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 Renaud Bédard , the game 's programmer , who wrote the game 's level editor and game engine from scratch . Levels was built in 3D by extruding surfaces with Photoshop @-@ created textures . Bédard and Fish was 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 prerelease awards , including the 2012 Seumas McNally Grand Prize .