Hello everyone,
I am developing Echoes of the Broken Sun, a macOS-first science-fantasy real-time strategy game in Unreal Engine 5. The project is currently an unpaid hobby collaboration, and I am looking for a small number of contributors who are interested in helping turn the existing prototype into a polished and playable vertical slice.
This is not a concept-only recruitment post. The project already has a public repository, working gameplay systems, technical documentation, automated testing, three implemented factions, AI opponents, campaign and skirmish functionality, construction and production systems, logistics, save and restore support, victory conditions, and early multiplayer work.
The game
Echoes of the Broken Sun is intended to be a strategy game where success depends more on judgment than mechanical speed. I do not want it to become another RTS where the player with the fastest keyboard inputs automatically has the advantage.
The design emphasizes:
- Battlefield positioning and territorial control
- Logistics and force sustainability
- Intelligence, reconnaissance, and incomplete information
- Resource denial and long-term strategic consequences
- Asymmetric factions with meaningfully different doctrines
- Decisions that can alter the remainder of a battle or campaign
At the center of the game is the Future Well, a contested strategic resource that creates a choice between immediate power and future opportunity. Players may harvest it, preserve it, deny it to an opponent, or use it to reshape battlefield conditions. The intent is to create meaningful tradeoffs rather than a single optimal build order.
The three factions currently being developed are:
- Meridian, focused on control, organization, infrastructure, and technological precision
- Kharuun, focused on mobility, pressure, adaptation, and aggressive battlefield tempo
- Hollow Choir, focused on disruption, sacrifice, manipulation, and unconventional effects
Current development approach
The project is also an experiment in AI-assisted game development. I provide the game design, system architecture, requirements, acceptance criteria, creative direction, testing expectations, and overall technical roadmap. AI has produced much of the implementation to date.
I do not treat AI-generated code or content as automatically correct. Everything still needs to be reviewed, tested, profiled, integrated, and validated like any other contribution. Part of the purpose of this project is to determine where AI can accelerate development and where experienced human judgment remains essential.
I am particularly interested in contributors who want to challenge weak implementation decisions, improve the architecture, identify defects, and help establish a professional development process around the project.
Primary contributors needed
Technical artist or environment artist
The current prototype needs substantial improvement in battlefield presentation and visual identity. Areas include:
- Lighting and atmosphere
- Materials and shaders
- Niagara effects
- Terrain and environment composition
- Unit and structure readability
- Faction-specific visual language
- Performance-conscious asset integration
- Visual development of the initial vertical-slice battlefield
A contributor does not need to create every asset from scratch. Experience selecting, adapting, optimizing, and integrating marketplace or independently sourced assets would also be valuable.
UI/UX contributor
The game needs a coherent RTS interface that communicates complex information without overwhelming the player. Areas include:
- Unit and structure selection
- Command feedback
- Construction and production interfaces
- Resource and logistics displays
- Tactical alerts
- Campaign progression
- Settings and accessibility
- Tooltips and contextual information
- Resolution scaling and macOS display behavior
Experience with Unreal Motion Graphics, CommonUI, Slate, or RTS interface design would be useful, but a strong UI/UX portfolio and willingness to learn Unreal workflows are also relevant.
macOS and Apple platform contributor
Because this is being developed as a macOS-first project, I would like help from someone familiar with Unreal Engine development on Apple platforms. Relevant areas include:
- Apple Silicon performance profiling
- Metal rendering behavior
- Xcode and Unreal build workflows
- Packaging and distribution
- Code signing and notarization
- Entitlements and application permissions
- Clean-machine installation testing
- Crash reporting and diagnostics
- Input, display, and resolution compatibility
- Build-size and loading-time optimization
Experience shipping an Unreal Engine application on macOS would be especially valuable.
Additional areas where help would be useful
Although the three roles above are the immediate priorities, I am also open to hearing from people interested in:
- Unreal Engine C++ gameplay development
- RTS AI and behavior design
- Multiplayer architecture and testing
- Network security and authoritative simulation
- Game balance and systems design
- Animation, sound design, or music
- QA, automated testing, and build validation
- Technical writing and project documentation
- Playtesting and structured gameplay feedback
Collaboration model
This is currently a hobby and unpaid project. There is no promise of salary, revenue sharing, equity, or future commercial compensation at this stage. I want that to be clear before anyone commits time to it.
The working model is remote and asynchronous. Contributors can focus on a defined feature, asset set, technical review, test activity, or other bounded area rather than making an open-ended commitment. I am more interested in reliable, measurable contributions than in requiring a fixed number of hours each week.
Development is managed through GitHub. Work should be documented, reviewable, and testable. Contributors will receive appropriate project credit and may identify their contributions in their professional portfolios, subject to any applicable asset licenses and contributor terms.
The immediate objective is not to build the entire game at once. It is to produce a credible vertical slice that demonstrates the core combat loop, faction differentiation, Future Well mechanic, user experience, visual direction, and macOS performance.
Project links
Project page:
GitHub repository:
Anyone interested is welcome to reply here or reach out through GitHub. Please include the area in which you would like to contribute, any relevant Unreal or game-development experience, and whether you are interested in implementation, review, testing, art, design, or platform support.
Thank you for taking a look.
Angelis Pseftis