Epic secures rights to Fighting Fantasy iOS games
Four start-up studios adapting one book each.
Gears of War publisher Epic Games has secured the rights to release four iOS titles based on the classic Fighting Fantasy role-playing series.
As part of the Make Something Unreal Live challenge, it has tasked four start-up studios with adapting one book each, using its Unreal Development Kit.
The books chosen are The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, Deathtrap Dungeon and Armies of Death.
The four studios - The A-Team, Nova Eye, Team Gandalf and an 'all-star' group - got the nod after placing in last year's Epic Game Jam event.
Each team will work under the mentorship of various industry figures, with their finished games set to be unveiled at the Gadget Show Live event in Birmingham this April. One winner will be selected by a panel of judges, and the victor awarded a full source commercial Unreal Engine 3 license for iOS.
"Steve Jackson and I are delighted to see our Fighting Fantasy gamebooks being developed as iOS games by new teams of talented and enthusiastic students. It will be really interesting to see how our IP will be captured and interpreted for the iOS platform," commented Fighting Fantasy co-creator Ian Livingstone.
"This competition is a great way to showcase the creative talent of a new generation. The evolving games industry is constantly on the lookout for design innovation and new ways of playing. I am really looking forward to playing one of my books as a game."