Whenever a larger, established developer decides to strike out on their own and “go indie,” it always warms the cockles of my heart. Often, working for a larger entity means a greater degree of creative restraint. So imagine my delight when I find out today that former Epic Games lead gameplay designer Lee Perry is hitting the road, armed with only his hobo bindlestiff and a pack of ramen. And by that, I mean a gorgeous Unreal 3 Engine title in the works.
Whenever a larger, established developer decides to strike out on their own and “go indie,” it always warms the cockles of my heart. Often, working for a larger entity means a greater degree of creative restraint. So imagine my delight when I find out today that former Epic Games lead gameplay designer Lee Perry is hitting the road, armed with only his hobo bindlestiff and a pack of ramen. And by that, I mean a gorgeous Unreal 3 Engine title in the works.
Taking to Twitter (and the internet at large) to announce the career change, Perry took the opportunity to adress the “what’s next?” question in one fell swoop. His answer? BitMonster Games. Staffed not only by Perry but by several Epic alum, the studio certainly isn’t sitting around twiddling its thumbs. In fact, today’s bittersweet news was given an extra helping of sweet by the tease of BitMonster’s first project: Lili.
In true teaser fashion, not much can be gleaned from the one-minute video, but it’s hard not to be extremely impressed with what you can see. From the looks of it, the game has you guiding the curious titular heroine on a fantastical alterworld exploration through jungles and villages filled with bustling robots. Oh, and all of it’s beautiful. With Perry harnessing his strong relationship with Epic and licensing the Unreal 3 Engine, Lili represents the first vibrant, whimsical adventure we’ve seen with visuals of a quality equal to something like Infinity Blade.
It’s certainly too soon to pass any judgement on this one, but it isn’t too soon to watch that teaser again. Seriously, have at it. An iOS title that feels partly like Uncharted, partly like Myst, and looks just about as good as them both? Count us in. We’ll have more details, interviews, and info as time goes on, so stay tuned to Gamezebo!
