MunkyFun Unveils Itself With Vision Engine License Announcement

Recently-formed independent game studio MunkyFun has announced its use of Trinigy's Vision Game Engine 7 for use in PC and console games -- with the statement calling attention to the existence of the developer, which has been operating fairly quietly so far. Based in downtown San Francisco, MunkyFun was founded by a team of former LucasArts staffers who most recently worked on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. CEO Nick Pavis served as LucasArts' head of head of technology. The company has already released two iPhone games, Ivory Tiles and Shift, under the MunkyFun brand, and according to its official website, contributed to Autumn Moon entertainment's PC adventure A Vampyre Story. This week's deal with Trinigy gives MunkyFun the right to develop "multiple games" for PC and console using the Vision Engine. The studio has given no definite indication as to its plans beyond that it is working on both original and licensed titles, but its site does declare, "Every good game has a monkey in it." "After evaluating a number of commercial engines we were confident in our decision to license Trinigy’s Vision Engine," said Pavis in a statement. "We found a robust, mature toolset and development environment enabling our team to quickly test our ideas and make changes in real-time. ...Developers evaluating engines need to put Trinigy’s Vision Engine on their list." Vision Engine is not as well-known as competitors like Unreal Engine 3, Source, or Torque, but Trinigy US president and CEO Daniel J. Conradie says this announcement demonstrates "increasing momentum" for the tech. Other Vision Engine licensees include Ubisoft, Take-Two, and Dreamcatcher.