Volley
Visual Development Artist, SongQuiz (Contract)
Volley, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199
Volley is seeking a Visual Development Artist to create original IP and visual identities for our family-friendly voice-controlled games for Smart TVs. You'll establish the characters, worlds, and styles that will define game experiences 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 visual IP from scratch, developing protagonist and antagonist characters, themed environments, and overall visual worlds that support engaging game experiences.
Lead style exploration and visual direction, researching competitors, exploring multiple visual approaches, and defining distinctive looks that capture the essence of each game concept.
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 entire games.
Partner with game designers to bring thematic visions 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 designers 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 family-friendly, entertainment-focused experiences.
Bonus Points
Experience with casual games, party 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 principles.
Contract Details 4-month contract at $100-150/hour (based on experience), remote position with flexible start dates based on project needs.
Why Join Volley Volley is building innovative gaming experiences that reach millions of players across Smart TV platforms. As a Visual Development Artist, you'll create original IP and visual foundations for games that bring families and friends together. You'll work with a collaborative team that values creative excellence and player-focused design, with the opportunity to establish visual identities that could expand across multiple games and platforms.
Voluntary Self-Identification For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.
As set forth in Volley’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.
Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026
Why are you being asked to complete this form?
We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.
Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp .
How do you know if you have a disability?
A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:
Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
Blind or low vision
Cancer (past or present)
Cardiovascular or heart disease
Celiac disease
Cerebral palsy
Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
Diabetes
Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
Intellectual or developmental disability
Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
Short stature (dwarfism)
Traumatic brain injury
Disability Status Select…
PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.
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What You’ll Do at Volley
Create visual IP from scratch, developing protagonist and antagonist characters, themed environments, and overall visual worlds that support engaging game experiences.
Lead style exploration and visual direction, researching competitors, exploring multiple visual approaches, and defining distinctive looks that capture the essence of each game concept.
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 entire games.
Partner with game designers to bring thematic visions 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 designers 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 family-friendly, entertainment-focused experiences.
Bonus Points
Experience with casual games, party 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 principles.
Contract Details 4-month contract at $100-150/hour (based on experience), remote position with flexible start dates based on project needs.
Why Join Volley Volley is building innovative gaming experiences that reach millions of players across Smart TV platforms. As a Visual Development Artist, you'll create original IP and visual foundations for games that bring families and friends together. You'll work with a collaborative team that values creative excellence and player-focused design, with the opportunity to establish visual identities that could expand across multiple games and platforms.
Voluntary Self-Identification For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.
As set forth in Volley’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.
Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026
Why are you being asked to complete this form?
We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.
Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp .
How do you know if you have a disability?
A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:
Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
Blind or low vision
Cancer (past or present)
Cardiovascular or heart disease
Celiac disease
Cerebral palsy
Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
Diabetes
Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
Intellectual or developmental disability
Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
Short stature (dwarfism)
Traumatic brain injury
Disability Status Select…
PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.
#J-18808-Ljbffr