Inside Unreal | MegaGrants: How to Stand Out

WHAT
A MegaGrant can be a great way to get your project off the ground, or even take it to the next level. But what does Epic look for in our applicants? And how do you maximize your MegaGrant after you get it? In this Inside Unreal, we talk to the creators of Wholesome - Out and About, BattleJuice Alchemist, and RIFT about their journeys, as well as the process of making games and animated films with Unreal Engine.

WHEN
Thursday, January 26th @ 2:00 PM ET - Countdown

WHERE
Twitch
YouTube

WHO

Elena Höge (She/Her) - Founder of Yaldi Games - [@YaldiGames]
Elena Hoge is the Founder of Yaldi Games, the creator of Wholesome - Out and About. Currently in development, Wholesome puts you on a benevolent quest to help your Granny after a terrible storm destroyed both her cottage and much of her town. Not only do you get to do a bit of good in the community, you also get to connect with nature via foraging, gardening, and cooking in this game. The side benefit, as Elena sees it, is that Wholesome inspires people to connect with the outdoors and the people around them long after they get done playing. We love it!
https://www.yaldigames.com/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1671570/Wholesome__Out_and_About/

Alain Brunotte (He/Him) - Indie Game Developer - @AlchemicalWorks
Alain Brunotte, of Alchemical Works, is the solo developer behind BattleJuice Alchemist. After starting with modding in the late 90s, Alain became a freelance artist on music videos, ads, and corporate films before returning to games in 2018. Since then, he’s been doing everything on BattleJuice Alchemist, including the game design, programming, music, and art. In the game, you play Juice, an alchemist who must fight demons in a wilderness setting formerly known as New England. This classic action RPG features magic, rituals…even some bullet-time close combat! Check out the Early Access version now.
https://www.alchemical-works.com
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1384060/BattleJuice_Alchemist

HaZ Dulull - Director / Producer and founder of HaZimation - @HaZ_Dulull
Haz Dulull is the Founder of HaZzimation, creators of RIFT, which just happens to be one of the first feature films to be produced entirely inside of Unreal Engine. Haz’s history includes work for video games cinematics, visual effect supervision, and now, animated 3D films films. RIFT is also being turned into a transmedia project, as the movie is being produced simultaneously with a game.
https://www.awn.com/news/exclusive-rift-created-entirely-unreal-engine-debut-spark-animation-festival
https://hazimation.artstation.com
Ari Arnbjornsson - Evangelist - @flassari
Christian Allen - Evangelist - @Serellan
Tina Wisdom (She/Her) - Community Manager - @TheUnWiseTina

If you’re unable to make the livestream, all episodes of Inside Unreal can be viewed afterwards on-demand .

5 Likes

It helps a lot to clarify what Epic is looking for in our projects. I never considered applying my game to this because I watched so many good projects being rejected during the selection process. Due to the fact that I’m just making a game with nothing new to offer, I most likely won’t apply to MegaGrants. But knowing what they’re searching for will be helpful in the future.

4 Likes

Excelent, thanks

We have been rejected multiple times. Hopefully this will give insight as to why. I’m sure there is a level of monetary investment vs payout steering the ship.

1 Like

I found this to be very exciting and inspiring. Thank you all!

Good afternoon,

I totally missed this, can some explain how to a apply for something like this?

NVM. I just saw the YT link.