Media Molecule co-founder Mark Healey has announced that he is leaving the company after seventeen years. In addition to co-founding the studio, Healey also served as creative director on the critically acclaimed little big planet franchise, as well as the game-making sandbox of 2020 dreams.
Speech on his Twitter account, Healey says it’s time to “set sail and chart a new course.” Healey goes on to say that he is proud to have “played with some really brilliant people” on little big planet and dreamsand that he is grateful to have met “such a wonderfully talented community.”
Although he enjoys working with Media Molecule, Healey says a “strong cosmic breeze” is pulling him in new directions. As such, he says that he is going to “indulge the winds of (his his) various curiosities of him for a while”. However, he apparently won’t be making any big lateral moves in his career; he says your next adventure, whatever form it takes, will definitely involve making games.
Media Molecule was co-founded by Healey, technical directors David Smith and Alex Evans, and art director Kareem Ettouney, all former employees of Lionhead Studios. The studio’s first game was from 2008. little big planet, a platform game with an emphasis on user-generated content. a sequel, Little Big Planet 2followed in 2009, with both games headlined by Healey.
Following little big planetHealey’s next project with the studio as creative director was 2020. dreams, which is more of a Game Creation Kit than a traditional game. is essentially little big planetThe emphasis on user-generated content is heavy, with that feature placed center stage and traditional developer-designed levels all but absent (although the studio has also created games within it). dreams itself).
The news of Healey’s departure comes just days after Media Molecule announced that it will end live support for dreams later this year. It’s unclear if Healey’s departure is related to that decision or not, but Media Molecule is currently working on a new game, so we’ll have to wait and see if it represents a dramatic change in direction. Stay tuned for more.