Media Molecule has always held innovation in high regard, something that should be apparent to anyone who has played LittleBigPlanet and its sequel. PlayStation owners now have even more reason to get excited about stereoscopic 3D and other new tech as Media Molecule have been working with a number of different emerging technologies.
In a recent financial filing, the company revealed that it spent £4.1 million on research and development during the 2011 fiscal year, which ended this past March. During the same period the company reported £3.44 million in profits according to the filing.
What kind of technology are they spending over all the cash on? The filing outlined that Media Molecule has focused on “rapid world creation from laser data”, web based interfaces and 3D stereoscopic imaging.
The financial report had the following to say regarding R&D and Media Molecule’s position in the industry:
It is vital for Media Molecule to focus a high proportion of its resources on R&D to allow it to maintain its world leading position as a developer of innovative games
The filing continues, expanding on the various technologies that Media Molecule is interested in:
[Technologies such as] leading edge physics and dynamics, rapid world creation from laser data, innovative routes to market via web based interfaces, 3D stereo-optics for advanced simulation, and use of ‘hi-def’ data capture and processing techniques.
Media Molecule’s move away from the LittleBigPlanet brand comes after the company admitted that they had become reliant on the franchise. All of this research into new technologies mean that their next project could be something special, despite fans’ high hopes for a LittleBigPlanet 3.
Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet 2 was released in January of last year. The game’s famous level creation mechanic was not only the centerpiece of the product but provided unprecedented freedom to those with the time and patience to master it. The next entry, LittleBigPlanet for PS Vita, is being developed by two different studios as a combined effort between Double Eleven and Tarsier Studios.
It sounds like whatever shape Media Molecule’s next project takes, it will make full advantage of the PlayStation 3 hardware. First party titles have made extensive use of stereoscopic 3D in the past but rapid world generation based on laser data sounds interesting. What do you think Media Molecule could use that technology for?
