 Fish and Shawn McGrath collaborated on a puzzle game that became Fez . When McGrath left the project due to creative differences , Fish , the game 's artist , pursued a platform game direction with <unk> Bédard , the game 's programmer , who wrote the game 's level editor and game engine from scratch . Levels were built in 3D by <unk> surfaces with <unk> @-@ created textures . Bédard and Fish were joined by three different animators and other collaborators . The game was first announced in June 2007 and won an award at the 2008 Independent Games Festival and entered the public spotlight . Fish created a studio , Polytron Corporation , and was later aided by nearby developer @-@ publisher Trapdoor when Polytron ran out of money . Fez won several more <unk> awards , including the 2012 <unk> <unk> Grand Prize . 
