Highly anticipated indie game puts its own spin on Epic’s award-winning tech
Minority announces it is using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) to develop “Papo & Yo,” the indie 3D puzzle-platforming adventure that won over critics with more than two dozen award nominations and wins at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). “Papo & Yo” is coming to PlayStation®Network in early 2012.
Minority chose UE3 in part because its team members have had success using the toolset in developing triple-A games such as “Army of Two” and also because it was easy to staff up with experienced developers thanks to Montreal’s thriving UE3 talent base.
“‘Papo & Yo’ is excellent proof of what small teams can quickly produce with the UE3 toolset,” said Joe Kreiner, North American territory manager of Epic Games. “There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you have a great creative vision and leverage Unreal Engine technology.”
“We knew UE3 would get us creating gameplay mechanics and levels very quickly. We wanted to quickly start building gameplay elements and puzzles and iterating on them. UE3’s material editor allowed us to get beautiful characters and environments without a lot of work,” said Julien Barnoin, Minority Lead Engineer. “When artists or designers come to me asking for a new feature, I can often just point them to how to do it right in the editor, and can get back to coding the features that are really unique to our game.”
Using Epic’s engine as the backbone of the company’s flagship game meant more than just time saving, however. The community around UE3 was very helpful in the process, Barnoin said, “The resources available on UDN are always very advantageous. Even after years using the engine, there are always things for me to learn–either new features or useful little tools I’ve never known were there–so reading documentation and keeping an eye on relevant mailing lists is a must to make the most of the engine.”
Inspired by creative director Vander Caballero’s turbulent relationship with his father, “Papo & Yo” follows the story of a young boy, Quico, and his best friend, Monster, a huge beast who becomes violent when he succumbs to his poisonous frog addiction. Quico must save Monster by playing to his emotions to search for a cure and save his pal.
Advance praise for the game has been very positive, with “Papo & Yo” bringing home both IGN and GameSpot’s awards for Best Puzzle Game. IGN said that the PSN exclusive “is already shaping up to be unabashedly honest, soul bearing,” and GameSpot stated that “its deeply personal subject matter, clever implantation of puzzles, and surreal art design combine to make something unique and engaging.” G4TV said that the game’s “focus on a personal story with plenty of psychological conflict, yet no physical combat, combined with its unconventional setting make it one of the most interesting games of E3.”
About Unreal Engine 3
The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed toolset and scalability across platforms. Unreal Engine 3’s highly mature toolset and content pipeline consistently evolve along with its advanced mobile features, multi-core processor support, optimizations for iOS, Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 and massive world support. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated television shows. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained at http://www.unrealengine.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its “Unreal” series, including “Unreal Tournament 3” for PC, PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. Epic’s “Gears of War” franchise has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide and won more than 50 Game of the Year awards. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 is the seven-time winner of and Hall of Fame inductee for Game Developer magazine’s Best Engine Front Line Award. Unreal Engine 3 has also held the Develop Industry Excellence Award in its category for the past four years. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at http://www.epicgames.com.
About Minority
Founded in 2010 by Vander Caballero, former Design Director at EA Montreal, through a partnership with Rezolution Pictures, an award-winning film and television production company, Minority is an independent game development studio based in Montreal, Quebec. Minority is the home for passionate and experienced creators who could not stand to develop yet another shooter game. The studio aims to deliver meaningful game experiences to the public, starting with its first game, “Papo & Yo,” coming to PlayStation®Network in 2012. To learn more about the team, whose collective credits include AAA titles such as Army of Two, Boogie, FIFA and Spore Hero, visit the website at: http://www.weareminority.com.
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Unreal, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.