 One of the lead team members is Thomas Mahler, an artist formerly working with Blizzard Entertainment.According to Microsoft producer Daniel Smith, Moon Studios is not located in any one location, but instead staffers are working from around the world, including Austria, Australia, Israel and the United States.Gameplay programmer David Clark described the team as being inspired by current and classic adventure games, notably the "Rayman" and "Metroid" franchises, and that "Ori" is intended as a "love letter" to those games.