Part 1 - Official Information Supplied by Lionhead
Lionhead are extremely keen on connecting with fans and 'the community', especially online. They are also unusual in the amount they are willing to share about their workplace/work habits, their main site hosts a blog section[1], a video blog section[2], a selection of webcams[3] placed around the studio, and an IRC function with its own terms of use[4] . This has amazed me as their affiliation with Microsoft is so strong, since being acquired by the mega-corporation in April 2006, and Microsoft's incredibly strict privacy reputation when regarding projects and releases. Lionhead seem to be more casual about 'sharing' with the public, and I respect this. I think it helps them keep their individuality as a studio and forms their identity. They promote the philosophy that working this openly with the community is good for production, something Peter Molyneux has promoted from day one.
As for Microsoft's involvement, the site still looks independent but the copyright sign and Microsoft name is everywhere. All videos are run on Silverlight software (which I had to download to watch them) and the community forum uses a Windows Live ID system. The Microsoft terms of use[7] is extremely extensive and strict.
The blog page opens with; "Everyone with something to say here at Lionhead gets the chance to share it on our website in one of our Blogs. Information about the development of our games, what's going on in the online community and what is Sam up to?"[1] After some investigation I found Sam to be of the Lionhead development team[4] and moderator of the Lionhead community forum.[6]
Its clear Lionhead promote equality amongst employees regarding roles and development; each department feature on the video diaries as equal, integral parts of the development process and end product. Each employee can have a blog or a live webcam, and I have been able to see, for example, how an individual's input has changed the development of Fable II[9]. Microsoft have overall control over Lionhead, but they still have an independent identity of their own as a British company with a history behind them, which I think is essential to their work ethic.
[1] http://www.lionhead.com/LatestBlogs.aspx, Dec 2009
[2] http://www.lionhead.com/Diaries/Default.aspx, Dec 2009
[3] http://www.lionhead.com/News/Webcams.aspx, Dec 2009
[4] http://www.lionhead.com/News/ircinfo.aspx, Dec 2009
[5] http://community.lionhead.com/user/Profile.aspx?UserID=2397, Dec 2009
[6] https://registration.lionhead.com/GatewayPage.aspx, Dec 2009
[7] http://www.microsoftgamesinsider.com/MGSTermsOfUse.htm, Dec 2009
[8] http://www.lionhead.com/News/Archive.aspx, Dec 2009
[9] Fable II, 2009, Lionhead Studios/Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360
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