience as a Level Artist, in the Games Industry. Thorough knowledge of Unreal and Unity game engines, any terrain generator like World Machine, Gaia (or any other). Sufficient knowledge of a modeling tool like 3d Studio Max or Maya, Photoshop. Work from concept or reference, but also be creative and provide input for the direction of any level. Knowing when to ‘throw something together’ for prototyping, when you need to sacrifice quality for time and when it is time to polish. Love to collaborate and to work within a team. Willing to provide and accept direction and the ability to embrace change. Love playing and creating games while thinking how to take them to the next level. Strong written and verbal communication skills.

BONUS QUALIFICATIONS

Experience with the creation of Open World games and how that affects level creation. Experience with visual scripting (ex. Blueprints), to assist with any basic functionality that is needed for a level. Experience with environment animations, to set up any gameplay or visual sequences.