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Hey! I'm really sorry for the late reply! If you're still interested, please add me on Discord or leave yours below so I can reach out to you!

Hi everyone!

My name is Eli, and I am the Lead Director of The Shepherd — an upcoming atmospheric, psychological survival horror game built in RPG Maker MZ. We have an active, dedicated and passionate team. We’ve been hard at work for several months,  establishing our comprehensive Core concept, and we are currently actively pushing toward a polished, vertical-slice playable demo.

We are looking to expand our team's artistic capabilities and are seeking a passionate 2D Pixel Art Environment Artist to help us bring the game's grim world to life.

About the Project

On the surface, The Shepherd follows a protagonist named Jack as he tries to survive in an isolated mountain town surrounded by a dense pine forest. A strange apocalypse has turned the local population into hostile mutants. Jack appears to be the last unaffected survivor until he discovers a group of children, saves them, and shelters them in his shack’s basement-turned-bunker. However, the narrative runs much deeper than a simple savior story—the lore is heavily inspired by the psychological layers of Silent Hill 2 and the bleak tone of Flesh, Blood & Concrete, closely tying into the protagonist's sub-conscience.

Visual Style & Technical Approach

• Workflow: We are strictly utilizing a Parallax Mapping approach. You won't be restricted by traditional grid-locked tilesets; instead, you will be creating full map layouts, custom environmental props, backgrounds, and overlays to deliver a dense, custom visual flow.
• Scale: Our asset scale is designed around a standard 48x48 pixel grid base.
• Aesthetic: We are heavily leaning into the dark, gritty, and dense visual and stylistic atmosphere of Rubinite, while drawing inspiration from games like Stoneshard and Flesh, Blood & Concrete.

(Note: Exact visual references and concept screens are attached below this post!)

What We Are Looking For:

• An environment pixel artist capable of drawing top-down dark, atmospheric backgrounds, foliage, structures, and interior props.
• Ability to capture a moody, unsettling, and gritty visual tone.
• Good communication skills and a willingness to collaborate closely with the team.

Compensation & Length

This is a Rev-Share position. The exact revenue split percentage will be discussed individually based on the volume of work and contributions, and will be legally finalized in a formal team contract. We expect to complete the polished demo in the coming months, with the full project taking around a year and a half  to two of total development.

How to Apply

If you are interested in joining us or want to take a look at our project documents, please reach out!

• Contact Method: Drop a comment here or message me directly on Discord at shadow_gamer9873 

Thank you for your time, and we look forward to working with you!

Hey everyone!

I am the project lead for The Shepherd—an upcoming dark, surreal psychological horror game built in RPG Maker MZ. The project is currently in active development; we have a solid core idea, some initial assets, and several music tracks readyю. We already have a passionate international team forming up, and now, we are looking for more creative minds to join us on this journey.

About the Game & Atmosphere: The game is heavily inspired by titles like Fear & Hunger, Omori, and Silent Hill 2, blending their psychological and existential depth with the grotesque, unsettling art style of Junji Ito and Masahiro Ito.

The premise is deceptively simple: you must survive inside a bizarre, surreal world filled with strange entities and rescue missing children. However, nothing is as it seems. There is a constant, suffocating sense of wrongness hanging in the air—an underlying dread that hints at a much darker, hidden truth.

Our Philosophy (An Open & Creative Atmosphere): As a lead, I believe in maintaining a fairly open and creative atmosphere within the team. I am not here to micromanage every detail of your work. If you have a twisted monster concept or an unsettling environmental idea, we are always open to exploring it and finding a place for it in the game. We want your unique artistic voice to shine through as we build this world together.

Open Roles (RevShare):

🎨 Artists (High Priority!): We are currently in need of Sprite Artists to bring our bizarre entities and characters to life. We are also looking for Environmental Artists (note: we use parallax mapping for sub-pixel movement rather than standard RPG Maker grid tilesets). We are open to any dark/surreal style that fits the project's atmosphere!

✍️ Narrative Designers: We are looking for writers to help craft the deep, existential lore, unsettling dialogue, and psychological narrative of the game.

🎞️ Animators: We primarily need Frame-by-Frame (F2F) animators

💻 JS Programmer: Looking for a JavaScript developer to help with custom systems and features. Experience with the RPG Maker engine (specifically MZ) is a huge plus!

📈 SMM: Someone passionate about indie games to help with managing our social media presence.

Compensation: This is a RevShare project. All team members will receive a contracted percentage of the game's revenue upon release.

If you love existential dread, surrealism, and want to create something truly haunting with a passionate team, we’d love to have you.

Please reply to this thread or DM me directly on Discord: shadow_gamer9873 with your portfolio/work examples.