The Collage Atlas, a game entirely produced using artwork drawn by hand, recently launched on Apple Arcade.
The project started life as an avenue for designer John Evelyn to freely explore his illustrative flair, but soon became more than a full-time job as outside interest meant the project became a much-anticipated commercial game.
The Collage Atlas is a first-person adventure game that explores emotive topics such as humanity, memory and hope. In it, you find yourself wandering through a dreamlike world where the environment reacts to your movements.
The landscape of the game is a living thing; trees grow, flowers bloom and new structures are built as the story progresses, with several secrets to be discovered if the player explores their surroundings. The soundtrack, also produced by John, adapts and is shaped by the player as they move through the beautifully hand-crafted world.
Having received support from the UK Games Fund in 2017, John reflects on what impact it has had on the project:
“As an independent game designer, being backed by the UK Games Fund was instrumental in enabling me to dedicate time and resources to creating a viable prototype that I could then pitch to publishers and secure further funding.
With the grant I was able to focus entirely on my game at such a critical time, whilst also giving me the resources to work with other UK talent.
As a result I secured further international investment, and ultimately drew the attention of Apple who signed the game as an exclusive for their Apple Arcade subscription service.
The UK Games Fund team were a pleasure to deal with and I’m incredibly grateful to have had their support.”