An Emmy-winning visual effects artist has joined an industry colleague and a veteran video game producer to found a new video game development studio in Vancouver, B.C.
Blinkmoon, founded in January 2021, first went public on Feb. 10. It plans to work with the forthcoming Unreal Engine 5, and plans to create new video games that will feature “player-driven content.”
“Having pushed the boundaries of VFX on a technical and creative level for over two decades, we believe we have what it takes to level up gameplay – placing immersive visual effects at the heart of everything we do,” said Mohsen Mousavi, one of Blinkmoon’s three co-founders, in a press release. “We want to create gaming experiences that the next generation will grow with and repeatedly come back to.”
Mousavi has worked in film and television since 2007, according to his IMDB profile, as an animator, director, and effects supervisor. His highest-profile work to date may be his work as a visual effects artist on the penultimate episode of A Game of Thrones, “The Bells,” which won an Emmy in 2019 for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.
His other credits include the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, 8 episodes of Lisey’s Story, and 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man. At Blinkmoon, Mousavi’s official job titles are creative director and COO.
A second co-founder, general manager of gaming Troy Dunniway, is a 25-year veteran of the video game and technology industries, with stints at Disney Interactive, Samsung, Midway, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and Insomniac under his belt.
Dunniway was previously the lead designer on Insomniac’s Resistance: Fall of Man and two games in the Ratchet & Clank series, and the creative director on two early entries in Ubisoft’s tactical shooter Rainbow Six. From 1998 to 2002, Dunniway was a studio creative director at Microsoft, where he worked on several early Xbox games including Fable and the launch title Munch’s Oddysee.
The final co-founder at Blinkmoon, CEO Hugh Behroozy, previously worked in visual effects on films such as Ant-Man and the Wasp, The Meg, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
“I’m proud to bring this team of exceptional creators together to bridge the gap between blockbuster, cinematic experiences and interactive gaming,” Behroozy wrote in a release. “Everyone at Blinkmoon is a gamer and storyteller. We want our games to not only be fun, but to also inspire and promote inclusivity in our player community.”
Blinkmoon has yet to announce its first games project, but plans to bring a “fresh perspective” to the development process via its leadership from outside the traditional games industry. Its website also mentions in passing that it hopes to “create a sustainable tomorrow,” via partnerships with NGOs and non-profits in order to assist in the fight against the climate crisis.
The studio is currently hiring employees for remote work.
