Project: Merchanteer

Engine: Godot (C#)

Target Platform: PC (Steam)

Current Team Size: 5 (Developer, Artists, Composer, Marketing/Business/Legal)

Compensation: Flexible (Revenue Share, Paid Tasks, or Hybrid – see below)

About the Project

Merchanteer is a 3D open-world merchant/privateer simulator inspired by the 1800s Caribbean. Players explore a stylized low-poly island chain, harvesting resources, trading cargo between ports, crafting ships and cannons, and defending/liberating Freeport ports from pirate control. The game is already playable, and most of the core systems (crafting, sailing, trading, combat, resource harvesting, etc.) are fully implemented.

You can watch our early prototype dev trailer here (note: visuals are being overhauled):

What We Need

We’re looking for a Level Designer to help design and build the main island, which serves as the player’s starting point and central hub. This island should feel alive, structured, and immersive, while maintaining a stylized, low-poly aesthetic optimized for performance. NPC behavior is a major part of the game’s atmosphere and is already largely implemented, so the island layout should support pathing, interactions, and ship mechanics. Beyond those functional needs, the visual design and layout of the island are entirely up to you, this is a chance to creatively define the heart of the game world.

This includes:

• Designing the layout of the main port town, vendor areas, docks, housing plots, and nearby resource zones
• Sculpting terrain and placing props/structures (we’ll provide 3D assets or work with you to create them)
• Keeping design modular, lower to mid poly, and performance-friendly
• Collaborating closely with the lead dev and art team (creative freedom encouraged)

The rest of the islands in the game are much simpler and more repeatable, we may even use proc gen. This main island is where the design vision really matters. 

We are now working toward our first gameplay trailer. We’re planning to launch a Kickstarter and start community building after either the first or second trailer, depending on how the visuals come together.

Requirements

• Experience with level design or environment layout
• Comfortable with Blender
• Understanding of low-poly/stylized art styles
• Able to design natural-feeling outdoor areas and small town-like settlements
• Bonus: Familiarity with Godot or Unity-level workflows

Compensation

We’re flexible and open to what works best for you:

• One-time payment for defined tasks
• Hybrid (modest cash + revenue share)
• Full revenue share if you want to be a core team member long-term

All revenue shares are contractually backed and tied to task completion milestones.

How to Apply

Please reach out with:

• Portfolio or examples of your work (especially if you’ve done environment/level design)
• Your availability
• Your preferred compensation model

Discord: bnt12

Email: dillon@glowdriftstudios.com