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As you all probably know by now, Microsoft closed down Lionhead Studios last week. So that´s nothing new under the sun. However, what you might not know is that not even the Lionhead top executives knew that their studio would be closed down. And this became clear when Double Tap´s Alice Taplin did an interview with Ex-Lionhead developer Nuno Leiria (Nuno worked on “Fable Legends” before Microsoft pulled the plug on Lionhead Studios) earlier today:

Alice Taplin:
Did you know the cclosure was coming?

Nuno:
“Nope, not even the top executives here knew what was coming.”

‘Before My studio announced my project is closing, I was going to say that you usually have the backing of a big studio, which you think comes with security, but even with that with the industry changing so much, you don’t have that now.”

Reflecting on being a developer:

“Due to recent events, with the studio closing. There is other stuff we can talk about… like the harassment that some people have against women, that is really bad that shouldn’t happen at all. it’s one of the things I think about it doesn’t have a place in this industry but I don’t know how to solve it. It doesn’t happen in cinema. People get death threats, and rape threats and can’t go to conferences. It’s disheartening to see developers who go through this.”

Alice Taplin:
How much as the gaming industry changed since you started developing?

Nuno:
“The industry has changed so much with mobile games, even though its only 30-40 years old. The technology changes so fast, so it’s very difficult to keep up. If you are a finance or an executive – things don’t change that much. But if you are a programmer, every year it changes. You have to learn again every year, even every month, every week because of hardware changes”

Alice Taplin:
Is it harder for indie developers without the backer of larger producers?

Nuno:
It goes both ways. As an indie, you have the flexibility to change, even more easily than when you work for a large company. But indie developers don’t always have the resources they need.

Alice Taplin:
What are the benefits of being in a larger studio?

Nuno:
“Before My studio announced my project is closing, I was going to say that when you usually have the backing of a big studio, which you think comes with security, but even with that – with the industry changing so much – you don’t have that now.

If you want to pursue a big project like Fable legends, is or was, you need a big AAA developer because if you don’t have the money to back it up, you’re not getting any money in when you are making it.”

And if you ask me, the whole thing about Lionhead Studios and their close down is somewhat nerve wracking. At least if you chose to believe Nuno Leiria. Then again, Lionhead hasn’t been able to create a hit title for years (Fable III was their last really good title, in my opinion. And that game was released back in 2010). Even so, I´m more alarmed about the current state of the games industry. As it appears as if the industry is going through a big crisis at the moment (the close down of big studios, corruption, censorship, Gaming events that aren’t about games anymore, Gaming developers who don´t care about Gamers and games anymore, etc.).

Any ways, you can listen o Double Tap´s audio interview with Nuno Leiria down below (the interview starts at 3:06).

Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround