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Two of the men behind some of Microsoft’s biggest hits have opened a new developer.
Seattle-based LOOOK will be focused on creating mixed-reality content, specifically for Microsoft’s HoloLens AR glasses, and is led by John Howard and Sébastien Motte.
Howard worked at Microsoft Studios from 1999 to 2007, working as lead designer on titles including the original Halo: Combat Evolved, Crimson Skies and Shadowrun.
He then moved to become principal designer at Radical Entertainment, heading up creation of the open-world superhero game Prototype and its follow-up, as well as unreleased sequels in the Spider-Man and Scarface spin-off franchises.
He returned to Microsoft in 2012, working on HoloLens and Xbox Fitness.
Motte, meanwhile, joined Microsoft in 1994, and helped launch the Age of Empires franchise on PC before eventually becoming senior director for the firm’s worldwide business development division in 2003.
He left in 2013, subsequently acting as a consultant for studio start-ups at his own firm, Mintonic.
LOOOK has also announced its collaboration with French indie Asobo, which has been developing for HoloLens for multiple years – it created three of the apps included with the hardware’s dev kit.
"Asobo Studio has been at the forefront of HoloLens development from the beginning," commented Howard, who will serve as creative director at the new outlet.
"New technologies have a learning curve, and our early involvement with HoloLens has given us a years-long head start in the creation of meaningful holographic applications."
