Visual Development Artist, SongQuiz (Contract)

Volley is seeking a Visual Development Artist to create the original IP and visual identity for SongQuiz, a family-friendly voice-controlled music party game for Smart TVs. This role involves establishing characters, world, and style, defining the game experience for millions. The artist will lead style exploration, design appealing characters, develop comprehensive style guides, and collaborate with designers and researchers to bring the thematic vision to life, considering technical constraints for Smart TV platforms.

Must Have

• Create visual IP from scratch for SongQuiz
• Lead style exploration and visual direction
• Design appealing characters for family audiences
• Develop comprehensive style guides
• Partner with game designers to translate thematic vision
• Collaborate with user research and UI/UX designers
• Create key art and marketing visuals
• Consider Smart TV performance, texture budgets, and readability constraints
• 5+ years in visual development, concept art, or character design
• Strong portfolio showcasing original IP creation, character work, and style exploration
• Exceptional character design skills
• Strong visual storytelling and world-building abilities
• Experience developing style guides and design language
• Collaborative mindset for working with various teams
• Comfort with iteration and feedback
• Understanding of casual/party game aesthetics

Good to Have

• Experience with music games, rhythm games, or entertainment-focused game IP
• Comfort using AI tools as part of the creative process
• Background in animation or motion-friendly character design
• Familiarity with designing for TV/console platforms and technical constraints
• Experience creating character rigs or assets for implementation
• Understanding of accessibility and inclusive character design principles

Perks & Benefits

• Opportunity to create original IP and visual foundation for a music game
• Work with a collaborative team that values creative excellence and player-focused design
• Opportunity to establish a visual identity that could expand across multiple games and platforms

Role Summary: A Visual Development Artist to create the original IP and visual identity for SongQuiz, our family-friendly voice-controlled music party game for Smart TVs. You'll establish the characters, world, and style that will define this music game experience for millions of players. This role is perfect for someone who loves character design, world-building, and creating cohesive visual languages that bring game concepts to life.

What You’ll Do at Volley

• Create the visual IP from scratch, developing protagonist and antagonist characters, themed environments, and the overall visual world that supports the music-first game experience.
• Lead style exploration and visual direction, researching competitors, exploring multiple visual approaches, and defining the distinctive look that captures celebration, rhythm, and inclusive fun.
• Design characters with personality and appeal, ensuring they resonate with family audiences across all ages and work effectively within TV/Smart TV technical constraints.
• Develop comprehensive style guides including color scripts, mood boards, character sheets, environment concepts, and key art that establishes the visual language for the entire game.
• Partner with game designer to bring the thematic vision to life, translating gameplay concepts and narrative beats into compelling visual moments.
• Collaborate with user research to test concepts early, incorporating player feedback and iterating on character designs and visual directions to ensure broad appeal.
• Work closely with UI/UX designer (hired separately) to ensure your visual language translates effectively into functional game screens and maintains consistency throughout.
• Create key art and marketing visuals that can be used for promotional materials and platform featuring.
• Consider technical constraints including Smart TV performance, texture budgets, and the need for clear readability at 10-foot viewing distances.

We're Excited About You Because You Have

• 5+ years in visual development, concept art, or character design with a strong portfolio showcasing original IP creation, character work, and style exploration.
• Exceptional character design skills with ability to create appealing, memorable characters that work for family audiences and diverse age groups.
• Strong visual storytelling and world-building abilities, translating thematic concepts into cohesive visual languages.
• Experience developing style guides and design language that other artists can successfully implement and maintain.
• Collaborative mindset for working with game designers, UI designers, motion designers, and user researchers throughout the creative process.
• Comfort with iteration and feedback, pivoting visual directions based on playtesting and stakeholder input while maintaining creative vision.
• Understanding of casual/party game aesthetics and what makes visuals appealing for music-focused, celebratory experiences.

Bonus Points

• Experience with music games, rhythm games, or entertainment-focused game IP.
• Comfort using AI tools as part of the creative process to accelerate iteration and exploration (we see AI as augmenting artistic vision, not replacing craft).
• Background in animation or motion-friendly character design.
• Familiarity with designing for TV/console platforms and technical constraints.
• Experience creating character rigs or assets for implementation by other artists.
• Understanding of accessibility and inclusive character design principle.

Contract Details: 4-month contract at $100-150/hour (based on experience), remote position starting approximately 3-4 weeks after Visual Development Artist to allow style establishment.

Why Join Volley

Volley is building innovative gaming experiences that reach millions of players. As the Visual Development Artist for SongQuiz's redesign, you'll create the original IP and visual foundation for a music game that brings families and friends together. You'll work with a collaborative team that values creative excellence and player-focused design, with the opportunity to establish a visual identity that could expand across multiple games and platforms.