Molyneux: I've Never Made a Great Game
- Thread starter Logan Westbrook
- Start date
I rather like Peter Molyneux. I acknowledge that his next game will probably not have all the promised features or be as world implodingly awesome as he makes it out to be... but I also know that it will be infinitely more enjoyable than the generic, emotionless bollocks that a lot of games are full of. I probably would put fable2 in my top five games along with Oblivion, Bioshock, COD 4 and ... possibly spore + the adventure creator add-on? If not then definately Ratchet and Clank that game was awesome.
"And he invites criticism from his fans, too. He goes on gaming forums under a pseudonym, he tells us, to spark debate."
Well, if you're here, hi! Hahaha.
I recently watched a Youtube clip from IGN from last year where Peter discusses some of the studio's game concepts that get drafted, discussed and then shafted.
One of these concepts, 'Survivors' intrigues me. I love the DOS game Boomtown, and I would love to see some version of this, and maybe some of of these other concepts come to fruition in some form.
On the topic of seeing the magical number of '5 million copies' as some sort of target to reach, I really don't think that's the way to measure success.
How many copies did the Mona Lisa sell?
What developers should be aiming for is a dedicated fanbase around games that they enjoy creating. Not watering it all down to see if they can match what the greatest number of us want to buy. I say there's a huge difference between a bestseller and a sellout- you don't want your current fanbase to believe that we're not good enough for you, just because we're not the 5 million you want us to be.
Well, if you're here, hi! Hahaha.
I recently watched a Youtube clip from IGN from last year where Peter discusses some of the studio's game concepts that get drafted, discussed and then shafted.
One of these concepts, 'Survivors' intrigues me. I love the DOS game Boomtown, and I would love to see some version of this, and maybe some of of these other concepts come to fruition in some form.
On the topic of seeing the magical number of '5 million copies' as some sort of target to reach, I really don't think that's the way to measure success.
How many copies did the Mona Lisa sell?
What developers should be aiming for is a dedicated fanbase around games that they enjoy creating. Not watering it all down to see if they can match what the greatest number of us want to buy. I say there's a huge difference between a bestseller and a sellout- you don't want your current fanbase to believe that we're not good enough for you, just because we're not the 5 million you want us to be.
First time I've ever agreed with him.
Pete, if you're trying to get into "top 5" territory and are looking for sample lists, here's mine.
System Shock 2
Planescape: Torment
Deus Ex
Mass Effect
Fallout
It just seems to me like Pete only makes games for the under 18 crowd. He needs a gritty reboot, is what I'm saying. And watch out for those giant animal penises.
Pete, if you're trying to get into "top 5" territory and are looking for sample lists, here's mine.
System Shock 2
Planescape: Torment
Deus Ex
Mass Effect
Fallout
It just seems to me like Pete only makes games for the under 18 crowd. He needs a gritty reboot, is what I'm saying. And watch out for those giant animal penises.
*slaps* NO! bad internet person BAD! most Molyneux games are generally pretty good, especially fable (fable 2 loses points BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T RELEASE IT ON THE PC SO I COULD PLAY IT >:C )Uber Waddles said:
and black and white, also making a statement without backing it up with evidence is BAD WRITING! *slaps again*
EDIT: forgot to capitalize Molyneux
EDIT: AND YOU FORGOT THE STRAWS! *paf* (super secret obscure reference here! [http://inc.anphicle.com/2010/03/skull-of-regret.png])
He has an awesome imagination and a brilliant ability to communicate his vision.
Seriously, prior to fable he got us excited about trees growing.
We have trees in real life, but were excited by trees growing in a game.
That is pretty awesome by itself really.
Seriously, prior to fable he got us excited about trees growing.
We have trees in real life, but were excited by trees growing in a game.
That is pretty awesome by itself really.
Never played the Fables, got bored of Black and White very quickly, Populous was good, but that was 21 years ago and Dungeon Keeper was only good because it spawned the far, far, far superior sequel which he had nothing to do with.
So yeah, going with the, "Molyneux is a bit useless" side on this one.
So yeah, going with the, "Molyneux is a bit useless" side on this one.
Point that some other people have made, but I'd like to further add to this one criticism of an otherwise wonderfully enthusiastic dreamer.
PCs play games too!
Particularly with platforms like Steam that have taken compulsive game buying to a whole new level (I bet I'm not the only person who has bought a game on Steam despite already owning the game, just because it's on special offer!), I don't understand how alienating a huge section of the gaming community will help him reach his magic five million?
It's hardly as though people walked into the shops and said "Fable II? Nah, I'm not really interested HEY WAIT IT'S NOT AVAILABLE ON PC LET'S BUY IT NOW!". Of course it's a deal with Xbox to help them beat PS3, but a real black mark on a man who claims to love games and gamers, yet indulges in petty business rivalry.
Sadly it does mean that (with the exception of a 'The Movies' style game, which I would be unable to resist) I won't be buying any more Lionhead games for shunning my beloved gaming platform.
Will it make any effect on sales? I shall just comfort myself in the hope his next game gets to 4,999,999 sales while £29.99 burns a hole in my pocket...
PCs play games too!
Particularly with platforms like Steam that have taken compulsive game buying to a whole new level (I bet I'm not the only person who has bought a game on Steam despite already owning the game, just because it's on special offer!), I don't understand how alienating a huge section of the gaming community will help him reach his magic five million?
It's hardly as though people walked into the shops and said "Fable II? Nah, I'm not really interested HEY WAIT IT'S NOT AVAILABLE ON PC LET'S BUY IT NOW!". Of course it's a deal with Xbox to help them beat PS3, but a real black mark on a man who claims to love games and gamers, yet indulges in petty business rivalry.
Sadly it does mean that (with the exception of a 'The Movies' style game, which I would be unable to resist) I won't be buying any more Lionhead games for shunning my beloved gaming platform.
Will it make any effect on sales? I shall just comfort myself in the hope his next game gets to 4,999,999 sales while £29.99 burns a hole in my pocket...
Point that some other people have made, but I'd like to further add to this one criticism of an otherwise wonderfully enthusiastic dreamer.
PCs play games too!
Particularly with platforms like Steam that have taken compulsive game buying to a whole new level (I bet I'm not the only person who has bought a game on Steam despite already owning the game, just because it's on special offer!), I don't understand how alienating a huge section of the gaming community will help him reach his magic five million?
It's hardly as though people walked into the shops and said "Fable II? Nah, I'm not really interested HEY WAIT IT'S NOT AVAILABLE ON PC LET'S BUY IT NOW!". Of course it's a deal with Xbox to help them beat PS3, but a real black mark on a man who claims to love games and gamers, yet indulges in petty business rivalry.
Sadly it does mean that (with the exception of a 'The Movies' style game, which I would be unable to resist) I won't be buying any more Lionhead games for shunning my beloved gaming platform.
Will it make any effect on sales? I shall just comfort myself in the hope his next game gets to 4,999,999 sales while £29.99 burns a hole in my pocket...
PCs play games too!
Particularly with platforms like Steam that have taken compulsive game buying to a whole new level (I bet I'm not the only person who has bought a game on Steam despite already owning the game, just because it's on special offer!), I don't understand how alienating a huge section of the gaming community will help him reach his magic five million?
It's hardly as though people walked into the shops and said "Fable II? Nah, I'm not really interested HEY WAIT IT'S NOT AVAILABLE ON PC LET'S BUY IT NOW!". Of course it's a deal with Xbox to help them beat PS3, but a real black mark on a man who claims to love games and gamers, yet indulges in petty business rivalry.
Sadly it does mean that (with the exception of a 'The Movies' style game, which I would be unable to resist) I won't be buying any more Lionhead games for shunning my beloved gaming platform.
Will it make any effect on sales? I shall just comfort myself in the hope his next game gets to 4,999,999 sales while £29.99 burns a hole in my pocket...
EDIT: Spoilered for double post
Bring me back to the days when fun was watering a forest I made myself. Sod the village and all it's people and the Curious Cow I had for a pet; I had trees to tend to. Peter M was onto something there, but there's always some fatal flaw, some error in execution that spoils absolutely everything and makes you give up. In this case; it was the enemy AI god on the second level stealing all my trees. The land was barren and bare; the AI never nurtured anything but cheated, that blue Dalek reached a hundred miles outside his own influence circle to pick up my trees and drop them in his storehouse. Seriously, it wasn't limited by the influence ring as the player was because it moved so fast it didn't matter. Lionhead never fixed that. In the end I had to win the only way I didn't want to as a good god: genocide. I threw a mushroom in his storehouse and poisoned the food. They lasted twenty minutes. No matter how much of my food and wood he stole, the AI didn't think to empty all the grain from his storehouse and drop it outside(poison disappears somehow).carpathic said:
But this is something that plagues all developers: they think of all the ways to create fun and then somehow manage to stick every antidote to it in as well.
I love this guy...he's done so much for the industry, and yet he's also so goddamn humble. I personally loved both "Fables" and plan to get Fable 3 on launch.
Oh, and you might not have made a great game, but you sure as hell have made a great game trailer-
<youtube=TqJr0j_HBzI>
Oh, and you might not have made a great game, but you sure as hell have made a great game trailer-
<youtube=TqJr0j_HBzI>
Despite his optimism and enthusiasm, he then says this? I think he must of stopped taking his Prozac.
But seriously, Black and White was beyond brilliant!
But seriously, Black and White was beyond brilliant!
He is always challenging himself to innovate, and I think the industry and gamers need to appreciate him for that, love him or hate him.
