Ex-Brash Executive is New Oddworld Inhabitants President

Larry Shapiro, the former Chief Creative Officer of troubled publisher Brash Entertainment, is now the president of Oddworld Inhabitants, the developer of the cult-followed Oddworld series helmed by industry veteran Lorne Lanning.

Lanning, who was president up to now, will step aside and focus on the creative side to make room for Shapiro. Before his time at Brash, Shapiro was an industry agent who represented Oddworld.

In his new position, Shapiro reportedly hopes to establish a new business model for the developer. "We intend to break the model of where games are today in a unique and entertaining way," he said. His viewpoint may concur with that of Lanning himself, who recently called game consoles "a problem" and "a step backwards."

A month ago, Shapiro made headlines by departing from Brash along with co-founders Thomas Tull and Nicholas Longano. Tull cited dissatisfaction with the quality of the company's products--mostly movie tie-ins--as reason for leaving. Brash now finds itself in very dire straits, as the publisher has run out of money and stopped paying its developers for their work.