If the Kickstarter wasn't funded 'we would still be making Godus' - Peter Molyneux

[BrotherRool]

I assumed the reason a game that hadn't even been funded was the prize for Curiosity was because PM was making up things as he went along. But in the latest interview PM mentioned that his team were always going to be making Godus and that if Kickstarter hadn't worked they would have moved on to find money from elsewhere.

If we had been delayed by the Kickstarter not being funded, we still would be developing Godus.

Some people spent up to 5000 pounds on that kickstarter. I'm not sure they would have done that if they knew the game would be made anyway. When the Project Eternity or Wasteland 2 got funded, the people responsibility made it clear that there was no other way to get that game made. The Wasteland 2 guys spent ages going between publishers trying to get a deal and turned to the fans generosity as a last resort.

With Godus, PM said it was mainly for 'the feedback'

What I really wanted is to use a controlled stage approach to developing the game. In the next 48 hours it will go out into 900 people?s hands. We?re going to look at the way they play, get feedback from them. We?ll be asking them to fill out surveys. We?re going to be looking at analytics on their play style. We?ll be taking their suggestions on the forums and refining and polishing the game. Then we?re going to open that up to a bigger audience for the beta pledgers. That?s around about 17,000 people. Then we may even open it up to a wider, more public audience, depending on how it goes.

So the whole Kickstarter was basically an easy way to create a closed beta. I think people would have signed on for that without asking them to give you money first. People already gave him money for a 'copy of the game' which has since turned out to be available free-to-play.

On the other hand he never actually mentioned that he needed money on the kickstarter anywhere. Just that it would mean they didn't have to be involved with a publisher. On the other other hand, he signed up with a publisher anyway, despite saying he wouldn't.

Interview: RPS [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05/29/molyneux-on-curiosity-godus-and-forgotten-promises/]

 

[Fappy]

This is why I only kickstart projects that are more-or-less completely transparent. What he's done is pretty dick-ish.

 

[Altorin]

what else would you do if you were him? Peter Molyneux, like him or not (I don't care for his games myself but respect the man), is a visionary designer, who wouldn't stop one way or the other even if he had to pay for it himself. Once Molyneux starts to work on something, that something gets done.

Anyone kickstarting a Peter Molyneux project should know that Peter Molyneux isn't a critical failure or financial bomb. He's got plenty of clout to get made what he wants. Kickstarter is just an alternative means to get money with less strings from higher up the food chain.

Any one person who backs a Peter Molyneux project for 5000 dollars should get their head examined if you ask me, but let the crazy rich people be crazy and rich. My view on Kickstarter, at least as it pertains to video games, is an end justifies almost any means. Noone's forcing anyone to back anything and as long as it gets the job done, just be happy that you now have a direct means to vote with your wallet, instead of falling into the nebulous post-launch crowd. You can say "Here's my money. Make this." and that's a lot better then the old way, even if you might disagree somewhat with the specific practices.. as long as it works, I don't care.

 

[badgersprite]

I thought the whole idea of crowd-sourcing was to give people who don't have anywhere near the kind of money or resources or connections it would take to do a project a chance at creating something that otherwise they absolutely could not do. Molyneux is a huge name in development with his own studio and development team to push it out. Sounds pretty shady to me that he did this.

 

[Smooth Operator]

It should have been said at the start for sure, but then again if you spend even a milisecond checking who Molyneux is you would know the man has enough cash to self finance pretty much anything.

And not everyone is put off by that, I still think kickstarters like that are justifiable by game obscurity, ya he could have carried it all on his back but with games this far outside the regular market you may not sell a single damn copy... in which case you are just burning money on nothing.
So that is where the audience comes in to display what kind of extent the game can go for, or if there is no one to support it at all.

 

[Ickorus]

I'm almost sure he said during the Kickstarter that they were doing it that way to avoid having to answer to investors/publishers and possibly have the game changed in a way that wasn't beneficial to the customer. (Not those exact words, but the general gist of them)

I didn't pledge, but it seems fair to me and I doubt many pledges would have an issue with it.

Ah, found it:

But we need funding to continue, and rather than partner with a publisher, we?re keen to explore the exciting new Kickstarter platform. It means we can stay independent and it gives you the opportunity to have a voice in the development of GODUS.

Spoiler: Why we need your help section of Kickstarter page

With GODUS we want to make a game in a culture of openness, co-operation and honesty. Creating a game involves imagination and passion, and we?re keen to share the experience. So we want to make GODUS with you watching and, we hope, participating. Funding it via Kickstarter allows us to stay a small independent team with unlimited freedom in our creativity. It?ll just be you, us and our unbridled dedication (no publishers).

You see, although GODUS is a new idea, we?re keen to return to the spirit which started it all. In 1989, in a small, cramped office in Guildford, England, a hard-working and enthusiastic duo experimented, collaborated, took risks and came up with Populous, a game which would become a legend and which would launch the god game genre.

We?re going to make GODUS in that same spirit. And your support will enable you to be involved at every stage as we share everything we do and learn with you. We?ll produce video diaries, blogs, live streams, developer chats and a great deal more. We aim to end up with a truly delightful game and as you play it, you?ll be able to say that you also played your part in its very creation.

We?ll fund an experienced team of 22 people to make GODUS. That?s not a big team ? we?re doing this efficiently. But we?re committed to quality, so we?ll create outstanding gameplay, characters, artwork, animations, sound and music, and the very world itself. With your help we?ll turn our great idea into successful reality.

We need £450,000 to do this. Yes, games typically cost more than that to make, but we?re sticking to a small, highly effective team and we?ll be employing careful management to keep the project on track and get the most out of our funding.

 

[Strazdas]

Its Peter Molyneux, what do you expect? Hes been lieing to everyone in all of his projects. Hes like that crazy scientists that still somehow got access to the lab.

This is why i dont trust kickstarter. Its goals and mine do not coincide. If there is something i think i should support, i find a way to do it directly, not by some social fundraiser that gets a cut.

 

[5ilver]

The people who donated did so of their own free accord. Whether the game gets made or would have gotten made is irrelevant.