The Day Before Developers Fntastic Want You To Design Levels For Them, But They Won’t Pay You

The developers behind the failed extraction shooter The Day Before are asking people to design levels for its next game. Fntastic took to its Discord server (h/t Eurogamer) to announce a “contest” for people to design a map for its latest attempt at a game, ITEMS.

The catch is, the winner of the contest won’t be paid for their work.

“This contest is a chance for you to unleash your creativity by designing a map that, if it wins, will be added to the game in future updates,” the announcement read.

Rules for participating in the “contest” were then laid out, which includes stating that submissions can be 2D drawings, 3D models, or “any other style”. In addition to the map design, submissions need to also include images and artwork, a full description, the map’s theme, layoff, and “balance considerations”.

The kicker, as mentioned earlier, is that the person who creates the winning submission won’t receive any payment for the time put into designing the map. Instead, they’ll simply get a copy of the game — if it ever releases –, the map built for use in the game, and their name displayed “somewhere” on the map.

As of publishing, six maps have been submitted.

Fntastic’s History With Fan Submissions

Fntastic looking for fan submissions for its map designs isn’t something new for the studio. During the development of The Day Before, the studio regularly used unpaid volunteers for the development of its game. Those volunteers were located in various countries, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, and more.

At one point, the studio claimed to be using over 100 full time volunteers.

What do you think of Fntastic holding a contest for maps for its new game? Let us know down below, and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming forum.

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