Inside Lionhead

Lionhead Video Diary Episode 0 (pilot)

Sam — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:25:38 GMT

This is the pilot for the Inside Lionhead Video Diaries, made in September 2006. It was originally meant as a proof of concept and never meant for public consumption but three years after the facts, it gives a nice look into how the diaries came to be. You'll find out if Peter Molyneux likes peanuts or not and you'll see Dene Carter has his original (and beautiful) self... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wneFhizQK1k

Also, are you on Facebook? Are you a fan of Lionhead Studios? Then become a fan on Facebook please at http://www.facebook.com/LionheadStudios

Pre-Fable Game

Koheleth — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:40:32 GMT

I recognize that when the storyboard guys were creating the tales of Albion something like this was probably in mind, but this is an idea I can't really see any downside to.

What if the next Fable game puts the player in the role of William Black: it has the humble origins, discovery of Will, heroic (or not) deeds, rise to glory, and three REALLY EPIC boss battles already in the story line with plenty of elbow room for the Fable universe's trademark creativity.

The best part: Once the game is over (William Black liberates Albion from the Court), then players can continue to play as the Archon. Forget mere real estate quests: what about creating legendary weapons and building structures and fortresses to house them. Well-known examples would be the Snowspire Oracle and the Great Demon Door.
I mean, who wouldn't love to customize their very own Kingdom with customized cullis gate points and minor demon doors? The technology was described as "vast machines powered by Will alone".

Does anyone else think it would kick ass to play a Fable game as William Black, aka the first Archon?

Bring back Populous!

XALAN — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:03:38 GMT

Enough said.

Lionhead and MMOs

vashn — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:38:27 GMT

Is there anyone else out there that think Lionhead could make a great MMO game? In my opinion I think they could. If they were to create a story line in a way to one where there is a lore to the game what they could do would be amazing I think. A example would be like what they have with Fable you start out normal and depending on what you do determines your path and side you choose. They could create a unique leveling system and get some concepts from Fable in there it would be great. There is tons of great stuff I think they could do.

Innovaton

Smallwood2000 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:30:20 GMT

Sorry just seen you guys are doing a Fable 3 ? I love fable yes so does every other guy but you could of kept your revenue coming from fable 2 for long time yet with addons etc.

Why no new titles? Movies was alright, black and white was totally mega but the devs here have so much potental. Why not take a crack and a Fps or even mmorpg as you guys rock at the rpg's. Perhaps try and get pc and xbox users togheter in something i dunno.

But tis madness creating fable 3 this close to fable 2 you dont want it to loose that lionhead charm.

Anyway just thought id dip in and say dat hf

Molyneux's take on demos

DanielRobertCampbell — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:46:41 GMT

http://www.destructoid.com/peter-molyneux-hates-demos-150412.phtml

I happen to agree with him. Picking and choosing what experiences from your game the player sees in a demo is too much of a "mine field" situation. Not getting into how presumptuous it is. They can be misleading. But if you let the player have the first hour of a game, they are having the same experience as if they purchased the title. That way it is not misleading and if the game is truly , then it will have captivated the player. I think it is a brilliant idea.

But I'm a tad bias. As a struggling designer, I think I would pass out due to excitement just being in the awesome presence of Mr. Molyneux.

when do we get fable 3 inside...

hylkehaagsma — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:46:52 GMT

when do we get inside lionheads about fable 3?

fable 2 lionhead startup screen thing...

backudog — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:04:51 GMT

At the start of fable 2 there is the lionhead logo..erm..splash(?) screen..er..thing..where it rapidly changes the pics in the lionhead logo, i wondered if there was anywhere i could see what all the pics in it were? cheers!

I dont bend your way, So I'll go out of you.

Arzockisdead — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:39:33 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufZNvW6mvYI&feature=channel_page

Molyneux Plans Personal Announcement at Lionhead's Presentation Tonight....

TheFullMetal — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:05:50 GMT

Peter Molyneux has revealed on his twitter that he'll be making a personal announcement during Lionhead's presentation at E3 tonight.

“Just off to the show now, ready for the announcement, its not to do with any project but rather more to do with me” said Molyneux.

is this the end of Molyneux?..

Why have you abandoned the PC?

Santini — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:00:22 GMT

Peter, this is in no way intended to be insulting, no way, no shape, no form.
But seriously.
Why have you chosen, once again, to give the bird to the PC market, the very group that brought this once fine company into existence? Especially after dropping a bomb the likes of BW2 upon us, with no true follow up or multiplayer?

I am honestly ashamed that I once believed in you and your products, that I thought, oh, no worries, Fable II will eventually be ported, BW2 will be fixed...

But no.
Nothing
Fable 3, YET AGAIN xbox only. No BW3. No PC support, no PC love.

Pete, I bought BW 1, and the expansion, 3 times in various formats. I bought Fable I forgotten chapters. I bought BW 2 twice, and the expansion once. I endlessly promoted and flaunted BW 1, pushed friends and family into purchasing it, and hell, even convinced myself that you would hold true to a multi player BW 2 patch.

Nothing, zip, nadda.

Thanks for all the love and respect, and I hope you arn't too shocked when your karmatic balance straightens itself out.

Santini

The Direction of Lionhead.

Aynen — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:15:07 GMT

I wasn't exactly sure in which part of the forum to put this, but I think this one will be for it.

I was wondering how other gamers felt about the direction Lionhead has been going in with it's choice of what games to make.

After Black and White and The Movies, it appears that by far most attention is put on the Fable series. Part 3 is in the works allready. Fable has a lot of fans, but with Lionhead's foundation being firmly in god-games, not RPGs, I was wondering what the whole of the fan-base felt about where Lionhead is going as a company. Do you prefer that they keep working on their Fable franchise and the occational 'odd game out' like Milo, or do you want to see more of their god-game roots come back? Do you want them to make lots of sequals, or lots of completely new concepts? And how do you think Lionhead has done in the past decade or so? (when whas Lionhead founded again?)

NEED HERO DOLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Deathloom — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:36:58 GMT

Please this is the last acheivment I need...

The Heros dolls I have now are Theresa doll and Hammer doll, I have plenty of Theresa dolls and am willing to trade for any other doll. If you by chance have all the hero dolls then would you please trade them all to me, I promise I'll give them back I just need my acheivment.

Send me a friend invite my gamertag is Deathloom

Dimitri - Fact or Fiction?

Mortalitis_Infinitas — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:37:36 GMT

I think I've found something rather...intriguing, to say the least...

We've all heard about Dimitri, and we've all heard that Lionhead is currently working on two games right now. And yes, we've all crossed our fingers that this second title might be Dimitri-related. Well, by way of a hint in a video diary (check them all out here), I think I've found a rather substantial piece of the puzzle. It's looking more and more like Lionhead is indeed working on at least something similar or inspired by Dimitri (Please keep in mind, however, this is mere speculation from a fan. As always, don't believe it until Lionhead confirms it.)

But first, to get those who aren't familiar with the project up to speed. Dimitri was first heard of in May, 2001 when Peter mentioned it at that year's E3. But nothing too official has been mentioned since then. Then, in 2004, in an interview with Kikozo.com, Peter said the following:

Peter Molyneux:
I think [Dimitri] is probably Lionhead's flagship technology game. Where Black and White was our flagship technology game, and had most of our technology in there and most of the unique ideas in there, [now] I think Dimitri is. But it's also our simplest.

When you're working on something as ambitious as Dimitri - and it's so easy to describe what Dimitri is, and I'm just gonna be tantalizing here, is that, if I were to describe it to you, you would have so many questions about it, and unless I could actually show you the game physically working, and show you how you do these amazing things, then you just wouldn't believe me. You'd think I was mad.

Dimitri is at a stage where if I told you about it I would be talking more about the ambitions of what the game is, rather than the reality of what's in the game. But we're close to getting Dimitri to a stage where you can see it, touch it and feel it.

This was back in September, 2004. So what is Dimitri supposed to be about? As Molyneux describes it (taken from an interview with PC News):

Peter Molyneux:
It's a game about you. It allows anyone who plays the game to relive their life, their entire individual life. That's a pretty ambitious concept.

So what did Dimitri look like in its early days? Well, here's a few early concept drawings from artist Kareem Ettouney (please keep in mind these are concept drawings of an old Lionhead project and do not necessarily reflect any content that may or may not be seen in any current Lionhead projects):

Dimitri - Bedroom Concept
Dimitri - Town Concept
Dimitri - Streets Concept
Dimitri - More Streets Concept
Dimitri - Town Center Concept

I know a few people, at least, had held suspicions that Lionhead was working on a sequel to either Black & White 2 or The Movies. But it looks like "Project X" as it has been called, and Fable 2 are it (the following is from a different Kikizo.com interview from October, 2005):

Peter Molyneux:
I want Lionhead to be about innovation across the board... we're not doing anything with expansions for The Movies, or sequels or conversions, let's just concentrate on these two key projects.

So why the name Dimitri? Where did it come from? And what is it? Apparently, the actual name itself may change. But for more information on the origins of the current title:

Peter Molyneux:
With Dimitri, we still need to decide on a final name, because as you know, this is just a project name that is the name of my godson... I don't think you'll hear anything further in terms of announcements for about another year on this project.

And, in case you were wondering, you can actually catch a quick glimpse of Dimitri in the 3rd video diary. To see the screenshot click the following link:

Screenshot of Dimitri.

So the question remains, what happened to Dimitri? Is it still being worked on? Has it been pushed aside for bigger and newer ideas? Only time will tell, but it looks as though at least a part of Dimitri will live on in some sense, as seen in the following remark in regards to the tech used for Dimitri (taken from a Eurogamer interview in December, 2007):

Peter Molyneux:
We are working on a title now which is kind of a hybrid of Dimitri. I am really, really pushing the powers-that-be to allow me to tell/show the world this new project. I know I am prone to say things like ‘great’, ‘revolutionary’ and ‘ambitious’, but this new project its absolutely great, revolutionary and ambitious!

Now, on to the more interesting clues. Thus far we've not seen any real proof of Dimitri's existence. But something caught my eye in the 3rd video diary and frankly I'm surprised I never noticed it before. In fact, it was so blatant that I had assumed that I've simply missed it all this time and that others surely had noticed it before me. After searching the forums it looks like this, much to my shock, actually hasn't been mentioned anywhere.

But a piece of information that will make all of this clear to you is that Lionhead Studios is three stories tall, as you can see here:

Lionhead Studios

As it happens, each floor is dedicated to a separate task. The first floor, for example, is dedicated to more administrative duties. Sam and Woody, as it happens, work out of the ground floor:

The Ground Floor

The first floor is where Fable 2 is being developed.

The First Floor

Notice any interesting differences between the ground floor and the first floor? Something that has been mentioned only briefly in the forums is that the columns on each floor have a different colour. If you'll notice, the ground floor has green columns. The first floor has orange columns. The fact that each floor has different coloured columns is the key point in this small clue I uncovered. But just to allay any doubts, here's the official word on the matter. Ground floor is administration, first floor is Fable 2, so Project X is on the second floor. The second floor, we can assume, is a different colour as well. So one might reason that if you were to find a column in a video diary that is not green or orange, you'd be looking at the second floor. Turns out, that's exactly what I saw:

The Second Floor

While the shot is intentionally nondescript (which is to say the wall of the cubicle intentionally cuts most of the floor out) we can see some profile shots of a young child on the column itself. Dimitri, being the kind of game it's going to be, really seems to make this clue speak volumes.

I went ahead and took the screenshot of the second floor and brought it into Photo Shop and altered the perspective on the picture of the child. Since it was on the column and was at an angle it distorted the image slightly. So I fixed the perspective distortion and also increased the size slightly so we could see it better. And we get the following:

While other elements have been claimed to be from Dimitri (most recently the trampoline mystery from the 4th video diary) many are questionable. It would seem as though this is the first direct reference to the Second Floor Title. This, obviously, was intentionally put into the video. This is noticeably different than "mistakes" (be them intentional or not) found that give hints about Fable 2 features, or what have you. This is a shot where Sam set the camera up, recorded a scene, and edited it in during post production. Sam, while sneaking it in there, intended for this to be found. Seems to me like evidence keeps more and more turning towards the fact that the Second Floor Title is indeed Dimitri related. While I certainly wouldn't call this "proof" per say, I would definitely call this interesting. Very interesting. Your thoughts?

Moderator's Note:
All information presented here is mere speculation from a fan and is not representative of anything that may or may not be in any current or future titles that Lionhead is working on. As with all speculation, please regard it with a measurable amount of discretion and don't believe anything until you hear it directly from Lionhead.

Cheers to maggot for assisting in finding the concept art. Also, cheers to all the other "treasure hunters" out there who are also trying to find any little clue we can in the video diaries! It's all a bit sad, isn't it? Ha ha.

B&W

lado1205 — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:16:44 GMT

A very long time ago I heard that the B&W team split up, but people keep talking about B&W 3 and such so my question is. Is there any point for me getting my hopes up about a B&W 3 or is it dead? Have lionhead just given up on this amazing game? It is still one of my favorite games. (Sorry if I made any spelling errors and such.)

B.C.?

Grimmbull — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:37:33 GMT

I heard about this game from my cousin some years ago and he was really excited about it(so was I after I really learned about it). The last thing I heard it was canceled. Is it still going to come out or is it dead for ? If a Dev. reads this maybe you can tell me.

I didn't even know Lionhead was developing it until like 5 mins ago, mostly cuz I didnt know any developers back when I first heard about it.

Gamescom?

Sam — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:05:31 GMT

Is anyone going to Gamescom this year? http://www.gamescom-cologne.com/

If so can you post a message here including the days you will be there? Thanks!

Now move along, nothing to see here!

Lionhead's Next project: a few hints found in the webpage

SirDayne — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:30:22 GMT

In the page when you click the "thumbs up", you can find some interesting Page Source code by looking at the webpage source... (View > Page Source)

Every time you make a choice you are presented with a banner on the left hand side of the main page. The clues are in what the banner (flash) movies are called

Thumbs up banner movie is titled:
"rebel4.swf"

Thumbs Down banner movie results in:

"royal4.swf"

So what does this mean?
Lionhead is asking us a question... "are you a Rebel or are you a Royal?"

This really sounds like an upcoming RTS or war-based game to me. Want proof? The "Rebel page" (thumbs up) has smoking bullet holes. Whats more interesting is the number. The Rebel page today has the number 3. There are three bullet-holes on the left banner. Coincidence? Maybe.

Edit: Another hint found -
The page title for "Thumbs Up" (choosing rebellion) is http://www.lionhead.com/Followers.aspx
Which, if we combine the previous clue, we get this phrase: "Followers of the Rebelllion"

The page title for "Thumbs Down" (choosing royalty) is http://www.lionhead.com/Subjects.aspx

...."Subjects of Royalty" or something like that.

Populous ip re-Tradmarked by EA, PM any comment?

pimoreland — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:29:54 GMT

Was wondering if PM had any comment on the fact that EA is trademarking Populous. I would think a game like that would come through Microsoft Games, but EA? Any comment PM, you have anything to say about any of this?

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/101/1013156p1.html

Justice/Survivors?

Hartigan — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:54:19 GMT

So, I was looking on Leading Light design for some pictures of Fable II concept art for inspiration when I saw the title of another Lionhead project they are doing on the same page...

I saw the words Lionhead - Justice and was like humm, well thats interesting?

Anyone heard of this?

http://www.leadinglightdesign.com/projects_justice.php

http://www.leadinglightdesign.com/projects_survivors.php

Sorry if this is a repost or people know about it haha

Can we get an Update?

toddquest — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:17:50 GMT

Hi to all at Lionhead,

Being a fan of all things Lionhead I'd love to hear about how things are going on the different projects and how things are going in the office as a whole.

More specifically what's going on in the Fable world in terms of more DLC or Fable III
Knowing that you totally reinvented a lot of the tools you used to build Fable II are you planning on using the same one for the next Fable?

How is the work on Milo going? How large is the team? Who do you have working on it?

Has it been a big adjustment with Peter being promoted? Is he still doing the same work there or is someone else working as the the head of Lionhead?

Any fun stories about the office?

Are we going to be getting a new Inside Lionhead video in the next few months?

Finally I just want to say thanks for all the hard work you do and the focus on quality that you bring to your games. As a was when I first heard about Fable and again with Fable II, I am already anticipating Fable III more DLC for Fable II and Milo.

Who needs Fable III so soon?

Koheleth — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:18:07 GMT

Hear me out before you shoot me:

Personally, I believe Fable 2 has a LOT of potential to become the game Lionhead envisioned it to be with the help of XBOX Live. I'd rather see some meaty DLC add-on's come down the road than to demand a hastily prepared sequel.

I've been considering the geography of Fable 2 a bit, and here's what I've come up with in addition to what has already been revealed:

Twinblade's Camp = Bloodstone
Greatwood = Brightwood
Darkwood = Wraithmarsh
Bargate Prison = Westcliff (particularly, the Crucible and Howling Hall)
Gibbet Woods/Headsman Hill = Oakfield

That would make Rookridge the mountain region inaccessible due to the broken bridge in Fable/TLC's Greatwood area.

What all of the above means is that there is still a lot of availabile landscape for extra adventures: Knothole Island was only the tip of the iceberg. There is still Hook Coast, Snowspire, and Necropolis from the first game, and the northern warrior monks and Samarkand itself. That is just geography: There's nothing to say that a DLC can't involve the rise of guilds, secret societies, or even a massive structure or village which suddenly appears where nothing was before.
Personally, I'd love to see a Hollow Man King take authority in Wraithmarsh, only to find Lucien fulfilled his oath of returning by making a pact with the Shadow Court.

Don't give up on the Enlightenment period of Albion just yet. So long as Lionhead can deliver a couple more great DLC add-ons, I can wait as long as it takes for the third episode.
Does anyone else have any ideas for a kick ass Fable 2 expansion?

Lionhead reveal at GamesCom?

fablepower — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:14:47 GMT

Fable and Milo and Kate developer, Lionhead, will make an announcement at this year's GamesCom in Cologne, Germany.

That's according to a report on usually reliable German site Gamefront, which claims that new Microsoft Games Studios Europe man, Peter Molyneux will front a Microsoft press conference at the event.

Previously at GamesCom's old incarnation, the Leipzig Games Convention, the platform holder hasn't held a press conference.

The Xbox presser is due to kick off alongside GamesCom on August 19th, from 10-11 am local time, says the report.

CVG

PM gets promotion!

keldor — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:07:47 GMT

Looks like PM is the new director of MS Europe

http://kotaku.com/5278213/peter-molyneux-now-director-of-microsoft-european-studios

CONGRATS!

Hug LH

KyeFawkes — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:03:05 GMT

Just wanted to give LionHead a hug.

::Hug::

You should do the same. I'm guessing if you're reading this you have more than a little love for Fable, for Albion.

Edit: Just watched the new LH Dairy. And again, I heart the people working there. How they feel about their work, I don't know. The videos show us the humans working to bring us things we really enjoy.

And it's weird, but I feel like when they were talking about giving the people who are really into it what they want, I felt like they were talking to me. Of course, it was probably because he said it right after the dog thing, and one of the dogs they have is the type mine is, but, I don't know.

Those people over there make me happy.