M64 Focus | Liam Hélou (Game Designer / Producer at Willow Studios) -

Liam Hélou: (Game Designer / Producer)

Name/Known Alias: Liam Hélou. I don’t really have any fun aliases, unfortunately.

Occupation: Game Designer / Producer.

Best Known for/Notable Works: LAW 56!

Fun Fact: I still play most games with a controller. It’s a bit of a hindrance with shooters but I never played many games on PC growing up and I refuse to switch now.

How did you make your break into the industry: It’s ongoing! I moved to the UK from Canada to study Game Design, worked really hard, met some incredible and talented people, and together we’re trying to establish ourselves as Willow Studios with the release of LAW 56.

Favourite Projects to have Worked on: I’m really enjoying LAW 56, I love working with this team and I’m enjoying the challenge of getting a game to reach professional standards compared to a student project. I could also say Printers Inc.. That was the first game that members of Willow Studios worked on together. It was a silly game and it was a blast to make. Players control an office worker racing through progressively crazier levels to print a memo (ranging from an office setting to a space station) from the comforts of an office chair, as the character is too lazy to just get up and walk. The hitch was players had to use a racing wheel and pedals to manoeuvre the chair. That game should be free on our itch if anyone wants a break from Forza or F1!

Hardest Projects to have Worked on: I worked on a live brief for Tiny Rebel Studios while at USW. The prompt for the game was ‘Move Me’, where the core mechanic had to involve movement, the whole experience had to be 8-10 minutes, and it had to evoke an emotional response from the player. We made Smeltdown, a blacksmithing VR game. I’m really proud of the game, but it was very difficult to test and though I found making a game in VR fairly intuitive, there is still some inherent “finickiness” that comes with it. There was also the challenge of working with a larger team than usual and the added pressure of showcasing this game to some very successful industry veterans.

Currently Working on: LAW 56.

Currently Playing: A few things. I enjoy playing PGA 2k23 fairly consistently. I’ve been playing the new Mario Party with my partner in the evenings, and I just started playing Project Zomboid with my friends.

Currently Watching: I just finished JJK and really enjoyed it. Currently, I’m watching Sweetpea..

Defining Career Moment: Showcasing LAW 56 at EGX/MCM Comic Con.

Throughout your career, of the many things you have since learned, is there anything you wish you knew at the beginning: Experiment and break stuff. It’s important to make a development plan. Still, when you’re prototyping you can learn a lot about what is fun just messing around with extremities and seeing how ridiculous you can make some of your gameplay features, and then working backwards from there. Also, always keep a personal side project on the go.

If you had the opportunity to work with any IP, what would it be: Assassin’s Creed 2 was very influential in setting me on this career path, so that series is one that sticks out. I also love the interactive horror games from Supermassive Games. I always play them with my brothers and we have a blast together, so working on those would be really meaningful to me.

Is there anyone you haven’t worked with yet, but would like to: There’s a lot of people I haven’t worked with seeing as I’m just getting started in this industry. There’s no shortage of creative and talented people working in games, so I’m sure no matter who I end up working with down the line, it will be great.

For fans of your work, who’d like to get in touch and stay up to date with all the latest news, what are the best places for them to reach you on: My professional links are here: Liam Helou Game Design Carrd or you can always reach out to Willow Studios through any of the links here: Willow Studios | Instagram, TikTok | Linktree