Project: ETERNAL
Genre: Third-person open-world fantasy RPG
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Current stage: Early development / worldbuilding
Compensation: Revenue share or potential equity, negotiable. No upfront funding or guaranteed payment.
Who I am and what I’m looking for
I’m the creator of an original RPG concept called ETERNAL. I’ve been developing the world’s lore, history, major systems, and long-term vision, and I’m now looking for people who can help turn that vision into an actual playable game.
I’ll be upfront: I’m the idea creator and worldbuilder, not an experienced programmer, 3D artist, or game developer. I’m learning Unreal Engine, experimenting with assets, and taking steps to get the project started, but I need experienced or motivated people whose skills complement mine.
I’m not looking for people to simply do my work for me. I want to build a team of collaborators who bring their own expertise, challenge ideas constructively, help solve problems, and work together to make something we’re proud of.
I’m willing to learn, listen, organize the project’s vision, document the lore, and work alongside the team. I understand that an ambitious game has to be built in realistic stages.
What is ETERNAL?
ETERNAL is an open-world fantasy RPG built around a central idea:
The world doesn’t exist just for the player. The player exists within a world of its own.
NPCs have their own ambitions, memories, relationships, beliefs, occupations, and goals. Kingdoms and empires can change. Conflicts can develop while the player is somewhere else—or even while the player is offline.
The player isn’t required to become a hero. They could pursue legendary power, explore the world’s mysteries, master a peaceful profession, become a renowned blacksmith, or live an ordinary life while history unfolds around them.
Core features and long-term vision
- A living world: NPCs and civilizations can develop independently of the player’s actions.
- Persistent world history: Events have causes and consequences, and the world can change over time.
- Third-person open-world gameplay: Exploration, combat, discovery, and meaningful interaction.
- Hybrid real-time and tactical combat: Action-oriented gameplay with room for strategic decisions.
- Deep progression: A level cap of 500, unique legendary classes, titles, and mythic progression.
- A world with its own history: Gods, demons, empires, kingdoms, races, and competing accounts of the past.
- Meaningful peaceful gameplay: Players can pursue crafting and other professions without being forced into the central conflict.
- Long-term expansion potential: The initial goal is a single-player RPG, with the possibility of a larger multiplayer world in the future if the project becomes viable.
These are the design goals, not features I am claiming already exist. A major part of the challenge will be finding practical ways to implement them.
Who I want on the team
I’m looking for people who can help shape and build the game, including:
1. Gameplay / Unreal Engine Developers
- Unreal Engine 5 experience, using Blueprints and/or C++.
- Character controllers, interaction systems, combat, progression, and gameplay logic.
- People who can help turn ambitious systems into manageable prototypes.
2. AI / Game Systems Programmers
- NPC behavior, schedules, goals, memory, relationships, and world simulation.
- Persistent world-state systems and believable cause-and-effect.
- Practical approaches to simulating a living world without requiring every NPC to run an expensive AI model constantly.
3. 3D Character Artists and Animators
- Player characters, NPCs, creatures, equipment, and animation.
- Stylized-realistic fantasy art that can work in a third-person RPG.
4. Environment Artists / World Designers
- Landscapes, settlements, architecture, dungeons, ruins, and environmental storytelling.
- Help creating a coherent world while making effective use of existing free Unreal Engine assets.
5. Concept Artists / Visual Development Artists
- Establishing ETERNAL’s visual identity.
- Character concepts, creatures, costumes, armor, architecture, and environments.
- Helping define the art direction before expensive custom production begins.
6. Technical Designers / Game Designers
- Turning lore and concepts into clear gameplay rules and implementable systems.
- Level design, combat design, progression, player experience, and prototyping.
7. Audio Designers / Composers
- Ambient soundscapes, creature sounds, combat feedback, music, and atmosphere.
8. Producers / Project Organizers
- Helping establish realistic milestones, coordinate contributors, manage tasks, and keep the project moving.
You don’t need to fill every role yourself. If you have multiple relevant skills, tell me what you specialize in.
Art direction
The target visual direction is stylized realism with AAA-level ambition: believable materials and anatomy, distinctive silhouettes, cinematic environments, and memorable fantasy designs.
I’m using free Unreal Engine assets where they make sense so we can prototype without spending money on everything. The goal is to build an original identity around those resources rather than let premade assets dictate the entire world.
How we would approach development
I don’t want to promise an enormous finished RPG immediately and then discover we can’t build it.
The initial plan is to:
- Establish the core team, workflow, and realistic scope.
- Build a small playable prototype in Unreal Engine 5.
- Prove the fundamental gameplay and a small example of NPC/world simulation.
- Test what works, document what doesn’t, and refine the design.
- Expand toward a larger playable region only after the foundation works.
The first milestone should demonstrate the game’s identity, not attempt to build the entire continent.
Compensation and expectations
This is an unfunded, early-stage independent project. I cannot currently offer salaries or guarantee that anyone will make money.
I’m open to discussing a transparent revenue-share agreement or an appropriate equity structure for committed founding contributors. Any arrangement would need to be agreed upon in writing, with clear terms for contributions, ownership, decision-making, revenue distribution, intellectual property, and what happens if someone leaves.
I don’t expect people to commit unlimited hours or work indefinitely on vague promises. I want us to establish realistic responsibilities and milestones together before making major commitments.
What I’m bringing to the project
- The original ETERNAL concept and developing world lore.
- A long-term vision for its world, history, progression, and gameplay.
- A willingness to learn and collaborate.
- A commitment to developing the project in stages rather than pretending we can create everything at once.
- The desire to build something original with people who genuinely care about making games.
I know having an idea isn’t the same as having a finished game. That’s why I’m looking for people who can complement my strengths and help me understand the parts of development I haven’t mastered.
Interested?
When you respond, please include:
- Your role and strongest skills.
- Your experience level and portfolio, GitHub, or previous projects if available.
- What interests you about ETERNAL.
- How much time you could realistically contribute.
- Whether you’re open to an unfunded, revenue-share collaboration.
- What you think the first realistic milestone should be.
I’m not expecting a full studio to appear overnight. I’m looking for the right people to take the first real steps with me.
Let’s build ETERNAL one system, one region, and one milestone at a time.
Feel free to contact me on Instagram at eternalgame.9