Game developer behind Bright Memory Ep1 admits he used stolen assets

It’s like Titanfall crossed with Dark Souls (plus a bunch of pirated enemy models)

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Game developer behind Bright Memory Ep1 admits he used stolen assets

Josh Ye

Published: 7:52pm, 29 Jan 2019Updated: 8:51am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Bright Memory Ep1 wowed people because this impressive-looking game -- mashing bits of Titanfall, Bulletstorm and even Dark Souls -- was made by just one person.

But that developer has now admitted that he built the game with art obtained from pirated software sites.

Developer Zeng “FYQD” Xiancheng admitted in a Weibo post that he used unlicensed art assets in the game. He said the 3D models of enemies were taken and slightly tweaked to fit his game, but didn’t specify which -- or which games they came from.

The game looks like Dark Souls with guns. (Picture: FYQD Personal Studio)

Despite his admission, the game is still available on Steam, with overwhelmingly positive reviews. According to SteamSpy, it’s sold over 192,000 copies.

Zeng apologized in his Weibo post, and said the money from those sales will allow him to replace the pirated art with original models.

“I have realized how severe this problem is… I will soon find a gaming art company to redesign these models and make some changes to the game,” he said, “Now I have money to address this issue. I am deeply sorry for what has happened.”