Molyneux Calls Himself A "Talentless Bastard"

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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Molyneux Calls Himself A "Talentless Bastard"



Peter Molyneux blames himself for the "insane" overcomplication of Fable III [http://www.amazon.com/Fable-Lost-Chapters-Xbox/dp/B0001UEHP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1279562121&sr=1-1].

Last week, we learned that Peter Molyneux's Fable III would feature some fairly extensive changes to the framework of the series [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98265-Molyneux-Reveals-Why-Fable-3-Will-Piss-Players-Off] with the goal in mind of "simplification." But why is the man famous for promising the moon and the stars taking a more cautious, less-complicated approach?

The answer? Because not many people understood everything in Fable II, and Molyneux blames himself.

"There was this amazing moment when a piece of research came back [that showed us] more than half the people who played Fable 2 understood and used less than half the features in the game," Molyneux told CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=235701]. "And as soon as you see that you think: 'Oh my God. What a talentless bastard I really am.'"

[blockquote]"How can I have made a game in which people actually understood less than half of its mechanics? It's like making a film that makes people think: 'It looks quite cool. I don't know what the hell is going on, but it seems quite cool.' You know, that's just wrong. ... So I think Fable III is all about using mechanics, exploiting mechanics, giving gameplay reason to things."[/blockquote]

The Expressions in Fable and Fable II were nice, said Molyneux, but in all honesty he felt they were just a way for players to do fart jokes without any emotional connection to the world. The Touch System and the Follower System, on the other hand, should be more organic and understandable: "[Y]ou suddenly turn around and go: 'Of course, now it fits in. Now it's part of the game. Now there are the reasons for me to do that and a consequence to me doing that.'"

"The simpler things are, the more people use them."

But really, don't put yourself down like that, Peter. As crazy as you can be sometimes, we still love you.

The full interview with Peter Molyneux is a very fascinating read [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=235704] in which he divulges that Fable III was inspired by things like UK soap opera Coronation Street and US President Barack Obama.

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CheckD3

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Dec 9, 2009
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You have to wonder, does he talk so much because he actual thinks these things, and is a crazy "talentless bastard," or does Peter just talk so much for the free press coverage with his comments being headline worth to us?
 

Eldarion

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John Funk said:
The full interview with Peter Molyneux is a very fascinating read [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=235704] in which he divulges that Fable III was inspired by things like UK soap opera Coronation Street and US President Barack Obama.

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Oh dear.

I don't even....what?

He is still crazy I see.
 

robinkom

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Jan 8, 2009
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At least he admits it.

Maybe he finally gets it... I'm sure someone told him all that along the way before but he was too caught up in his "visions" to listen. Sounds a little like Jack Emmert. :p

Maybe now he can go back and do a HD re-release of "The Movies" with all the proper content inserted back in. Or not... wishful thinking.
 

IckleMissMayhem

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Oct 18, 2009
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Oh my... He's taken the rose-tinted glasses off, has he?

Not even this amazingly hilarious quote will convince me that Fable 3 is £40 well spent I'm afraid...
 

TheDoctor455

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Apr 1, 2009
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I wonder what game features he's referring to...
well... other than that bullshit emote system.
Yeah... Peter... emotes don't fit into a single-player game AT ALL. They only work for MMOs.
I would be worried that Fable 3 is going to be an MMO... but seeing as PC gamers like myself didn't get to play Fable II (so I have no valid opinion of it)... I don't really see why I should care... I'm not even sure why I'm bothering to post this...
 

esperandote

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Feb 25, 2009
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Instead of making the game simpler why not add instructions or a tutorial for the players to learn to understand and use the its features and keep a rich game instead of start making smaller (cheaper, i guess that answers my question) games?
 

MurderousToaster

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I wouldn't say he was 'talentless'. He made popular games, and is well-loved. I'd say he can be a crazy idiot sometimes, but he's not talentless.
 

NIHILHATE

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Aug 21, 2009
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Ugh. He'll never learn, will he? Fable 2 would have been pretty much perfect if it was just bigger and longer. And featured sailing.
 

Rect Pola

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May 19, 2009
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Funny thing about Molyneux is that when he promises the Moon and Stars, I get the feeling that he genuinely wanted to deliver and gets as disappointed as we do when he doesn't.
 

Hurr Durr Derp

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This is actually one of the main reasons I will never be a (professional) games developer. You can't just make what you think is cool. I don't think Molyneux is a talentless bastard, I think he's talented bastard who keeps aiming for the stars but produces mediocre games because aiming for the stars isn't how reality works. He lets his hopes and ideas get the better of him and ends up with a disappointing product because either he didn't manage to create what he wanted (and in certain infamous cases, promised) to create, or the things he did create didn't turn out like they were supposed to.

Pretty much every game he ever made is full of things that make you go "Well, the idea is awesome, but..." A lot of his games were good (I'll fight anyone who says Syndicate Wars, Populous, or Dungeon Keeper weren't great games), and even his not-so-good games were amusing and entertaining at least, but all of his games feel like they were built around awesome ideas that didn't all quite make it to the final product.

It's good that he realizes he can't just dick around with his games because he actually needs to make things the public will understand and enjoy (and thus buy), but I do hope that doesn't mean he'll go the other way and makes games in a way he thinks will sell well rather than a way he thinks is awesome.

[EDIT]

Having now read the full interview, I don't think we're in danger of turning Molyneux away from his crazy schemes, though perhaps he'll base his ideas more on reality in stead of "You know what would be awesome?"

Also, I'm now looking forward to Fable 3. DAMMIT MOLYNEUX!