Curiosity Winner Only Got the Game "About an Hour" Before Winning

[Steven Bogos]

Curiosity Winner Only Got the Game "About an Hour" Before Winning

Bryan Henderson "had no clue" that Godus was on Kickstarter, and hasn't actually played any of Molyneux's games.

"What's inside the cube?" was the question on everyone's lips during Peter Molyneux's Curiosity social experiment. After thousands of eager fans tried their hands at chipping away at the cube, Molyneux revealed that Bryan Henderson of Edinburgh [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124353-Peter-Molyneuxs-Curiosity-Finally-Chipped-Away] would be that one lucky fan who gets to be a God in Molyneux's upcoming Godus, as well as a cut of every Godus sale. A "life changing" prize, as Molyneux puts it, for a dedicated fan.

Except it turns out Henderson is not as big a fan as you would imagine, having only downloaded Curiosity about an hour before he was announced as the winner, and having never actually played any of Molyneux's games before. "I downloaded the game only about an hour before I won, so I feel a little bad," Henderson told Game Informer. [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/05/26/an-interview-with-curiosity-winner-bryan-henderson.aspx] When asked if he was a Godus Kickstarter backer, Henderson said "I didn't have a clue that it was on Kickstarter," adding "I haven't played any of [Molyneux's] previous games but I have always wanted to try Fable."

"It's very surreal, I'm still trying to take it all in. At the moment I'm not very clear on what I'm going to be able to do, but I do know it's going to be incredible."

While this kind of information is sure to whip up the most dedicated fans into a frenzy, we sort of had to expect this result from the start. The very nature of the experiment was that anyone could win, and everyone had an equal chance. If Molyneux wanted the "everyman" to be his God, then that's truly what he got. Henderson is an 18-year-old graphic design intern whose favorite games include Halo 3, Dead Space 3, Assassin's Creed, Battlefield 3, and Portal 2.

When asked about his own religious tendencies, Henderson stated that "I'm an atheist myself but I'm okay with everyone believing what they want to believe." Henderson still isn't quite sure of the limits of his power, but assures us that "it's going to be incredible."

Henderson says at this stage he only knows about as much as the public does, and says that Molyneux and the 22 Cans team should get back to him with more information soon.

Source & Image: Game Informer [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/05/26/an-interview-with-curiosity-winner-bryan-henderson.aspx]

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[Roofstone]

I'd be lying if I didn't say that this rubs me the wrong way..

In my mind a dedicated fan should've won, but then again. He had all rights to win.
Still..

Should've been a fan..

Like, you know..

Me?
:3

 

[Bat Vader]

I am a bit confused. I thought Curiosity was supposed to take weeks or a couple months to clear away all the blocks to get to the prize. Was not that true or am I thinking of a different game?

 

[Tombsite]

This game was set up for "sniping" so some one like him winning was the most likely outcome. Any rational individual would have waited instead of wasting time at the start of the "game". That actually makes it an interesting experiment from a behavioural psychology point of view.

 

[JediMB]

This is neat.

Personally, I downloaded Curiosity to my phone shortly after release, and couldn't get it to run. Pretty much stopped caring at that point. It'll be interesting to see what kind of influence a guy who seems to be mostly into shooters will have over a strategic God Sim.

 

[rapidoud]

I'd be lying if I didn't say that this rubs me the wrong way..

In my mind a dedicated fan should've won, but then again. He had all rights to win.
Still..

Should've been a fan..

Like, you know..

Me?
:3

i was just thinking thats going to annoy alot of people

I have every molyneux game ever made and I'm quite mad.

Kidding! I do have every Molyneux game but I didn't care enough to enter (odds were astronomically low and I was better off using mturk or something), congrats to Bryan, but the religious question is really out of place.

I just want Project Godus released.

 

[weirdee]

I am a bit confused. I thought Curiosity was supposed to take weeks or a couple months to clear away all the blocks to get to the prize. Was not that true or am I thinking of a different game?

well see

the game is shared, so the preceding events had already happened

 

[Tombsite]

I am a bit confused. I thought Curiosity was supposed to take weeks or a couple months to clear away all the blocks to get to the prize. Was not that true or am I thinking of a different game?

It was a "MMO" sort of.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

This game was set up for "sniping" so some one like him winning was the most likely outcome. Any rational individual would have waited instead of wasting time at the start of the "game". That actually makes it an interesting experiment from a behavioural psychology point of view.

Some people didn't play it to win, maybe they didn't even expect there was anything to win at all.
You just have to find out, man, you have to know!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX!?

 

[Bat Vader]

I am a bit confused. I thought Curiosity was supposed to take weeks or a couple months to clear away all the blocks to get to the prize. Was not that true or am I thinking of a different game?

well see

the game is shared, so the preceding events had already happened

Thank You for the information. I didn't know that it was a shared game. I thought that maybe he bought an item that cleared all the blocks away.

 

[weirdee]

I am a bit confused. I thought Curiosity was supposed to take weeks or a couple months to clear away all the blocks to get to the prize. Was not that true or am I thinking of a different game?

well see

the game is shared, so the preceding events had already happened

Thank You for the information. I didn't know that it was a shared game. I thought that maybe he bought an item that cleared all the blocks away.

a lot of people did hack their way into obtaining the thing that did that

they still didn't win

 

[Me55enger]

I am a bit confused. I thought Curiosity was supposed to take weeks or a couple months to clear away all the blocks to get to the prize. Was not that true or am I thinking of a different game?

It was launched 6th november last year. Thats 201 days.

To be honest I thought the prize was a little selfish and egotistical on Molynuex part. But then my friend pointed out he effectively created the God genre.

 

[Johkmil]

Seems like an average Joe, now ascended to godhood. While a fan winning would have been great, at least it is not someone who's explicitly unfit. He will probably be a better-than-average god, although there are a lot of gods pulling that average down.

Iä! Bryan! The Revealer of Secrets and Intern of Graphic Design!

 

[Coreless]

This game was set up for "sniping" so some one like him winning was the most likely outcome. Any rational individual would have waited instead of wasting time at the start of the "game". That actually makes it an interesting experiment from a behavioural psychology point of view.

Some people didn't play it to win, maybe they didn't even expect there was anything to win at all.
You just have to find out, man, you have to know!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX!?

WHAT'S IN THE F***ING BOX!?!?!

 

[Bat Vader]

I am a bit confused. I thought Curiosity was supposed to take weeks or a couple months to clear away all the blocks to get to the prize. Was not that true or am I thinking of a different game?

It was launched 6th november last year. Thats 201 days.

To be honest I thought the prize was a little selfish and egotistical on Molynuex part. But then my friend pointed out he effectively created the God genre.

I feel bad for Bryan Henderson. He won which was cool and I congratulate him for it but at the same time I have a bad feeling that people who also really wanted to win or sunk a lot of time into it are going to be angry at him and may either try and get back at him or not buy Godus just to make sure he doesn't gain any money from their sales.

I think it would be pretty cool if other developers did this too. It would be a pretty good way to advertise a game.

 

[Me55enger]

I feel bad for Bryan Henderson. He won which was cool and I congratulate him for it but at the same time I have a bad feeling that people who also really wanted to win or sunk a lot of time into it are going to be angry at him and may either try and get back at him or not buy Godus just to make sure he doesn't gain any money from their sales.

I think it would be pretty cool if other developers did this too. It would be a pretty good way to advertise a game.

They have little right to be angry. This was a social experiment; a glorified method of obtaining a random person. My mum chipped away on Curiosity. I had a short conversation after it had been finished discussing how interesting it would have been to have someone like her (not a gamer) dictating rules on a God based game.

In that respect I think an everyman like Bryan will make for a more interesting addition to the game over a hardcore Molyneux supporter/gamer.

I wouldn't exactly call it advertising, as we didn't know it was tied to Godus until it, well, finished. But I agree we should be seeing more things like this.

 

[Gray Firion]

This is Delicious!

No, it really is. I can actually taste the irony on this one. Ooh! And imagine he does play Fable or some other of Molyneux's games and doesn't like it that much. That'd be the icing really. x)

Seriously though, as the article states, if Molyneux indeed wanted an "everyman" for the part, then this is the best outcome. And someone's actual fate getting a twist like this is incredible. Congratulations to him. I might even try Godus now. =)