psyonix-studios posts

Game developer Psyonix has worked to help out other developers on big AAA games (including this year's titles Bulletstorm and Homefront) but it also makes games on its own. When Epic launched its UDK free game tools in 2009, Psyonix used it to make the free game demo Whizzle.

Now Psyonix is getting into the business of releasing very early versions of upcoming games for free in hopes that the team can get feedback from the community. Company head Dave Hagewood states in a recent update, "We may not be able to entirely self-fund and release full games right away but we may be able to release partial games '"while they are in development". The team has done just that with this week's release of A.R.C. Squadron, a sci-fi themed air combat action game with a bit of a Warhawk vibe

The game is being offered via a game client download/update program which you can get from the developer's web site. There's no matchmaking software yet so you have to manually type in the IP address to connect to a multiplayer server that's running the game (Psyonix has one at 70.166.15.133). It also recommends playing it with a gamepad.

San Diego-based Psyonix is a full fledged professional game developer with lots of experience in using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 technology. Indeed the developer has collaborated directly with Epic on several of their games. However, the team also likes to experiment with new game prototypes and one of those efforts, the casual underwater-themed platformer Whizzle, has been turned into a full (and free) stand along game using Epic's now officially released Unreal Development Kit.

Big Download got a chance to ask some questions to the Psyonix team and its founder Dave.Hagewood to find out more about how Whizzle was made, what they think the release of UDK will mean for game development and more.

Epic has released the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), a free version of Unreal Engine 3 for aspiring game developers. It's absolutely free for noncommercial and educational purposes. Those that wish to use Unreal Engine 3 for commercial use will need should refer to licensing terms at www.udk.com/licensing. The press announcement, demonstration video and features list can be seen after the jump. For more information, users can visit the official forums or the UDK documentation page.

To demonstrate the power and versatility of the development tool, there are two free games available, made using the UDK. They are:

Whizzle: A vertical scrolling puzzle game in which players swim through levels as Whizzle, an adorable sea creature that collects items and frees tiny comrades from captivity. Avoid the electrifying stingers of the jellyfish! More information about Whizzle, including a developer diary video, can be seen after the jump.

The Ball: An episodic, puzzle-based action game. Known as one of the most award-winning Unreal Tournament 3 mods in the $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest, "The Ball" has won honors for Best Use of Physics, Best Game Type and Best FPS Mod. Toltec Studios has ported over its UT3 mod to UDK, and the free, standalone version of The Ball is available for download.

Download Unreal Development Kit (562 MB)
Download HD Unreal Development Kit Launch Trailer (80 MB)
Download HD UDK Psyonix Developer Diary (344 MB)

Download Whizzle (112 MB)
Download The Ball UDK Demo (359 MB)