Peter Molyneux Plans Only One More Game

[Paradoxrifts]

Video Game Developer Tycoon. That's your last game, Peter.

 

[Vhite]

Finally, everything he made after first Fable was terribly underwhelming, even that could be considered bad in some ways. While I enjoyed Dugeon Keeper and Black and White, their creator has passed away for me long ago.

 

[Divinegon]

I've worked with Pete over the years, and it's not necessarily the studio's fault, but rather a combination of things.

Here's what happens: he comes up with a grand and intriguing idea that is (quite often) vast in scope. This is broken down into individual gameplay elements that people start prototyping. Quite often, these elements are pretty novel and haven't always been done before, or done in the way he envisions it, so this means it's going to take a LOT of iteration to see whether it'll pan out or not.

All good so far, but then his obsessive personality kicks in, and he'll have a stick up his ass about one particular part of one particular gameplay element and will then constantly revise and change what it is, and that has the knock-on effect of the original idea never having had time to actually be iterated on to a point where it becomes clear whether the fundamental idea is good or bad. Pete just keeps changing it and changing it, and obviously the prototype team can't get the code written at the same speed as his brain works, so concepts never get fully prototyped.

And then, stage 3 of Hurricane Pete, is he'll show up one morning after having had another epiphany during the night, and will scrap that entire gameplay element in favor of a new one he's dreamed up.

This then goes on until the publisher forces him to actually release a game, which ends up being full of interesting ideas that never got the development time they needed to be any good: a bunch of half-baked failed promises.

But it isn't from lack of talent or effort from either Pete or the dev team. His style of working is now counter-productive for much of the time.

This explains (and confirms) so much! I've always thought Mr. Molyneux focused too much on unique and novel features but lost sight of how they would integrate into the gaming experience.

Thanks for the post!

So Peter is actually a Game Industry version of Steve Jobs only without the massive amounts of money and ownership of everything to do things the way he wants no matter what? Now that makes total sense.

I'm hoping this will be Dungeon Keeper 2 + Black and White + Fable combined in a fantastical game.

 

[Zen Bard]

I've worked with Pete over the years, and it's not necessarily the studio's fault, but rather a combination of things.

Here's what happens: he comes up with a grand and intriguing idea that is (quite often) vast in scope. This is broken down into individual gameplay elements that people start prototyping. Quite often, these elements are pretty novel and haven't always been done before, or done in the way he envisions it, so this means it's going to take a LOT of iteration to see whether it'll pan out or not.

All good so far, but then his obsessive personality kicks in, and he'll have a stick up his ass about one particular part of one particular gameplay element and will then constantly revise and change what it is, and that has the knock-on effect of the original idea never having had time to actually be iterated on to a point where it becomes clear whether the fundamental idea is good or bad. Pete just keeps changing it and changing it, and obviously the prototype team can't get the code written at the same speed as his brain works, so concepts never get fully prototyped.

And then, stage 3 of Hurricane Pete, is he'll show up one morning after having had another epiphany during the night, and will scrap that entire gameplay element in favor of a new one he's dreamed up.

This then goes on until the publisher forces him to actually release a game, which ends up being full of interesting ideas that never got the development time they needed to be any good: a bunch of half-baked failed promises.

But it isn't from lack of talent or effort from either Pete or the dev team. His style of working is now counter-productive for much of the time.

This explains (and confirms) so much! I've always thought Mr. Molyneux focused too much on unique and novel features but lost sight of how they would integrate into the gaming experience.

Thanks for the post!

So Peter is actually a Game Industry version of Steve Jobs only without the massive amounts of money and ownership of everything to do things the way he wants no matter what? Now that makes total sense.

I'm hoping this will be Dungeon Keeper 2 + Black and White + Fable combined in a fantastical game.

Not sure that's neccesasrily accurate. Jobs at least had an uncanny ability to leverage technology in ways that resonated with the consumer.

F'r instance...IBM had PCs long before Apple. But Jobs knew how to make them accessible to the masses. And come on? Storing music on hand-held hard drive and setting up a managed internet subscription service to download it? Genius!

Ironically, I think this is what Molyneux lacks; a fundamental relatability to the gamer and what the community wants.

"Yeah that's great that I can hold a characters hand in 'Fable III', but so? How does that enhance my gaming experience?"

 

[verdant monkai]

I saw Pete M at the gadget show live one time.. it was awkward.

I will most likely play this as he is one of my more favoured developers. I liked Fable a lot, Fable 2 being one of my favourite games, I doubt anything he does now will be anywhere near as definitive as the fable series. But it would be great if he could whip up something memorable.

I have a feeling though if this game is as successful as would hope, he will come crawling back and make some sequels.

 

[FEichinger]

Ironically, I think this is what Molyneux lacks; a fundamental relatability to the gamer and what the community wants.

"Yeah that's great that I can hold a characters hand in 'Fable III', but so? How does that enhance my gaming experience?"

And I think that's the very thing he's trying to work on with the experiments now. Both listening and watching.
We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

 

[Cobalt Lion]

Please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck...

You may be setting your hopes a little high. Isn't this the same guy who tried to make a game centered around taking a pickax to a large cube?

 

[Zen Bard]

Ironically, I think this is what Molyneux lacks; a fundamental relatability to the gamer and what the community wants.

"Yeah that's great that I can hold a characters hand in 'Fable III', but so? How does that enhance my gaming experience?"

And I think that's the very thing he's trying to work on with the experiments now. Both listening and watching.
We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

Agreed. I shall remain cautiously optimistic but...still cynical.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Alrighty. I haven't played any of his games before but I do want to hear about how this pans out.

I think I'll pass on that Curiosity thing.

 

[darthzew]

Judging by how his games have been going, I'm betting we're going to see Fable 4: Modern Warfare.

 

[Darks63]

So next game we will be able to fart whole musicals into peoples faces right?

OT: I do like his anti hype approach but ultimately the game is still gona be a mess whatever it is

 

[Smolderin]

I've worked with Pete over the years, and it's not necessarily the studio's fault, but rather a combination of things.

Here's what happens: he comes up with a grand and intriguing idea that is (quite often) vast in scope. This is broken down into individual gameplay elements that people start prototyping. Quite often, these elements are pretty novel and haven't always been done before, or done in the way he envisions it, so this means it's going to take a LOT of iteration to see whether it'll pan out or not.

All good so far, but then his obsessive personality kicks in, and he'll have a stick up his ass about one particular part of one particular gameplay element and will then constantly revise and change what it is, and that has the knock-on effect of the original idea never having had time to actually be iterated on to a point where it becomes clear whether the fundamental idea is good or bad. Pete just keeps changing it and changing it, and obviously the prototype team can't get the code written at the same speed as his brain works, so concepts never get fully prototyped.

And then, stage 3 of Hurricane Pete, is he'll show up one morning after having had another epiphany during the night, and will scrap that entire gameplay element in favor of a new one he's dreamed up.

This then goes on until the publisher forces him to actually release a game, which ends up being full of interesting ideas that never got the development time they needed to be any good: a bunch of half-baked failed promises.

But it isn't from lack of talent or effort from either Pete or the dev team. His style of working is now counter-productive for much of the time.

This explains (and confirms) so much! I've always thought Mr. Molyneux focused too much on unique and novel features but lost sight of how they would integrate into the gaming experience.

Thanks for the post!

If this is indeed true, then me and Peter have something in common. We have so many good ideas but can't seem to focus on just one of them, that new idea always seem so much more appealing than the last, and they come in waves to so its not like we can't stop thinking of new ideas, it's a natural reaction.

 

[FrozenCones]

I'm looking forward to the Zero Punctuation review more than the game itself.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

A cover-based shooter...where you are the cover.

0_0

Now that would take some effort.

 

[Kargathia]

Peter? Peter?! PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETER!!!

No, I love your games and your utterly unhinged mind. Christ, first Cliffy B and now Peter Molyneux. Why God, Why? Why don't any of the people screwing gaming up leave...

(braces self for comments about Cliffy B destroying PC gaming, or whatever it is he did....)

Indeed. Hate or love their games, some of the more entertaining personalities in the industry are on their way out. Damn shame.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

As much as the guy has shown he has a lack of focus and hypes his games way too much, I have to give Molyneux credit for at least trying to innovate games.

Fable 3 not so much, but the guy's one of the few people in the industry who will pursue new ideas even though they might not sell as well as CoD: Look down the Gun Sights for the Umpteenth Time.

Best wishes to his endeavors in the future, but more importantly, best wishes to his attempt now. I'm hoping that what he puts out is fantastic, and a good note to end on.

 

[SnowBurst]

its a truly scary thought that a game as good as fable 1 may never be made again peter has had his share of criticism but the guy brought us fable and black and white the guys a great dev unlike most now a days

 

[beastro]

Time to make the game everyone has been waiting twenty years for: One build entirely around the Persuadatron and the gameplay mechanics it creates.

Go around using people as tools doing things for you, steal, create distractions, kill, watch it wear off and them get in trouble. If you yourself get in trouble make them obstruct others and create havoc as you get away, just make use of the single best thing you've ever created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=538rLOAaSOc