Media Molecule
Encyclopedia
Media Molecule is a British
video game developer
based in Guildford
in Surrey
. The studio was founded in January
2006 by former Lionhead Studios
employees Mark Healey
, Alex Evans
, Dave Smith, and Kareem Ettouney. Before starting the company, the founders worked together on Healey's independent game
Rag Doll Kung Fu
while still at Lionhead.
The studio's first game is the PlayStation 3
title LittleBigPlanet
, which was announced and demonstrated at the Game Developers Conference
2007. The plan was always to produce a chart-topping game, but to keep the size of the company as small as possible so as to keep a tight rein on costs. Evans in particular was keen to avoid what he calls the "cycle of debt". It was chiefly this concern that led the founders to consider user-generated content
. LittleBigPlanet 's best selling point became its set of level-creation tools and the ability to publish that content on the Internet
. "Every time you boot up there are more levels to play," says Evans. Media Molecule won the Studio of the Year award at the Spike Video Game Awards 2008. LittleBigPlanet scored a 95 on Metacritic
. The game also won numerous game of the year awards leading to a 'Game Of The Year Edition' a year later.
Media Molecule also worked with SCE Studio Cambridge
in the development of LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation Portable
which was released in 2009. The PlayStation 3 sequel to LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2
, was released in January 2011.
On 2 March 2010, Sony Computer Entertainment
(SCE) announced that it had acquired Media Molecule.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
video game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
based in Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. The studio was founded in January
January
January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day...
2006 by former Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios is a British computer game development company led by industry veteran Peter Molyneux, and acquired by Microsoft Game Studios in April 2006. Lionhead started as a breakaway from the developer Bullfrog, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a...
employees Mark Healey
Mark Healey
Mark Healey is a British computer games developer. Healey started his career making games for the Commodore 64 home computer - his first published game was KGB Super Spy for Codemasters which led to developing the Educational Fun School series of games for Europress Software...
, Alex Evans
Alex Evans (video game developer)
Alex Evans is a UK based computer games developer. Evans previously worked at Guildford-based Lionhead Studios and developed the video game Rag Doll Kung Fu independently. He is the co-founder of Media Molecule, a computer games studio based in Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom...
, Dave Smith, and Kareem Ettouney. Before starting the company, the founders worked together on Healey's independent game
Independent video game development
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
Rag Doll Kung Fu
Rag Doll Kung Fu
Rag Doll Kung Fu is a fighting computer game, created predominantly by artist Mark Healey, while working for Lionhead Studios, along with other Lionhead employees, such as David Smith and Alex Evans. Rag Doll Kung Fu is available from Valve's Steam content delivery platform...
while still at Lionhead.
The studio's first game is the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
title LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...
, which was announced and demonstrated at the Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
2007. The plan was always to produce a chart-topping game, but to keep the size of the company as small as possible so as to keep a tight rein on costs. Evans in particular was keen to avoid what he calls the "cycle of debt". It was chiefly this concern that led the founders to consider user-generated content
User-generated content
User generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
. LittleBigPlanet 's best selling point became its set of level-creation tools and the ability to publish that content on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. "Every time you boot up there are more levels to play," says Evans. Media Molecule won the Studio of the Year award at the Spike Video Game Awards 2008. LittleBigPlanet scored a 95 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. The game also won numerous game of the year awards leading to a 'Game Of The Year Edition' a year later.
Media Molecule also worked with SCE Studio Cambridge
SCE Studio Cambridge
Cambridge Studio, part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, was formed in July 1997 when Sony Computer Entertainment Europe acquired the Millennium development studio from Cyberlife Ltd...
in the development of LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
which was released in 2009. The PlayStation 3 sequel to LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2
LittleBigPlanet 2
LittleBigPlanet 2 is a puzzle platformer video game, centred around user-generated content. The game is developed by Media Molecule, published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for PlayStation 3 and was originally scheduled for release in November 2010 but was delayed until January 2011...
, was released in January 2011.
On 2 March 2010, Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
(SCE) announced that it had acquired Media Molecule.
Games
| Game Title | Release | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LittleBigPlanet LittleBigPlanet LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California... |
2008 | PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
BAFTA 5th British Academy Video Games Awards The 5th British Academy Video Game Awards awarded by British Academy of Film and Television Arts , was an award ceremony honouring achievement in the field of video games in 2008. Candidate games must have been released in the United Kingdom between 2007 and 2008... Award for Artistic Achievement. Eight AIAS Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences , founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998... Interactive Achievement Awards. Various Game of the Year Awards. |
| LittleBigPlanet | 2009 | PlayStation Portable PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... |
Developed by SCE Cambridge Studio in conjunction with Media Molecule. |
| Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves | 2010 | PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
Developed by Xdev SCE Worldwide Studios Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, officially abbreviated SCE Worldwide Studios, is a group of video game developers owned by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is a single internal entity overseeing all wholly owned development studios within SCE... in conjunction with Media Molecule. |
| LittleBigPlanet 2 | 2011 | PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
Set five Guinness World Records Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition is a Guinness World Records book dedicated to video games. The first edition was released in February 2008 in association with the video games world records' tracking organization Twin Galaxies. The second edition was released in 2009... , including 'most gaming genres in one video game', and 'most player-created levels in one video game'. |
External links
- Media Molecule company profile from MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...