Heart Machine New Game

The Hyper Light Drifter Studio Is Hiring for Its Next Project and Is Openly Against Crunch

Heart Machine, the indie studio known for Hyper Light Drifter, is hiring again for its upcoming project. This suggests the team is in the early phases of development and still assessing the studio’s needs when it comes to team size. Level designers who have “ample spacial reasoning skills, a strong sense of storytelling and pacing, and an artistic eye for great compositions” are encouraged to apply.

We don’t know much about the game yet, but based on the last job posting we know it will have “NPC interactions, scripted sequences, combat, environmental interactions,” and more, suggesting a more open game. Like the last listing, Heart Machine emphasized the fact that this project is “something ambitious and completely unique.” Level designers for this upcoming game will be expected to “help to concept and craft the feel and design standards for levels, hazards and various in-world interaction,” “take the lead on specific regions of the game world, creating compelling layouts, moving a level design from concept to completion,” and “create intense enemy encounters and other scripted sequences to bolster and bring to life our game world.”

Heart Machine also used a good portion of this job listing to address studio culture, which is firmly against crunch. It said, “although we work incredibly hard, our studio is not a crunch-factory—we like to live our lives, have holidays, and remain healthy throughout a project. Work-life balance is important.”

While promises written in a job listing are never set in stone, the fact that Heart Machine took the time to acknowledge this ongoing issue is important. Language shapes the way we think and act so, if nothing else, it’s a good starting point.

There’s no timeline for Heart Machine’s next game, but Hyper Light Drifter is available now on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Ouya, and PC.

[Source: Gamasutra]

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