United Kingdom-based game development studio Media Molecule has been working on some of PlayStation's most incredible games since it was founded on Jan. 4, 2006, and to celebrate its 10th year surviving the competitive game development business, the team is looking back on its journey with an interactive time machine.
That's not the entire surprise because Media Molecule also announced that its community of supporters should keep their eyes and ears peeled for surprises from the game developer throughout the year.
Humble Beginnings
Media Molecule was founded by Mark Healey, Alex Evans, Kareem Ettouney and David Smith, who worked together at Lionhead Studios. They were then joined by friends Chris Lee and Siobhan Reddy, along with Criterion Games alumni Anton Kirczenow and Francis Pang. In October 2006, after moving into their Guilford Studio, the team gave life to "Sackboy," the little fellow who would eventually become the main character for Media Molecule's first major game Little Big Planet.
In 2010, Media Molecule officially became a part of PlayStation Worldwide Studios.
Games Developed
Media Molecule began with the announcement of Little Big Planet in the 2007 Game Developer's Conference (GDC). First released for PlayStation 3 in 2008, the game follows Sackboy's adventures around the Little Big Planet. There is, however, a catch: his adventures do not involve merely jumping around and defeating enemies. Sackboy's objective is to help the seven creator curators in their realms and also stop the eighth creator curator fromcarrying out its kidnapping spree. Little Big Planet's mechanics centers on creating, playing and sharing content in the online community.
Little Big Planet became a hit and was eventually made available in different PlayStation platforms, albeit with differing main objectives. Little Big Planet is available for play in PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 4. It also won eight D.I.C.E. Awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Artistic Achievement, four GDC Awards and four Develop Awards in 2009. That's just the original Little Big Planet, because the sequels also won Media Molecule a handful of awards.
Announced during the GamesCom in 2012, players couldn't seem to tear themselves away from the studio's second title, Tearaway. As you've probably guessed, it also won Media Molecule another handful of awards and their move to a bigger studio in 2010 was probably justified just by those awards alone. Sackboy is out and the reversible box art messenger who, depending on the gender, goes either by Iota or Atoi, is in. This time, the main character is on a mission to deliver a special message to "The You," who happens to be, well, you, the player.
Dreams is Media Molecule's upcoming title revealed at E3 2015. Judging from the artwork the team released in its website, it looks like Dreams is going to be another multiawarded game. "It's also a space in which to create your own dreams, whether they're games, art, films, music or anything in-between and beyond," the site described
The Future
What's in store for everyone this year? Well, Media Molecule said it has a surprise for all its supporters. "Our 10th anniversary is a very special milestone for us, so expect lots of celebrations throughout the year.... We've got some pretty exciting announcements and events happening over the course of the next 12 months.... Thank YOU for being the most awesome community we could have ever imagined, we love you all and we can't wait to see what the next 10 years will bring!" the Media Molecule team wrote.
I'm sure the community is excited as well because Dreams looks like another amazing work.
