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Attention: Fable Series Development This page contains information regarding the development of the Fable series, people and/or companies directly or indirectly involved in it. |
Mark Healey is a British video game developer, director, designer, artist and programmer from Ipswich, United Kingdom (England). He is also the founder of his own video game studio called Media Molecule. He got into the video game industry by creating his own games for the Commodore 64 home computer, before he was later hired by Codemasters to create KGB Superspy. Mark would join Peter Molyneux to found Bullfrog Productions and helped work as the Lead Artist for games such as Theme Park, Magic Carpet and Dungeon Keeper. It is said that 90% of the graphics for those game were created by him.
After working at Bullfrog Productions, Mark Healy would join Peter Molyneux at his new company called Lionhead Studios. Whilst working there, Mark Healy would help as both a Senior Artist and Designer for Black & White. He would also go onto do some late-production work on the original Fable for the Xbox, before he left the company to create a game independently known as Rag Doll Kung-Fu .
History[]
Early Life[]
When he was younger, Mark Healy would go to Art College to study a two year diploma for both Art and Graphic Design. Mark was given a grant by the college to help him purchase all the food and equipment he needed, whilst he was attending there. However, rather than buying things that he needed for his studies, Mark would instead spend all of his money on a Disk Drive for his Commodore 64. This would result in him having to leave the college as he couldn't afford to stay there anymore. In interviews, Healy has mentioned that this was the most difficult decision he had to make in his life as he really wanted to create his own video games, rather than spend the time being educated in something that he didn't even want to do. Mark would also go on to become a member of the army cadets for six months and then the air cadets soon after. While he never really had any intention of joining the army, Healy would use this as an excuse to hang out and laugh with his friends.
Codemasters[]
When he reached the age of nineteen, Mark Healy had no money to take on a formal education. However, he did meet a girl that had a boyfriend, who worked for a company known as Codemasters. Through this connection, Mark would get an interview with the company and show them some of the demo projects that he had been working on in his spare time. The company was impressed with his self-taught skills at programming and contracted him with making his own game for the studio, this would lead to Mark Healy's first published title known as KGB Superspy for the Commodore 64 in 1989. He would be paid £2000 for the game, which Mark would later give to his mother to pay off his rent. Knowing now that he got the break that he needed to get into the video game industry and still no form of income to effeciently pay his bills, Mark would go onto help develop an educational series of games called Fun School for Europress Software in the same year.
Peter Molyneux[]
Just a few years later, Mark Healy would meet another video game developer by the name of Peter Molyneux. He and Peter would often work together in a professional relationship that lasted for more than 10 years.