Last we heard, Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning had inked a deal with Hollywood to bring his vision, sci-fi actioner Citizen Seige, to life in a CG flick.
Oddworld Inhabitants Lorne Lanning thinks that Consoles are a big problem for games developers.
“Personally, I think the consoles are a problem”, he told GamesDeveloper.bizGameDaily, “Years ago I was excited about consoles, but anything that makes development more expensive, rather than better, faster, cheaper, I think is a step backwards”.
“I’m more excited about what I see happening on PC because I see it allowing for more smaller games to be sold that can be delivered to anyone who’s connected at much lower price points”.
I think what he is getting at is that you can just write a game for a PC and release it — you don’t have to negotiate with LIVE or PSN, for example — and use the Internet to get the code out to whatever niche audience you like.
This may be the case, but if you are developing a big title (like, say, a new Oddworld game) surely the big money sink is in the creative side of the IP? All that artwork, music and writing — plus the code, of course. Is the open nature of the PC that much of a boon when you have multiple graohics cards to support?
‘Consoles Are a Problem,’ says Lorne Lanning [GameDaily]
Oh. Turns out my urge to exercise caution last week was completely unnecessary. Oddworld Inhabitants boss Lorne Lanning has confirmed that, yes, a new Oddworld game is in development, and yes, Jeff Braun is working on it. Lanning had nothing else to add, not even a working title, so your imagination’s going to need to fill in the gaps on its own.
Lanning confirms new Oddworld title [Gamesindustry.biz]
Making a game is hard. But pitching one? Loads harder. Harder still when you’re pitching some kind of new/bold/novel idea for a game, which isn’t based on WWII, space marines or street racing. Or, worst of all, when it’s not based on another game on the market. It’s somewhere Will Wright’s been before. David Jaffe, too. And Lorne Lanning, and Ron Gilbert, and Keita Takahashi.
Gamespot have a great roundup of each of those developer’s experiences getting original games approved, along with comments from guys like SCEA talent scout Rusty Buchert.
