Finishing touches were the name of the game this week. As we begin to firm up dates internally, it's time to start locking things down. As such, this week was my last chance to fix niggling issues in levels.
Just wanted to drop in and give an update. The transition from WGF is complete, we have our warehouse and have been shipping from that location for about two months. We have worked out the software issues for the wholesale orders and have been filling them.
We have about a year's supply of product on hand and OOS items such as the Panzerjäger are on the water heading here now.
I have been working on the day to day business aspects, cost analysis, product restocks back end implementation issues, etc. so not a lot of glamorous items to give an updated on for that front.
We have two restock orders incoming from China, the cost has been educational. The cost of shipping is not just crazy expensive for my customers but for us as well. In some cases, it costs more to ship a product than it does to produce it, in other cases the cost to produce a kit was not in line with what it is being sold at into distribution. Some kits were being sold at a net loss once shipping was factored in. Unfortunately, this will mean a price increase, some kits will see a marginal increase, other will be a bit more drastic.
I will give a detailed SKU by SKU run down and explanation later this week.
We have two new SKU's that will be offered once they arrive. The 15mm scale Capacitor cooler and a 60mm tall display model of one of our Assault Troopers. We should have these in hand sometime next month. We are putting the final touches on the files for the Shadokesh main trooper box set. No eta on a release date yet for the Shadokesh, until they are on the water and heading here it is simply impractical to give an estimate.
I wanted to put out an update to my last post on building a magnetic model transport system for my Convergence.
Just before Captain Con my wife was kind enough to finish making the bag to carry all of the magnetic bins I built. It's frankly huge, but it carries absolutely everything without any issue.
It's huge! Total size is 16" deep, 24" wide, and about 15" tall. In the above picture it's carrying my dice tray, dice, all of my Convergence and a Blacksmiths Guild Ball team, and my sheet pan/tournament tray (sprayed silver).
The bag is semi-rigid, using some foam internally between the fabric to give some stability and padding. My wife did an outstanding job on it.
I got some flak from my Guild Ball friends for how much room I was taking up in the trunk on the drive up, but its awesome. It fits neatly in my own car's trunk and will be used for all my local travel from now on. This is significantly easier than when I had to use an old PC carrying strap to bind all my cases together to carry the CoC around locally.
In case you didn't see the last post, here are what the cases look like populated with my stuff:
Conclusions If you compare this to an actual product of equivalent size, it's about what you'd get in a Magna Rack 1520 from Battle Foam. The racks plus bag for that is $365 plus shipping. If you add up total materials for my system, I'm likely looking at about $100 max. Of course, I didn't have to pay for any labor in this creation.
On the flip side, I mentioned to my wife that she could probably pull $100 to $150 for a bag like that for other gamers if she tried to make one and she said in no uncertain terms that it flat out isn't worth it for her labor to charge that little. Apparently the bag was a bit of a pain in the ass for her to make. She was happy to make it for me, but no one else has my charm to convince her it's worth making another.
If I wasn't married to an extremely talented quilter (and all around amazing woman) I'd probably would have to had been more careful when picking out my bins to make sure I could arrange them to fit in a piece of luggage I could buy rather than having the bag being fabricated to meet the specs of what bins I purchased.
I'm very happy to have done this, and I intend on magnetizing my other armies to use this system going forward, though I already have a bunch of foam so I'm not as motivated to go ahead with that. Plus I plan on just using Convergence for a while anyway.
Title: Audio Lead / Sound Designer Focus: Creating and implementing sounds, managing audio content Type: Full-time, permanent Last day to apply: Monday 15th of April 2019 /CLOSED Location: Malmö, Sweden (Doing remote work from EU/EEA countries welcome)
You remember it: a faint rustle in your periphery, dragging footsteps around the corner, a raspy breath. You still break in cold sweat when you hear that high-pitched screech that means a monster is near. All the iconic soundscapes that make Frictional games what they are.
We are now looking for an experienced audio designer to work in-house and continue this tradition of keeping a new generation of gamers on their toes with lovingly designed, eerie and memorable soundscapes.
What will you work on?
We are quite a small team, but we consider that our selling point. As a sound designer you will get to work on everything from small effects to the overall mood of the project. This means your contribution will greatly influence how the final game sounds, feels and evokes emotions.
Here are some of the things you will be working on:
Collaborating with designers to create soundscapes, taking both artistic and gameplay aspects into account.
Being a part of designing the overall mood of the game.
Creating some of sounds used for our monsters, machines and other otherworldly noises using libraries, or from scratch if possible.
Creating sound effects timed with specific events and animations.
Refining events by working with both our map editor and scripting tools.
Researching various technical features needed to achieve certain effects.
Handling the music, either by creating it or working with a musician.
All in all, helping the game world come to life.
We also encourage working outside of your area of expertise, and always learning new things. The more areas of development you are willing and able to take part in, the better! For example you are encouraged to participate in our fortnightly testing and leave feedback on other aspects of the game.
What are we looking for?
You have to be a European (EU/EEA) resident to apply. The person we're looking for is creative, driven and self-sufficient. With a remote team such as ours, the ability to organise your own work is a fundamental skill.
We have recently set up a central hub in Malmö, Sweden, and will help you move to our seaside city if it suits your situation.
Here are some essentials we require:
Hardware and equipment to work with.
We don't expect you to have a fully equipped home studio, but enough to work on most of the sounds. Additional equipment can be provided if needed, but it is important that you have the hardware needed to start working.
At least one year of experience in audio production for games.
Good understanding of sound and music, and how they affect the player experience.
Ability to challenge yourself, make bold creative decisions, and try non-conventional things.
A critical approach to your work, with the ability to take a step back and reflect.
A strive for structure, efficiency, and clarity.
Strong self-drive and ability to organise your own work.
Interest in and ability to do research for interesting sound and music solutions.
Love for working on a variety of tasks.
Fluency in English.
And here are some more techie skills:
Familiarity with FMod or Wwise.
Basic knowledge in programming.
Basic knowledge of creating maps in a level editor.
If you want to impress us:
Love for horror, sci-fi, and narrative games.
A major role in completing at least one game.
Experience in level design.
Strong game design skills.
What do we offer?
We make games, because that's what we love. But we know there are other things we love, like playing games, taking part in sports, or spending time with our families. We believe a healthy balance between work and life reflects positively on your work, which is why we don't encourage crunch.
We also offer:
Flexible working hours.
Opportunities to influence your workflow.
Variety in your work tasks, and ability to influence your workload.
Participation in our internal game Show & Tell sessions, so you'll have input into all aspects of the game.
Social security and holidays that are up to the Swedish standards.
An inclusive and respectful work environment.
An office in central Malmö you can use as much as you please.
Fun workmates, game and movie nights, and other outings!
Apply!
If all of the above piqued your interest, we would love to hear from you! Send us your application 15th of April the latest - but the sooner, the better!
Please attach your:
Cover Letter
Why should we hire YOU?
CV
Link to your portfolio site
Link to a video reel demonstrating sound design abilities
A document describing a game soundscape you have worked on. Please write about the following:
What you worked on.
What you were going for with the design.
What went well in the project and what you would prefer to change in retrospect.
Please note that we require all the attachments to consider you.
Send your application to apply@frictionalgames.com!
By sending us your application, you give us permission to store your personal information and attachments.
We store all applications in a secure system. The applications are stored for two years, after which they are deleted. If you want your your information removed earlier, please contact us through our Contact form. Read more in our Privacy Policy.
