Pixel Joint Forum: Indie Game Artist Required [CONTRACT]

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   Vardia Games, a small indie games development company is rearing to release their first title through steam in early 2012. We seem to have found ourselves in a bit of a tight spot regarding the artwork and are currently offering 1 (one) position on the Graphical team.

The game is an RTS set in the distant future, in a galaxy just discovered full of chaotic battles and mystery. There will be 2 initial races on release with a 3rd in production, as well as vast environments and fauna to be created on will.

The job requires that you will complete any task that Phillip (Lead Artist) or the management gives you, submitting updates at least every 2 weeks minimum to our FTP server. We have milestones that need to be met by the 27th of December, 2011 so we can release a Closed BETA of the game to test the overall experience and a release on the 23rd of March, 2012.

The Art style for the game is 2D, Isometric. Here's a reference of what we are aiming for: Reference Image

Requirements:

We seek a creative and innovative artist who is open to insane yet well thought out ideas.
A dedicated artist who can produce results, experience is not an issue.
Willing to work under the contract specified below.
Able to work in a team based in Australia, and willing to stay up late to talk to management or other members if overseas.

The terms of the Contract:

We require that you produce the work asked by the lead artist or management within the agreed deadlines, with updates every 2 weeks via the FTP server. You will be working without pay until release, we simply cannot afford to take multiple losses before such time and will sign an additional contract regarding payment so we are legally bound to pay you what we agreed on.

Failure to submit works, or unlawful behavior in the team will grant you a warning statement, your contract will be classified as void on the 3rd statement instantly terminating the contract. On such an event you will have to destroy all works developed for the company on your end, this is only true for this event however. Upon completing the full term of the contract, you may use images and work freely from them if both parties agree on the image selected and the terms of use, this will be ongoing for the life of the game's release.

Payment will be issued on the games' release, after every 100 or so sales (to be officially decided closer to release) you will receive a cut of the profit equal to that of every other person on the team in the production area. This will continue until the base amount agreed in the payment contract is met, at which moment payments will cease and your contract is classed as completed. Furthermore if the game continues to produce income after such a time that all members are fully paid out OR the company makes a small profit without major payments, you will receive an amount of up to 20% the agreed payment which has been paid out as a bonus.

If you are interested in this contract or would like more information regarding the terms please email either myself, Phill, or one of the management members with your questions.

p.evans@vardiagames.com.au – Lead Artist's email “Phillip Evans”

l.santorii@vardiagames.com.au – Management email “Leasha Santorii”

j.crittenden@vardiagames.com.au – Management email “James Crittenden”

Edited by Ariachan - 03 November 2011 at 11:14pm

Author	Message
Ariachan Seaman Joined: 02 March 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Topic: Indie Game Artist Required [CONTRACT] Posted: 03 November 2011 at 11:06pm
	Vardia Games, a small indie games development company is rearing to release their first title through steam in early 2012. We seem to have found ourselves in a bit of a tight spot regarding the artwork and are currently offering 1 (one) position on the Graphical team. The game is an RTS set in the distant future, in a galaxy just discovered full of chaotic battles and mystery. There will be 2 initial races on release with a 3rd in production, as well as vast environments and fauna to be created on will. The job requires that you will complete any task that Phillip (Lead Artist) or the management gives you, submitting updates at least every 2 weeks minimum to our FTP server. We have milestones that need to be met by the 27th of December, 2011 so we can release a Closed BETA of the game to test the overall experience and a release on the 23rd of March, 2012. The Art style for the game is 2D, Isometric. Here's a reference of what we are aiming for: Reference Image Requirements: We seek a creative and innovative artist who is open to insane yet well thought out ideas. A dedicated artist who can produce results, experience is not an issue. Willing to work under the contract specified below. Able to work in a team based in Australia, and willing to stay up late to talk to management or other members if overseas. The terms of the Contract: We require that you produce the work asked by the lead artist or management within the agreed deadlines, with updates every 2 weeks via the FTP server. You will be working without pay until release, we simply cannot afford to take multiple losses before such time and will sign an additional contract regarding payment so we are legally bound to pay you what we agreed on. Failure to submit works, or unlawful behavior in the team will grant you a warning statement, your contract will be classified as void on the 3rd statement instantly terminating the contract. On such an event you will have to destroy all works developed for the company on your end, this is only true for this event however. Upon completing the full term of the contract, you may use images and work freely from them if both parties agree on the image selected and the terms of use, this will be ongoing for the life of the game's release. Payment will be issued on the games' release, after every 100 or so sales (to be officially decided closer to release) you will receive a cut of the profit equal to that of every other person on the team in the production area. This will continue until the base amount agreed in the payment contract is met, at which moment payments will cease and your contract is classed as completed. Furthermore if the game continues to produce income after such a time that all members are fully paid out OR the company makes a small profit without major payments, you will receive an amount of up to 20% the agreed payment which has been paid out as a bonus. If you are interested in this contract or would like more information regarding the terms please email either myself, Phill, or one of the management members with your questions. p.evans@vardiagames.com.au – Lead Artist's email “Phillip Evans” l.santorii@vardiagames.com.au – Management email “Leasha Santorii” j.crittenden@vardiagames.com.au – Management email “James Crittenden” Edited by Ariachan - 03 November 2011 at 11:14pm
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Ariachan Seaman Joined: 02 March 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 04 November 2011 at 10:54pm
	Just to inform everyone interested or considering applying for this contract. We have received a handful of applicants and will close the application progress on Tuesday 8th of November at 6pm (AEDT or UTC+10). Any application received after this date will not be considered. We hope everyone who has even the slightest interest or is curious about the position applies or inquires about the role. Thank you to all who apply for the position, your interest in our success is most appreciated. ~ Leasha Santorii, C.E.O of Vardia Games - Australia VARDIA GAMES ABN: 94 346 517 798 web: vardiagames.com.au
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Strange-Ape Seaman Joined: 15 March 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Posted: 05 November 2011 at 9:53pm
	I honestly have to step in here and say that this is one of the worst contracts I've ever seen. So for the benefit of others (perhaps yourself included), I'm going to point out a few flaws that really need to be rectified before any work gets done. 1. You're offering a LIMITED profit share. I understand that as a fledgeling company, you can't assume a lot of risk, and to mitigate that risk, you sort of have to hang your hopes on the generosity of others, but if you're asking an artist to take that risk with you, he/she should expect to get payed as well as everyone else for that risk, and not just for the amount of work provided plus a small bonus "if the game does well". 2. This is an internet job. Anyone on this forum desperate enough to take a profit share job is also poor enough that if you don't pay up, they probably don't have the resources necessary to chase you outside of their own country, and chances are, most users don't live in Australia. You need better guarantees of payment in place then just saying "we're legally obligated to pay you". Guarantees that protect both parties, not just the client (that's you, BTW). People have been saying that since before the internet, and you know what? They still skipped town with all the money. 3. Early contract termination. Asking the artist to permanently delete the work he/she has provided in the event of an early contract termination is as silly (you really think someone would do that?) as it is insulting. You might as well come right out and say "If our relationship goes sour, we want to be able to disavow ever having worked with you (while retaining ownership over all the work you've done previously) and we want you to have no way to prove otherwise." The artist should always, ALWAYS retain the right to use any work they've created for their portfolio and self-promotion (within reason). This should be NON-NEGOTIABLE in any art-based contract. Also, if the contract is "terminated" at this point, there needs to be a clause in there somewhere that guarantees payment based on the amount of work previously provided. Otherwise you could claim that the contract is void and not pay the artist (especially if they were silly enough to delete their .psds). 4. Payment details. "Every 100 or so sales (TBD at a later date)" isn't acceptable. Determine all variables and outline your payment structure BEFORE work begins and make sure both parties are clear on the matter. The artist should also have a method of tracking the sales so that they know they aren't getting a raw deal. The way this is currently written, you could arbitrarily decide to pay the artist at 50 sales or 200 sales well after work has begun, and the artist would have little to no say in the matter. Bottom line, this contract is bad, and you should feel bad.
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Ariachan Seaman Joined: 02 March 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 06 November 2011 at 3:14am
	1. This point was only made so we could assess the amount to be paid to each of the members who work with us nothing more. Everyone will be given the same amount as a result of the pending payment scheme. 2. What makes you seriously think that a company bound by Australian law, specially when we wont have the money to defend ourselves to an extent, would risk the backlash of not paying someone what is agreed in the contract. That's just a pointless waste of money on both parties expenses even if we both could afford to take it up. 3. You misread the terms of that clause, if you fail to submit works we are asking for and are going to pay you for as mentioned above in the previous two points then we don't want you. Due to my recollection of Australian law we cannot just terminate a contract because we believe they are lazy, thanks to fair work choices. We must give the contracted person a number of chances to reform and do their work as instructed. Failure to do so 3 times as stated in our policy means we no longer want you and will not use your works in the game's release. Should this happen after the games release is yet to be fully discussed. Further more on this point, we simply cannot afford for anything related to the game leaked to the public as we fear that someone who was terminated under this clause would do in spite (not saying they would, saying this is a risk). As such we will not use their works in the game's release and in return we ask they don't release the product to public view. Best solution is to destroy all works related to the artist on our side, and the artist destroy all works related to us on their side. 4. Our original payment scheme was direct bank deposits every $100 AU x the members in the production team. This was agreed to minimize the transaction fees and increase overall profit for all members involved. A few of our members have asked this to be revised and we are doing so to prevent conflict, what i stated here was what was asked instead of the $100 x members amount we currently have in operation Further more if you feel our contract isn't up to your standards then do not apply for the job, we have made our contract to the best standard we could following what we know of Australian and International law. We've also had Lawyers looking over the terms so what you see here MAY NOT be the last contract the applicant will be asked to sign. Resigning a contract under the same management renders the previous void anyway and will fall under a contract renewal clause. I'm sorry you see this contract as flawed and terrible beyond belief, but we are doing our best to constantly reform and revise legally binding contracts. I do not feel bad for this contract as i see nothing wrong with it in overall business terms, you do your work you get payment else you get terminated and none of your works are released. I will not continue discussing these matters for i will take them up with our lawyers currently revising the contracts which they have agreed should be decent enough to allow us to function, though minor points will need to be altered to better apply to Australian & International law.
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