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Lorne shares pitch experience
GameSpot has examined the process of pitching in the video game industry, by which developers secure funding and distribution of their gaming ideas. Lorne Lanning contributes to ‘Spot on: ‘Here’s the pitch…’’ by explaining his own methods. He exlains how Abe’s Oddysee owes its production to venture capital, why Citizen Siege was secured as a film before it was a game, and—in GameSpot’s news blog ‘Sidebar’ entry ‘Pitched and ditced’—why Pound Dog never made it as a game.
Iain Simon explores Lorne’s passion
Veretan gaming commentator Iain Simon, director of GameCity (where Lorne first announced Citizen Siege) and author of Inside Game Design (in which Iain interviews Lorne), presented to the Institute of Contemporary Arts last night an exploration of ‘the processes, passions and motivations behind some acclaimed video game designers’, among them Lorne Lanning (although he was not present).
Sources: Design Week
End of ‘End of the debate?’
The second part of Lorne’s interview by Mark Androvich has been posted on GamesIndustry.biz. In it, Lorne talks about censorship of art and of the truth, violence in art, and the nature of art.
More Oddworld film art
OddBlog is tremendously excited to be able to share two more production paintings from the very early stages of the Oddworld film. The first is by none other than Lorne Lanning, and the second is another piece by Raymond Swanland.
Once again, we must remind fans that the Oddworld film is only in pre‐production, and Oddworld Inhabitants are concentrating on the Citizen Siege feature film for the time being, so don’t expect to see trailers any time soon. This is just a special treat to remind fans that a return to Oddworld is still on its way.
Also, we understand that Matt Lee, who has recently been responding to mail from the Oddworld fan community, has still not caught up with our fan mail, but has every intention of doing so given time!
The video game violence debate
Mark Androvich of GamesIndustry.biz has interviewed Lorne Lanning following his Moral Kombat panel debate with Jack Thompson, on the reasons why violence in video gaming is still generating debate. In the first part of the interview, published today, Lorne blames press sensationalism, ‘the opportunity‐seeking politicians and the Jack Thompsons of the world,’ for keeping alive a contention that science and the courts have repeatedly dismissed as a non‐issue.
Jack Thompson recently claimed to have been asked by ‘the man who organizes’ the Game Developers Conference to reprise the Moral Kombat debate at GDC 2008, although it later transpired (after investigation by GamePolitics.com) that Thompson had not been invited to GDC by either its director, Jamil Moledina, who did not attend VGXPO, or video game composer Tommy Tallarico, with whom Thompson actually spoke after the initial debate.
It was documentary filmmaker Spencer Halpin’s wife who broached the possibility of repising the debate at GDC to Thompson over the ’phone, after the idea was discussed by Lorne, Halpin, and Tallarico over dinner after the Moral Kombat debate at VGXPO. The GDC team has released a preliminary list of sessions and speakers for GDC 2008, and although neither Lorne nor Thompson are yet announced to be in attendance, attorny Lawrence Walters will be speaking on the topic of Jack Thompson’s antics, and other legislative attempts to restrict the sale of video games.
Sources: GameIndustry.biz, GamePolitics.com, Game Developers Conference website
‘Oddworld 2·0’ big plans in pipeline
Marking the ten‐year anniversary of the release of Abe’s Oddysee, GamesIndustry.biz has spoken to Lorne Lanning about the change in Oddworld Inhabitants’ approach to production, and the future of Oddworld.
Calling the future of our favourite intellectual property ‘Oddworld 2·0’, Lorne admits that the long‐anticipated Oddworld feature film is in the early stages of pre‐production, the most explicit mention yet of the film’s state of development. Two production paintings for the film, by Raymond Swanland and depicting the Cell Condo Silo in RuptureFarms, were released through OddBlog in early August this year.
He also states that there are four projects currently being worked on, another of which is a machinima television series, probably the same ‘very strange HD episodic television series’ Lorne told the the CGSociety about in September, although whether this is an Oddworld or Citizen Siege production is left uncertain. The other two projects are likely to be the Citizen Siege film, and its Wage Wars online game accompaniment.
Lorne finishes by admitting to fans that it may take longer than they’d like to see Oddworld again, but that the universe is still ‘really, really close to our heart, […] and we have big plans for it.’
Sources: GamesIndustry.biz
Raymond Swanland in Advanced Photoshop
Oddworld Inhabitants artist Raymond Swanland has been interviewed for the latest issue of Advanced Photoshop, a magazine for professional and enthusiastic users of Adobe Photoshop.
Sources: Advanced Photoshop website
Lorne to instruct at ConceptArt.org Winter Workshops
Lorne Lanning will be amongst the people instructing at the ConceptArt.org Winter Workshops, which are happening at the Bell Harbor Convention Center, Seattle, 4–7 January 2008.
Sources: Oddish, Jason Manley of ConceptArt.org Forums
Joystiq reports live from Thompson–Lanning debate
Reporting live from the Philadelphia Convention Center, Joystiq has been covering the panel discussion between Lorne Lanning and advocate of banning violence in video games Jack Thompson as it happens. The debate, moderated by Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal, was over whether video games are responsible for certain instances of violent crime, a topic discussed in the recent documentary film Spencer Halpin’s Moral Kombat.
Sources: Joystiq
Lorne judging ‘Amazing Creations’
Lorne is a judge for the first NVArt competition, ‘Amazing Creations’, which is calling for digital art of ‘things that are impossible in the real world.’ NVArt is the result of a partnership between NVIDIA and the CGSociety (on whose Advisory Board Lorne sits). Also judging is Mark Snoswell (President of the CGSociety), whom OddBlog interviewed in September 2004 in anticipation of The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants (released by the CGSociety’s sister division, Ballistic Publishing).
Sources: The CGSociety
Ballistic Media 2008 Calendar
Ballistic Media, publishers of Oddworld’s ten‐year anniversary art book, have released an 18‐month calendar featuring artwork taken from EXPOSÉ 5 that can be framed as prints, available now only through BreakPoint Books. The calendar features two of the four paintings by Raymond Swanland used in EXPOSÉ 5: ‘Shadowstorm’ (December 2007) and ‘Bladesinger’ (December 2008).
Sources: CG Newsletter, October 2007
Lorne on Hollywood Goes Gaming
Lorne Lanning will be amongst the various guest stars from the video game and film industries appearing on Hollywood Goes Gaming, a Starz Original Production that promises to examine ‘the synergistic link between Hollywood and the video game industry, which has been evolving over the last three decades.’
Presented by Richard Roeper (of Ebert & Roeper), Hollywood Goes Gaming will be broadcast by the Starz cable network at 9 p.m. EST–PST on Monday, 26 November.
Sources: GameDaily Biz
Lorne at D.I.C.E. 2008
Lorne Lanning will be amongst the key speakers of the 2008 D.I.C.E. Summit. He will deliver his speech, entitled “But wait, there’s more…!” Lessons learned in creating & selling original IP, on 7 February.
Sources: D.I.C.E. Summit
Lorne at VGXPO 2007
Lorne Lanning will be at America’s VideoGame Expo (VGXPO) this year to meet gamers and to have a panel discussion with Jack Thompson, supervised by Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal. The panel will be about Spencer Halpin’s controversial documentary, Moral Kombat, featuring ‘leading politicians, journalists, academics, consumer advocates and special interest group executives, game developers, retailers, trade associations and publishers.’ Of course, Lorne and Thompson are in the documentary too. Halpin was recently interviewed by Generation: Gamerz.
Sources: America’s VideoGame Expo
Bross’s ‘Fighting Outlaws’ multitrack files
Michael Bross posted the multitrack files of his ‘Fighting Outlaws’ (from Music From Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath, Volume 1) on his website. You can download them and start mixing it into your own creations now.
Sources: Michael Bross’s MySpace
Code Monkeys
Pilot has found out that Lorne Lanning is a guest star in episode 10, ‘Third Reich’s the Charm’ of G4TV’s Code Monkeys. Kastere found a clip of it on the G4TV site under the name ‘Worst Game Ever’ it is now also hosted on The Oddworld Cinema.
Get Rich Playing Games
Lorne Lanning has been interviewed by Scott Steinberg for his book Get Rich Playing Games where he’s looking at how people from the gaming industry break into the business and hit the jackpot. Lorne talks about the early days of Oddworld Inhabitants and how they started it. You can buy the book or directly download the pdf file on his site.
Sources: getrichgaming.com
Lorne Lanning on CGSociety: Online game Wage Wars announced
Lorne Lanning announces that actual production of the first Citizen Siege game will start soon. Wage Wars will be the first game online of the franchise and will tie in with the film. The game was mentionned in an article over at CGSociety, where Lorne talks about some other projects, EXPOSÉ 5 and how important creativity is to him.
Sources: CGSociety
Luminary Lorne interviewed inside Inside Game Design
Lorne Lanning is amongst the twenty designers profiled and interviewed by Iain Simons in Inside Game Design. This new book, by the director of Nottingham’s GameCity (in which Lorne first announced Citizen Siege), studies the approaches developers take to design and produce video games, using examples from today’s top creative individuals and teams. It contains glossy images depicting the transformation of creative ideas into functioning games.
Inside Game Design is published by Laurence King Publishing and released this October. You can already pre‐order the book from Amazon.
Sources: SPOnG
Lorne Lanning on EGM Live* Podcast part two
Another EGM Live* Podcast with Lorne Lanning is available now and can be found on this page. The interview is 19 minutes long and starts almost immediately. This time Lorne talks about how terrorism and violence is handled in media, The Sims and the PlayStation 3. No news about Lorne’s projects but still interesting to listen.
Sources: 1Up.com