Rare is said to be bringing some new Xbox One titles at E3 2015 later this month, including a new IP. The highly acclaimed studio has managed to keep their projects under wraps, as there have been only rumors and speculations regarding what titles Microsoft will announce at the event from the British developer.
Today Rare published two new career opportunity ads seeking a Technical Lighting Artist and a Software Engineer – Rendering, that give some indications:
It’s a very exciting time at Rare and we are looking for a highly skilled Technical Lighting Artist to join us and create something special. We want to hear from people who have a passion for lighting and atmospherics balanced with a solid technical understanding of modern lighting and shading techniques. You will work closely with the rest of the Technical Art team and Rendering Programmers to define the lighting and post process systems that achieve the Art Director’s vision. You will also be key in creating the shading models for the game and working with the art teams to ensure all material elements are working in harmony.
Key responsibilities:
- Deliver world class lighting for an exciting new project.
- Work with the Art Director to translate intense mood and atmosphere from concept art to in-game environments.
- Collaborate closely with the Tech Artists and the Rendering Engineers to improve the lighting technology, tools and workflows.
- Work with colour grading and other post process effects to achieve a game with a rich atmosphere, tone and depth.
- Work with other artists to help refine the material behaviours in the game and achieve the highest quality lighting across the entire game.
- Ensure that all lighting deliverables are completed fully and in line with production schedule.
- Maintain a balance between visual quality and performance requirements for realtime game application.
Experience, qualifications and characteristics:
- An outstanding portfolio.
- At least one full project cycle in a Technical Art position.
- 5+ years’ game development experience, with experience in all aspects of lighting for games.
- A base knowledge of programming languages such as Python/C#/C++/HLSL.
- Good knowledge of 3D creation packages (Maya/Max/etc.)
- Solid knowledge of 3D graphics and rendering techniques, especially lighting and shading models (shader creation experience essential).
- Up-to-date experience and knowledge of current game development practices and terminology.
- Degree in Computer Science or similar related subject advantageous.
- Excellent artistic ability.
- Excellent eye for quality control and detail.
- Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to rapidly improvise solutions.
- A broad technical understanding with the capacity to learn and utilise new skills quickly.
- Experienced in dealing with the idiosyncrasies of team project work.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Ability to receive direction and constructive feedback.
- Self-motivated and passionate about the end result.
- Experience with Unreal Engine or equivalent is a plus.
This role is part of the Rendering group in Rare’s Tech team. The Tech team, as a whole, is responsible for the development of Rare’s engine and tools, as well as for making direct contributions to its games. Members of the Tech team work in close collaboration with game teams to understand project needs, develop reusable software to address those needs, and integrate what they develop into the game as necessary.
The engineers in the Rendering group work directly alongside our technical artists and visual effects specialists to shape and realise the artistic vision for a product. They research and develop cutting-edge rendering techniques that make best use of the platform so that our games shine.
Key responsibilities:
- Research and develop both low-level rendering systems and product-level graphical effects to support the artistic vision for our products.
- Research and develop low-level, general engine systems to support and advance gameplay features in our products.
- Break down and provide clear feedback on gameplay feature specifications, advocating technical considerations. Assist teams to plan and schedule dependent work effectively.
- Continuously work to minimise technical debt and maintenance hazards.
- Build creative solutions to technical problems that enable content creators to achieve world-class results.
- Create software designs that ensure we can easily support future game feature development.
- Devote time to personal improvement in order to remain at the cutting edge of graphics programming knowledge.
Experience, qualifications and characteristics:
- Experience of implementing modern real-time rendering techniques.
- Strong C++ programming and debugging skills using modern C++11.
- An iterative, algorithmic and mathematical approach to solving novel problems.
- Strong software architecture skills with a proven ability to apply these to the graphics domain.
- Knowledge of the wider industry, including current and future trends, with the drive to convert this into practical improvements to our technology.
- Experience of working with several different game engines is an advantage.
- Experience working on AAA game development cycle would be a plus.
- Although not essential, experience of developing rendering pipeline tools would be useful.
- Cross-platform development experience is also beneficial, including development on Windows.
One or more titles from Rare are expected to be revealed at E3 2015
Microsoft is also expected to show off Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Motorsport 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Gears of War, and reveal unannounced titles "coming in 2015 and beyond".
Microsoft's E3 press conference gets underway at 5:30pm on June 15, with the show beginning one day later on June 16.
Microsoft and Xbox will be present at the PC Gaming Event at E3 2015
Phil Spencer has recently revealed that Microsoft and Xbox will be present at the PC Gaming event, which serves as a good indication that Microsoft is indeed focusing on the Windows 10 platform.
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft, said:
“For us, the PC Gaming Show is the ideal place to speak directly to PC gamers, and it’s a great time to talk about Windows 10 – the best operating system we’ve ever created for gamers on PCs. With Windows 10, we’re bringing the best of Xbox with the best of Windows gaming, including Xbox Live and the new Xbox app, Game DVR for nearly every game, and DirectX 12 for better gaming graphics and performance.”
Tim Clark, Global Editor-in-Chief at PC Gamer, added:
“Windows is a vital element of the PC gaming experience for so many of us, and I’m excited to see what Microsoft has in store. The PC Gaming Show is a celebration of every aspect of the platform, so I’m delighted Xbox has decided to play such a key part in it.”
We will bring you any new information from Rare and Microsoft as well as E3 2015 as soon as it becomes available.
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