Epic Games Awards More Than Half A Million Dollars In Unreal Dev Grants

Epic Games today announced the latest round of Unreal Dev Grants, totaling more than half a million dollars. More than 30 developers, artists and programmers were hand-picked for their incredible projects developed on the engine.

.

Unreal Dev Grants is a $5 million program that provides no-strings-attached funding to outstanding developers, programmers, artists and designers using Unreal Engine 4. Since the program’s launch in February 2015, Epic has awarded a total of $1.2 million to developers for their work.

.

A number of the recipients will be offering demos of their projects on the GDC showfloor! You can find more information on today’s recipients, as well as where to check them out, below:

.

Giant by Milica Zec and Winslow Turner Porter III

Giant is an emotional, critically acclaimed VR film revealed at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, showing on Oculus. Drawing on director and co-creator Milica Zec’s personal experiences as a child in war-torn Serbia, Giant transports the viewer into the life of a family struggling to survive in an active war zone. Follow @milicazec and @Giant_VR on Twitter.

.

Giant is available for demos at Epic’s GDC VR Lounge on the third floor in Moscone West.

.

Thunderbird by Innervision VR

Thunderbird is an immersive first-person adventure game designed and created by a team of two – a father and son. Thunderbird takes players on a fantastical journey and was recently the winner of “Best VR Experience” at the recent Vision Summit. Follow @InnervisionVR on Twitter and check out gameplay trailers on Innervision Games’ YouTube channel.

.

Thunderbird is available for demos at Epic’s GDC VR Lounge on the third floor in Moscone West.

.

Astroneer by System Era

Astroneer, the upcoming sci-fi adventure game from System Era Softworks, is a game of aerospace industry and interplanetary exploration where players must find a way to dig out a life on one of a multitude of harsh new worlds while discovering oddities, raising questions, and uncovering mysteries. Follow @astroneergame on Twitter and read more on Astroneer on the official website.

.

Astroneer is available for demos at Epic’s Unreal Engine Booth #1024 in Moscone South.

.

Obduction by Cyan

Obduction is Cyan’s highly anticipated spiritual successor to Myst and Riven and is scheduled for release in June 2016 on PC. Follow @cyanworlds on Twitter and check out the teaser trailer on Cyan’s YouTube channel.

.

Obduction is available for demos at Epic’s Unreal Engine Booth #1024 in Moscone South.

.

GRIP by Caged Element

Caged Element’s GRIP is a futuristic combat racer inspired by the Rollcage games from 1999/2000. It combines furious speed with intense action to create unforgettable racing moments. The game is currently on Steam right now! Follow @gripvideogame on Twitter and check out the Early Access launch trailer on GRIP’s YouTube channel.

.

GRIP is available for demos at Epic’s Unreal Engine Booth #1024 in Moscone South.

.

Traverse by Mad Cow Studio

Traverse is a massively multiplayer online sandbox game currently in development by Mad Cow Studio. The game combines many elements from various game styles, ranging from class-based character specialization and action-based combat to voxel-based planet shaping. Find out more on Traverse on the official website.

.

Voidrunner by RealityArts

RealityArts’ Voidrunner is a multiplayer flight game currently planned for release on PC, Mac and consoles. Follow @VoidrunnerGame on Twitter and view Voidrunner’s cinematic and gameplay trailers on their YouTube channel.

.

Way to the Woods by Anthony Tan

Way to the Woods is an adventure game created by 16-year-old Anthony Tan, based in Australia. Way to the Woods, which first gained notoriety after Tan released images of the project on Reddit, is currently being developed for PC. Follow @anthony_tan on Twitter and take a look at the highly praised art from the game here.

.

Ashen by Aurora44

Ashen is a third person action RPG from Aurora44. At its core, Ashen is about forging relationships and allowing players to guide those they trust to their camp to come together in order to survive. Follow @aurora44games on Twitter and check out the announce trailer on Xbox’s YouTube channel.

.

Terror Web by Sam Macaroni

Terror Web is a virtual reality first person shooter game where the player finds themselves fighting to survive against giant spiders in the destroyed streets of a city. Terror Web was created by YouTube personality Sam Macaroni with the help of his partner Tim Montijo, and currently has a demo playable on the HTC Vive. Follow @sammacaroni on Twitter and check out his videos on his YouTube channel.

.

Project Genom by NeuronHaze

NeuronHaze’s Project Genom is a sci-fi MMORPG set in an alien world that allows players to participate in the battle for the survival of humankind. Follow @pgenom on Twitter and view the trailer on Project Genom’s YouTube channel.

.

Project Moss

The Seattle-based team behind Project Moss is comprised of former Bungie developers working on an upcoming game for VR platforms. Look out for more information about this project in the future.

.

Perception by Deep End Games

Perception is a new narrative horror adventure from Deep End Games, a studio comprised of developers who previously worked on the BioShock and Dead Space games. Perception offers a bold and fresh take on first person narrative games, and tells the story of a blind heroine who uses her other senses to unravel mysteries of an abandoned estate that haunts her dreams. Follow @thedeependgames on Twitter and view the Perception gameplay trailer on Creative director Creative Director Bill Gardner’s YouTube channel.

.

Probuilder by Six by Seven Studio

Six by Seven Studio’s Probuilder is a popular Unity plugin for geometry tools that has been ported to UE4. Find out more on Probuilder on the their thread on the UE4 forums.

.

RUINER by Reikon Games

RUINER is a brutal action shooter set in the year 2091, created by Reikon Games. It’s a story-driven game created in the spirit of cult cyberpunk anime. Follow @ruinergame on Twitter and watch the gameplay teaser trailer on RUINER’s YouTube channel.

.

WARTILE by Playwood Games

WARTILE is a real time strategy game for PC and tablets from studio Playwood Games in which players must lead a small band of miniature figures to battle on the battle board. Follow @wartilegame on Twitter and find out more details on the game on the official website and Kickstarter page.

.

Shape of the World by Hollow Tree Games

Shape of the World is an ephemeral first-person exploration game from Hollow Tree Games. The game is set for release on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Mac later this year. Follow @shapeoftheworld on Twitter and check out the official trailer on Shape of the World’s YouTube channel.

.

Rense De Boer

Rense is an artist building content that uses photogrammetry as its foundation, in turn, creating breathtaking technical demos that will fully utilize 4k displays. View more of Rense’s work on his official website, and check out his video, “Building a 4k experience, on YouTube.

.

UE4Arch

UE4Arch utilizes UE4 to create hyper-realistic virtual creations that can be experienced in virtual reality. UE4Arch was also the first company to create interactive photo realistic archviz projects for UE4 and is at the forefront of this market. Follow @ue4arch on Twitter and find out more details on UE4Arch on the official website.

.

NEBULA: Sole Survivor by Bruno Gruber de Araujo

NEBULA: Sole Survivor is an exploration-focused role-playing game from Bruno Gruber de Araujo that combines action and RPG elements. The sci-fi shooter will have players killing hordes of aliens and solving mysteries to find their way out of this godforsaken rock! Follow @solidmesh on Twitter for the latest updates and support the game development on Patreon.

.

Aurora by Jason Connell

Jason Connell’s Aurora is an upcoming minimalist short story is told through captivating music and visuals. Follow @artenvelope on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest developments and to see the latest clips from the game.

.

Brookhaven Experiment by Phosphor Games

Phosphor Games’ Brookhaven Experiment is a virtual reality survival shooter for the HTC Vive. Players will have to use the weapons and tools provided to survive terrifying waves of horrific monsters in an attempt to figure out what caused the beginning of the end of the world.  Follow @phosphorgames on Twitter and check out the announcement trailer on Phosphor Games’ YouTube channel.

.

Dungeon Architect by Ali Akbar

Dungeon Architect is a plugin for the Unreal Editor created by Ali Akbar. The plugin helps in streamlining the level creation process and allows designers to quickly create levels procedurally (or manually) by blocking out volumes and having the plugin build the environment automatically around it. Find out more details on the plugin on the UE4 forum and watch it in action on Akbar’s YouTube channel.

.

Submerge by Ice Bird Studios

Submerge is a fast-paced, tactical survival game from Ice Bird Studios. The RTS game is set underwater and focuses mainly on thrilling multiplayer matches. Follow @submerge_game on Twitter and watch the gameplay trailer on Submerge Gameplay’s YouTube page.

.

Deliver us the Moon by KeokeN Interactive

KeokeN Interactive’s Deliver Us The Moon is a game set in the near future, where Earth’s resources are nearly depleted and players must traverse the moon, explore abandoned facilities and perhaps even uncover some secrets and hidden agendas with the information you gather. Follow @keoken on Twitter and find out more about the game on the official website.

.

Dries Deryckere

Dries is Game Graphics student at Howest University in Belgium and the creator of the Destructible Car in Unreal Engine. Follow @theturtletim on Twitter and check out his video of the destructible car on Vimeo.

.

Adam Horvath

Adam is an AR developer and an active member of the UE4 community. He was spotlighted in the media for his amazing creation of an AR fight scene using a UE4 plugin. Watch the AR fight scene video, along with other UE4-powered videos on Horvath’s YouTube channel.

.

Solitairica by Righteous Hammer

Righteous Hammer’s Solitairica is a mix between a card game and RPG battler. The mobile game is slated to release on iOS later this year. Follow @righteoushq on Twitter and check out Righteous Hammer’s official website for more details.

.

Peter Newton

Peter is an experienced instructor who provides online tutoring sessions for UE4. He is currently working on A.I.-related projects. Follow @PeterLNewton on Twitter and watch his UE4 tutorials on his YouTube page.

.

Michael Allar

Michael is a hero within the UE4 community. He is an avid user of UE4 and takes advantage of all that the engine has to offer. Follow @michaelallar on Twitter and read more on his blog.

.

.

.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.