Ex-Bizarre devs form Lucid Games
Talking to publishers about projects.
From the ashes of Liverpool developer Bizarre Creations' closure emerges a new studio: Lucid Games.
It's just been formed by some of the brains behind Bizarre, and found a home in familiar territory – the north west of England.
And they're hiring.
The staff already at Lucid are behind games including Geometry Wars, the Project Gotham Racing series, Blur and James Bond 007: Blood Stone.
Pete Wallace, a former Bizarre senior manager and now Lucid managing director, said: "With the great history of Bizarre behind us, we are proud to be part of Lucid and are committed to the UK game development community.
"We plan to build a studio which encourages open communication with its partners, customers and other developers."
Lucid is already talking to several publishers regarding potential projects, it said.
"Our approach is to create for fun, quality and simplicity – it's how our games make you feel that matters to us," Wallace continued. "We are committed to hiring character, hiring talent and training skill.
"It's not about qualifications or years in the industry, we are looking for creatives with a positive attitude and plenty of aptitude.
"If you are interested in being a part of something new and feel you can meet or exceed the standards you have seen in our previous games then get in touch."
Activision's January 2011 announcement that it intended to terminate Bizarre came after a three month long search for a buyer.
Many staff at Bizarre used that time to search for new jobs. Ex-design manager Gareth Wilson, who spoke exclusively to Eurogamer yesterday, found one at Sheffield based Outrun Online Arcade developer Sumo Digital – he is now its new chief games designer.
Speaking to the Liverpool Daily Post, Wallace commented on the impact Bizarre's demise had on staff.
"People were aware there were going to be cuts. But the closure of the studio just wasn't expected at all. Most people didn't want to move away from the area, even though they're well-placed to go and work in Seattle or Canada."
Lucid's commercial director, Andy Davidson, added: "We know people are being targeted by headhunters and being asked about moving, particularly to Canada.
"We want to get back to the levels of innovation and creativity at Bizarre that made Activision so keen to acquire it."