The man behind the games.

The French certainly do like their video games and they are more than prepared to honour video game makers. Peter Molyneux, the creator of Lionhead Studios, and the man responsible for creating legendary games Populous, Syndicate, Powermonger, Black and White 2 and, of course, Fable has received The Knighthood in the Order of Arts of Letters from the French government. Expect to see new games by Sir Pete very soon.

Molyneux is not the first video game creator to receive such an award from the French government either. The French liked Mario so much that they gave the award to Shigeru Miyamoto. Frederick Raynal of Alone in the Dark fame and creator of Beyond Good and Evil and Rayman, Michel Ancel, are also recipients of the award. Peter said,

"I am extremely proud to have received this honour and would like to thank the French Ministry of Culture for this recognition. I would also like to say that I see this as a credit for everyone at Lionhead Studios, all our games are a team effort. I am just the figurehead."

Molyneux has been involved in the video game industry for just over twenty years. He is seen as one of the leading developers who has created some unique gaming franchises. However, his last game release, Fable, was dogged by long delays and a mixed reception at release on the Xbox. He is currently working on Fable 2 for the next generation console. Populous, Syndicate and Black and White were considered to be genre defining games. They have helped to create a massive fan base for the legendary developer world wide.

Lionhead Studios have also just created a unique video diary. The video diary will give you an inside look at Lionhead Studios and the day to day process of developing a game. The video diary will also provide up-to-date information on the development of Fable 2. They have also created a forum in which gamers will be able to post questions and have some influence over future episodes of the game.


Left and Right screenshots are from Fable. The Centre shot is concept art from Fable 2.