The dynamos behind Epic Games’ Unreal Engine are keeping quite busy, announcing the return of the Unreal E3 Awards to the LA gaming extravaganza (June 13-15), as well as the awarding of $275,000 in the latest round of Unreal Dev Grants.
The 2017 Unreal E3 Awards are being presented in partnership with VentureBeat, to honor the most innovative, creative and visually stunning Unreal Engine-powered games participating in this year’s expo. Competition categories include Eye Candy, Best Hook, Most Addictive, Best Sequel, Best Original Game Biggest Buzz, Best VR Game, Outstanding Gameplay and Unreal Underdog. Each winning team will receive an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card, courtesy of NVIDIA.
Epic Games will also hold a casual Unreal Engine meetup at E3 at the Golden Gopher in downtown LA on Wednesday, June 14 from 6-8 p.m. Attendees can take part in a discussion with the Unreal Engine team, enjoy some drinks and get a chance to win an NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti graphics card.
The latest batch of Unreal Dev Grants recipients — representing projects in a variety of mediums including games, film, technology and community support — are listed below. Information on applying for grant funding is available here.
VIDEO GAMES
Albino Lullaby from Ape Law – A horror adventure game that doesn’t rely on jump scares or gore, Episode 2 is coming this year. The interactive environment twists and contorts around in real time as players navigate the game’s twisted narrative. http://albinolullaby.com
Be:Brave by One Dream – Coming soon to iOS and Android, an original RPG adventure that takes players on a journey through Camelot castle. http://one-dream.info/bb
Deep Rock Galactic from Ghostship Games – A four-player co-op game set in space. Players must fight and dig their way through various cave systems in order to find great treasures and hopefully make it out alive. www.ghostship.dk
Formula Fusion by R8 Games – Test out your anti-gravity racing abilities. Players can tackle the game’s single player campaign mode, or take their skills online for multiplayer fun! Formula Fusion is now available in Early Access.www.formulafusiongame.com/teams
Galactic Feud from Fat Bomb Studios – Recently greenlit on Steam, Galactic Feud is a fast-paced party brawler currently in beta. Featuring hilarity-inducing gameplay and a wild roster of 12 characters, the game offers plenty of local and online multiplayer fun! galacticfeud.fatbombstudios.com
Mothergunship from Terrible Posture Games – From Joe Mirabello, creator of Tower of Guns, Mothergunship features chaotic, first-person shooter survival action that has recently been earning praise at various conferences. Published by GRIP Digital, the game also features gun-crafting and co-op, and will be launching on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam. www.mothergunship.com
No More Room in Hell 2 – The highly anticipated sequel to the top-rated 2011 zombie survival game for PC. https://blog.nmrih2.com
Omen of Sorrow by AOne Games – An upcoming fighting title starring a dozen iconic characters from myth and legend. Acclaimed artist Genzoman (Double Dragon: Neon, Ultra Street Fighter IV, Hearthstone) has contributed to the game’s unique art style. Includes local and online multiplayer and is being developed for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. http://aonegames.com/en/index.html
Project EX from Playearth – Currently in development from Korean studio Playearth, Project EX is an upcoming game pushing the boundaries of mobile graphics. www.playearth.co.kr/?lightbox=dataItem-iytsfh9a
Raiders of Erda from Cooperative Innovations – An intense VR RPG experience, announced earlier this year. The game features a complex combat system and an alpha is expected in 2017. Sign up for the Raiders of Erda mailing list for updates.
The Soulkeeper VR by Helm Systems – An episodic dark fantasy role-playing game coming soon to Steam Early Access. As one of the only graphically powerful RPGs for VR players, it’s packed with adventure and utilizes the full play space through both free roaming and teleportation. http://vr.thesoulkeeper.com
Unfortunate Spacemen from Sandswept Studios – A multiplayer game in which spacemen must work to be rescued from a failing outpost as a shape-shifting, body-stealing monster lurks amongst them. The game is currently in beta with positive reviews on Steam Early Access. http://unfortunate.space
FILM
Tree by New Reality Co – From New Reality Co, the creators of the social awareness VR experience Giant, comes Tree, an emotionally touching VR experience that uses sight, sound, touch and even smell to explore the lifecycle of a rainforest tree from a seedling to full-grown state to unfortunate human consumption. Shown at VRLA, the Tribeca Film Festival, and now at Cannes, the experience has earned critical acclaim for its impactful push for environmental change. www.treeofficial.com
TECH
gameDNA – An independent game development studio that has contributed several analytics and ad service plugins currently available for purchase on the Unreal Engine Marketplace. For a full list of plugins, including gameDNA’s Google Analytics provider and an Extended Facebook Online Subsystem, visit gameDNA’s profile on the Unreal Engine Marketplace.
realityvirtual.co – Based in New Zealand, realityvirtual.co are R&D pioneers in new media, including drone UAV cinematography and virtual reality. They have been pushing the bleeding edge of photogrammetry and volumetric capture for VR in UE4. Their MANA VR project is currently touring the world. www.realityvirtual.co
COMMUNITY
MGSStudios – MGSStudios has been leading the charge in the creation of Robo Recall mods. Their contributions have led to several of the most actively used mods, such as the popular locomotion mod that changes how the game is played and other popular community mods.
Shadowriver – A developer who has been instrumental in supporting the Unreal Engine developer community ever since the early days of the Unreal Engine 4 (codenamed Rocket) beta. He has played an integral role in the AnswerHub and Unreal Engine forum communities by sharing his knowledge through discussions on countless questions and topics.
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