MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Epic games have today announced another round of Unreal Dev Grants, which award six recipients $160,000 to use on their projects developed with Unreal Engine 4. In addition to announcing the grants, Epic have also announced the lucky recipients themselves.
The first round of Unreal Dev Grants was first introduced in February 2015, and is a $5m initiative to provide those using Unreal Engine 4 with no-strings-attached funding for promising products.
In their press release, Epic shared some details on the games they’re funding and so we’ve listed them below, as ones to watch.
Alice VR Carbon Studio
Alice VR is an adventure sci-fi game from Carbon Studio exploring the power of virtual reality, transporting players to a beautiful alien planet which they must escape.
The immersive game features a series of puzzles designed specifically for VR, and places control in players’ hands, with every decision made leading to different paths and offering a variety of endings to experience.
Conarium Zoetrope Interactive
In Conarium, players take on the role of Frank Gilman, a member of the Anthropology Department in the Miskatonic University, who has taken part in an experimental expedition, attempting to pass beyond the limits of human consciousness by using a device called Conarium.
The chilling exploration game features beautifully-realized dark worlds that the player must traverse as they discover clues, unlock secrets and experience alternate realities while avoiding macabre beings at all costs.
The Fantastic Voyages of Teo and Leonie Kenzan Studios
Designed from the ground up to be a transmedia product, the TV series
The Fantastic Voyages of Teo and Leonie is based on a combination of traditional animation and Unreal Engine 4 real-time rendering, with content built for platforms ranging from smartphones, TVs and consoles to VR headsets.
The Fantastic Voyages of Teo and Leonie follows two young children from the early 20th century who suddenly find themselves lost in the middle of the Renaissance, where a sympathetic Leonardo da Vinci takes them under his wing to try to get them home.
The WatchmakerMicropsia Games
The Watchmaker is a third-person puzzle adventure for PC and PlayStation 4. In the game, the player takes on the role of Alexander, who is trapped in a steampunk dream world, represented by the inner gears of a large clock. The player’s mission is to repair this precious clock that has been sabotaged by an unknown entity while fighting in a race against time, as Alexander is plagued with a strange disease that ages him rapidly. View the announcement
Lost Soul AsideYang Bing
Lost Soul Aside is a role-playing game by designer Yang Bing. Bing began developing the game two years ago after being inspired by the trailer for Final Fantasy XV.
Lost Soul Aside features beautifully detailed characters, fantastical open worlds and action-packed combat. The game is currently in its earliest stages, being solely developed by Bing.
The Dice is Cast Studio NextStage
The Dice is Cast is a mobile action role-playing game which features board game-style gameplay. Players hit dice and move around the board to hex fields where they engage in action-packed battles against enemies. Integrated joystick controls within the mobile interface are familiar and satisfying to console RPG fans.
The Dice is Cast currently features 80 stage, raid and time attack modes, and it is available in Korea for Android and iOS devices.
