Above: An early, work-in-progress screenshot of Joystiq Publishing's atmospheric and haunting adventure, Fears for Spheres. We just whipped it up in the last 20 minutes with the aid of the CryEngine 3 SDK, which is now available for free from the CryDev website.

With access to the engine that powered Crysis 2, as well as the CryEngine 3 Sandbox level editor, we've been able to breathe perfectly lit life into our artistic (and non-commercial) endeavor. If we were trying to impart some educational information in a classroom, developer Crytek wouldn't charge us a cent either. (A very competitive stance, considering the Unreal Development Kit is free as well.)

Though this SDK has helped us to quickly arrange terrain, AI and textures, the central "narrative" -- as they say -- of Fears for Spheres has been years in the making.

Embark on the tragic journey of Borb, the reflective amnesiac sphere, cursed to wander/wonder through a fantasy realm in search of his true purpose. "Who am I?" he asks a traveler in passing. "I know not," comes the reply, "but you have shown me much of myself today. Such is your thankless existence."