The End of Oddworld?
Lorne Lanning drops GameSpy a line to discuss why he's shutting down his San Luis Obispo development facility and the bold, new direction his company is going in.
By Raymond M. Padilla | March 29, 2005
Lorne Lanning, co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants, is one of most creative people I've met in the gaming business. His vivid imagination has helped spawn some of the most unique characters ever seen in a videogame (Abe, Munch, Stranger, etc.). His distinct style has helped produce some of the most memorable stories gamers have ever experienced. So I'm sure you can imagine my shock when he called to tell me that he was shutting down his game development facility in San Luis Obispo.
"This is a choice, not a necessity. The choice is a daring one, and not an obvious one to make. We see the excitement of what can be. We think that requires a new model. We want to stay focused on the creative content and taking that to new levels."
One of my Stranger chats with Lorne.
Don't worry Oddworld fans, the company isn't going away. It's just drastically changing the way it operates. As with many innovative minds in the business, Lanning feels that the current model for game development is restrictive. Teams are becoming too big. Technical challenges are stifling creativity. Lanning is going to try doing things a different way so that he and his team can focus on what it does best -- creating characters and stories.
The shift in approach also comes with a physical move. As I mentioned earlier, Lanning is closing development operations in San Luis Obispo. The new base of operations will be in Berkeley, California. Berkeley, with its rich and colorful history, seems like a more suitable setting for a uniquely artistic company. Outside of Oddworld, the only things I know from San Luis Obispo are "Weird" Al Yankovic and UFC's "The Iceman" Chuck Lidell -- entertainers to be sure, but not exactly what I'd call creative forces.
"It's time to take it to the next level and the way to do that is with a new model. New models are in order and new models are necessary. Let's build characters and stories that people will love. Let's put these characters in interesting gameplay. Let's feature them in new media. It's all about pushing that quality bar higher. We'll be doing this with outside parties and businesses. The options and excitement grows exponentially, the more people we work with."
Lanning will keep a relatively small team of core creators in Berkeley, while collaborating with and outsourcing to external talents. His partners will not be restricted to the gaming industry; he'll be looking to team up with people from traditional animation, television, and film. This doesn't mean that he will not be working with traditional game companies; he was quick to point out his positive experiences with Majesco.
Don't mistake this as another "game guy goes to Hollywood" tale. Lanning is a veteran of Rhythm & Hues, an Oscar winning character animation and visual effects studio, so in a sense he's bridging his professional experiences.
Bringing the two sides together should benefit his company. He thinks that a lot of the technological problems developers have are unnecessary. He feels that there's a lot of "universal technology" the developers can use, and a lot of it can cut development time so that creators can focus on telling the best interactive stories possible.
Could that be related to this?
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No! Not straight to DVD and video! Other than that, I feel comforted, the (first) movie and more games when the industry gets better will be on their way, things are looking up. I feel much better than I did after I read the Hollywood Reporter article.
