Is Molyneux trying to rekindle days of yore?

Those who recall the old days of Lionhead Studios and (going back even further) Bullfrog will know the name Peter Molyneux. Responsible for the Fable series, the veteran designer and programmer has certainly made a na??me for himself. Unfortunately, not always in a good way.

Typically known for overhyping his upcoming releases (not to mention his brush with NFT games), Molyneux seems to be uncharacteristically doing something un-Molyneux-like. In an interview with Game Reactor, he was asked whether he could divulge a few details about his next project, which is b??eing developed via his company 22Cans.

Acknowledging his reputation, Peter Molyneux admits that in "days gone by," he would just begin talking extensively about upcoming projects. In saying he's making the "most brilliant game in the world," people would feel "annoyed and angry" by his claims. As such?, it seems he wants to steer clear of overhyping this time around.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEQRwpMYPaw

It's also coming to PC and console

However, he proceeds to say that his team's next game may have a "never been seen before" mechanic. While he doesn't go into detail about what it is, Molyneux says the team "stumbled" upon this idea. To avoid saying too much, he clarifies that what he's been working on will be "kind of" like Fable, Black & White, and Dungeon Keeper.

This mysterious project also represents Molyneux's return to coding, something he says he hasn't been involved in since the first Black & White game, which released in 2001. Perhaps he wants to evoke the olden days when the likes of Bullfro??g and Lionhead released highly pr??aised games.

Whatever he and his team are working on will appear on PC and console. ??Molyneux says 22Cans may work on a mobile title later, but this ?game will stay off phones.

These responses come off the back of the new trailer for the upcoming Fable game shown off at this year's Xbox Showcase. This new? entry in the series, which does not feature Molyneux, stars Richard Ayoade as a giant. Hopefully we'll learn more about either Fable or 22Cans' next project soon.

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The new battle royale?

"A Peter Molyneux NFT." Enough said. Now I have your attention.

Announced this past weekend, Peter Molyneux's studio 22cans is launching a new game in 2022 called Legacy, and surprise! It promises the moon. Here's the synopsis before I get to th?e monetary aspect, which is no doubt the entire reason this game exists:

"Legacy is a creative entrepreneur’s dream come true, an opportunity for players to build their very own business, designing their very own products from a hu??ge array of possibilities as?? they create a business empire the likes of which the world has never seen!"

Sitting down? This game is utilizing both NFT and blockchain tech. Molyneux claims you can "EARN" in the game, as you balance a happy workforce and the efficiency of your operation: "owning a Land NFT allows you to start your own in-game blockchain business association in Legacy. You will be able to play Legacy, ??while earning and owning your gameplay. LegacyCoin (LEGACY) is a new Cryptocurrency lying on the Ethereum blockchain which complies with the tried and trusted ERC-20 token standard."

Naturally, all of this is extremely dependent on long-term growth and sustainability (as well as a degree of trust), which isn't something Molyneux is known for anymore. So at one point, there was fun to be had with Molyneux mucking about the gaming industry, but I'm just not feeling it anymore. Given the high short-term gains of some NFT ventures this could fund his studio for a while longer, but seeing 22cans come out with mediocre games only to eventually abandon them is more sad than entertaining.

No three words have instilled more fear in my heart this y?ear than: "Molyneux, blockchain, a?nd NFT" in the same sentence. Was Molyneux actually an NFT this entire time?

I guess this is what the below version of Legacy (shown off in 2019) became?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtxwATMd_bE

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Coughs and sneezes spread diseases!

Usually, I'm quite indignant about any suggestion that my commitment to the PlayStation brand could bite me full force in the arse. I've grown complacent about the fact that everything I want either 1) comes to the PS4, or 2) is so bare-?bones in terms of its technical requirements that my cheap-as-chips elderly laptop can handle it, no probs. And if you were to suggest that I piece together a decent gaming rig and stop being so horribly dependent on Sony, you may as well be asking me to remove someone's appendix.

But indeed, it has come back to haunt me, since I currently have no way of running Two Point Hospital -- yes, my laptop is that craptacular. The game is a t??ad more than a spiritual success?or to Theme Hospital, wi?th key figures such as Gary Carr and Mark Webley involved in both games, and operates on the same principle, but with more finesse. Despite the relatively hig??h price point for a non-AAA game, I was very excited about the release of Two Point Hospital, precisely because Theme Hospital was a milestone in my gaming history.

In fact, it is a cornerstone of my gaming history in so many ways. It was not only instrumental in igniting my interest in games, but it was the first title I ever wrote a proper blog post about. What's more, Bullfrog Productions were the first game production company I considered myself a fan of, starting back with Theme Park but fuelled even further by Theme Hospital. So, what was so special about TH and why did it and its siblings attract me to management sims more than its competitors? Grab a KitKat from a nearby vending machine inexplicably placed in the middle of the floor while I regale you with a bit of the history behind Theme Hospital, my b??ackground with the comedic cult classic, and a little bit of information on what followed f?or Bullfrog Productions.

The release of Theme Hospital

Theme Hospital was first released for the PC in March 1997, with a PlayStation port arriving the followi?ng year. As already mentioned, the game was originally developed by Bullfrog Productions, though Krisalis Software did work on the PS port. While Pete??r Molyneux came up with the idea alongside James Leach, Molyneux left the bulk of the work to his team while he focused on what would become the critically-acclaimed Dungeon Keeper, which was released just three months after Theme Hospital.

The level of control it gave you in running a well-oiled healthcare moneymaking machine, combined wi??th great UI work, was laudable for the era in which it was launched. You could pore over balance sheets and isolate individual points of financial weakness, if "winging it" wasn't your thing; furthermore, to build a successful hospital, you had to have a knack for complicated fields such as architecture and HR. Building a staff room too far away or messing up a corridor layout could be enough for disgruntled employees to threaten a walk-out or for patients to get lost. Yet all of this was conveyed in an entertaining manner, perfectly striking the balance between micromanagement and good fun.

The cha??racteristic daftness of Bullf?rog Productions' games, as evident in the highly sarcastic Theme Park (released for a variety of PC an??d co??nsole formats starting in 1994), was amplified in Theme Hospital. The production team wisely decided to use made-up diseases instead of going for realism. Bloaty Head disease, and the treatment of popping your afflicted patients with a needle like a helium balloon, was surely one of the most ridiculous ideas ever injected into ?the traditionally stodgy management genre. It ranks up there with deliberately not repairing your bouncy ?castles in Theme Park and waiting for?? them to explode, ejecting hapless park attendees 20ft into the air. There were a couple of extra perks for pop culture fans, such as Hannibal Lecter being called to see security by the receptionist, who provides a dry dose of wit throughou?t the game.

This sweet little package of tough-as-nails management sim (just you wait 'til you get to the last hospital, Battenberg) and slapstick wonder earned it high praise on release, getting an 8/10 in Edge and 85% in PC Gamer UK for the PC versions. IGN and Gamespot were both favourable about the PlayStation version, though Gamespot was quite critical of the PC original. If you are inclined to take a trip to the yesteryear of medicine that doesn't involve trepanning, you can pick up Theme Hospital for PC on Origin and on the PS Store as a PS1 Classic (in the US -- it has been removed in the EU. Boo? hoo.)

Theme Hospital wormed its way into my heart, and I refused all m??edication

The question remains as to why Theme Hospital was so near and dear to me that I wrote one o??f my first ever pieces for Skirmish Frogs on the game, followed in short order by Theme Park World/Sim Theme Park. It's hardly your universally acceptable Mario or Zelda game that kids st??ereotypically cut their teeth on and it's not really playground? bragging fodder.

Well, my gaming habits were not influenced by my friends as a child -- I was influenced by my aunt. As a young child? of? probably just five or six, I had farted about with the PS1 controller while my aunt was constructing “Potatoland” in Theme Park, and by the end, I just about understood what was going on. Th?e more complicated management tweaks you could carry out in that game involved gaming?? the fry stand prices and salting them so heavily that all your park visitors would surely make a reappearance in Theme Hospital for hypertension issues. So, when my aunt went out for the day once and my grandma let me fiddle about with her computer, the first thing I d?id was boot up Theme Hospital. Probably into a save file and not a new game.

Readers, it was a disaster.

I was bankrupt within 15 minutes and had no idea what h??ad gone on. Theme Hospital from that point in time became the game I enjoy?ed watching my aunt play, but for which I would remain resolutely hands-off; exactly the same as with Tomb Raider III and Command and Conquer: Red Alert. In a way, it ?was my first introduction to something analogous to Let's Plays and watching Twitch streams -- I got great amusement out of my aunt's reactions and chatting about what was going on on-screen, but I was happy to forgo active participation myself.

When the game was being offered for free over a decade and a half later on Origin, of course??, I broke this spell and went all in. Battenberg proved too tough a cookie to crack, but I loved all of the prece?ding levels, even if I wasn't naturally gifted at handling a budget.

A few things?? ?were noticeable on my new playthrough of Theme Hospital and became even more apparent when I flirted with the game recently for speedrunning purposes. As a child, I had not really picked up on the biting satire it offered on the US model of healthca?re. The receptionist chides patients into bringing their chequebooks with them; you get money by experimenting on your patients and boasting more expensive treatment options in your facilities.

Medicine as a service, and one that snatches at your wallet, is something that naïve young Charlotte was not aware of at all. As time has gone on and I've seen the intro to the game a few more times, it makes me sad more than anything. It reminded me of how I have it easy. I still find the cynical commentary? in the game sort of funny, but it's just so close to my experience of reality that it has a bitter aftertaste now.

Another difference from my experience as a very young child is that in the intermediate period, I have played a heck of a lot of The Sims. SimCity is another series I peered at over the shoulder of my aunt, but playing God on such a large scale never fully appealed to me: I wanted to mess with people's lives on a much more personal level. The Sims tapped into that well of benign narcissism and megalomania that is unparalleled in bored teenagers. And the Build tools in both The Sims and The Sims 2 showed up Theme Hospital's clunky room design and lack of control as to where you could place fixtures. Where I once considered myself a staunch follower of Peter Molyneux and Bullfrog's work, Will Wright and Maxis usurped that position in the early 2000s, and The Sims series left Theme Hospital looking a little primitive in its wake.

Bullfrog's demise

Although shinier management sims caught my ?eye in the early-mid 2000s, I did often check the PC section of Electronics Boutique, HMV and GAME for a follow-up or anything similar. I could never find anything to my tastes, and not following gaming news clo??sely as a tween/teenager, I had no clue about what had happened to Bullfrog and Mr Molyneux.

Alas, Peter Molyneux jumped ship from Bullfrog just months after the release of Theme Hospital, an important move without which franchises such as Black and White and Fable may never have materialised. Bullfrog Productions carried on until 2001, making my (controversial) favourite Theme game of the lot, Theme Park World/Sim Theme Park. In my defence, my love of a non-Molyneux Theme game stems from the brilliant voice work done on the PAL version by Lewis MacLeod.

Overall, I am reluctant to revisit Theme Hospital through Two Point Hospital because my experience of the original was so potent. However, on second thoughts, there is a lot about Theme Hospital that left me cold on replaying it as an adult with much more gaming and comedic experience. Through offering a state-of-the-art and polished experience, Two Point Hospital could be just the antidote to the jaded feeling I get when I return to Theme Hospital, a game packed full of good ideas but which definitely shows every singl?e one of its 21 years.

I just have to keep my fingers crossed for a console edition or get that baby gaming rig t?ogether.

Did you enjoy playing Theme Hospital twenty years ago? Do you have any games you returned to as an adult, only to be slightly disappointed? Are you having fun with Two Point Hospital right now? Let me know in the comments down below!

The post It’s time for my follow-up appointment with Theme Hospital appeared first on Destructoid.

'Fable 2 must have a dog, and that dog must die'

Eurogamer just put up a pretty in-depth history of Lionhead Studios, and it's a doozy. Most of the info comes by way of John McCormack, art director for the Fable series. There's a lot of interesting tidbits from this tale, most notably how Microsoft saved Fable, but didn't directly influence its development or direction, and we ge??t a sense o?f exactly how much control Molyneux had over these projects.

McCormack also gives us a glimpse into the company culture of Lionhead, which was disorganized before it was cool, and includes daredevil canal jumping antics pre-Microsoft 2006 acquisition ("Microsoft HR wouldn't have been up for any of that shit," he says). What's most interesting to me is seeing how natural the fit with Microsoft really was though at first, seeing as how they already had a good rapport with Fable ?;-- it certainly doesn't feel like a hostile takeover or anything.

But eventually, the relationship soured a bit. McCormack recalls how "the marketing was shit," for Fable 2, and how the marketing team, which was separately housed, "didn't get it." What was the contention? Lionhead pitched it as a "Monty Python-esque comedy" but it w??as being marketed a?s a generic epic RPG.

That contention only worsened with Fable 3, when he recalls a fight over the box art: "They were going, you can't have a black person on the cover, and you can't have a woman. And you want a black woman. And I was like, yes, ?I do, because it's about be whatever hero you want. No. It's a white guy. That's just the way it is. We know what sells and that's fucking it. Stop the arguing. I was like, fuck you! That was a huge fight."

Things move on from there to Milo & Kate's cancellation (and how it might have done better in a post-Gone Home world), "Black Monday" (a day in 2012 where a ton of Lionhead vets quit), and how "Fable 4" [Legends] was eventually born and killed (the meeting to inform employees that the studio was closing was evidently sent out at the same time as the press release). The entire thing is well worth the read if you've played any Bullfrog or Lionhead games in your lifetime, which I would guess ?is most of you out there.

Out of everything, one statement from an unnamed source stands out in particular: "The biggest stab in the heart though was that for roughly six years the studio had pretty much been tasked to develop games that Microsoft wanted us to make to show off tech. Very few people wanted to make Fable: The Journey and almost nobody wanted to work on Fable Legends." It's also crazy to hear that the efforts to revive Fable Legends post-closure were real, and dubbed "Project Phoenix."

I've said it before, but one of the most vivid memories I have of my gaming youth is reading a magazine detailing "Project Ego," which would eventually become Fable, and then actually playing it, realizing that nearly none of the promised features actually made it in. I just wish we could have had the opportunity to see if Fable Legends measured up.

Lionhead: The inside story [Eurogamer]

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Also closing down Danish developer Press Play

Microsoft has announced that it is 'in discussions' with Lionhead Studios, Peter Molyneux’s former studio and developer of Black & White and Fable, to shut the studio down.

In a statement made on the Xbox site, it was confirmed that the upcoming Fable Legends has also been cancelled:

After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends, and are?? in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead S??tudios in the UK…

…The Lionhead Studios team? has delighted millions of fans with the Fable series over the past decade.

The news comes alongside an announcement that Danish developer Press Play, the team behind Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, is also to be shuttered:

These have been tough decisions and we have not made them lightly, nor are they a reflection on these development teams &n?dash; we ??are incredibly fortunate to have the talent, creativity and commitment of the people at these studios.

It’s worth nothing that Lionhead hasn’t been officially shut down yet, but the language used in the rest of the announcement make??s it pretty much inevitable now.

I used to love Black & White when I?? was a kid, so seeing Lionhead finally bow out will be a sad day indeed.

The post Microsoft cancels Fable Legends, and is ‘in discussions’ to shut down Lionhead Studios appeared first on Destructoid.

Never mix early access and paid-for DLC

It’s only been a few days since Godus Wars launched on Steam Early Access, and it’s already managed to cause an uproar. As 22Cans’ early access follow-up to the infamously abandoned Godus, Wars has the difficult task of trying to build bridges between the studio and its betrayed community… so what better way ??to kick things off than include microtransactions!

When it launched, Godus Wars was given for free to those who owned Godus, or cost $11.99/£10.99 for those who didn’t. There was also a $4.99 microtransaction available in-game, which added a whole new continent with 40 new missions, a new opponent, and a load of new units. For any other game that’d be generous, but with Godus Wars it made a lot of people quite rightly angry.

The players took to the forums and Steam reviews (which now sit at a ‘mostly negative’ rating) to complain. Microtransactions in an early access game that really should be an apology for how badly 22Cans fucked up Godus was never going to go down well.

In response to this, 22Cans CEO Simon Phillips has announced via Steam that the microtransactions in Godus Wars are being dropped, and t?hat the extra continent will be?? available to all for free:

In the mean time, its been brought to our attention that the extra content being a premium add on really isn’t a popular choice. Whilst we think that it does represent good value, especially considering that Godus Wars has been delivered as a free update to hundreds of thousands of users and the lower purchase price of the main game we understand previous Godus owners frustrations with this.

While I commend the decision, as it shows they are somewhat listening to player feedback, the comment about thinking the microtransactions as ‘good value’ strikes me as odd. 22Cans also thought the original Godus was good enough value in its unfinished, abandoned state, so I don’t believe it gets to judge value for money just yet. Maybe once ??it has finished a game t?o an acceptable state it'll get a say, but not right now.

22Cans has got a lot of ground to?? cov?er before anyone trusts it, so hopefully this decision is just the start.

The post 22Cans removes microtransactions from Godus Wars after they made ?e??veryone angry appeared first on Destructoid.

Heyyyy

We have a tag for 22 Cans here at Destructoid, and it's technically the first one from an alphanumeric standpoint. It's hardly ever used, but every time it pops up I think of Peter Molyneux. "What is he doing right now" I often ask, as I reflect on his storied career at Bullfrog and subsequent freefall from public grace. For a while there it was tough to figure out exactly what he was doing, as he "exiled" himself from the press. As we all know, things Molyneux says don't tend to stick. Because this time it's okay since he's promoting?? his new game.

Speaking to Eurogamer in a piece that reads like the polar opposite of the infamous RPS interview (for both good and bad reasons), Molyneux noted that it was "tempting" to retire -- it's something he thought about a while ago, but it's also clearly a reflection of the recent "hack," in which someone gained access to his Twitter account to erroneously announce his retirement from gaming. He muses a bit on what's going on at 22 Cans, noting, "Last year the studio endured an exile of sorts as staff grew bored of working on Godus, a game everyone, it seemed, hated."

Looking to the future, Molyneux is still working on his other project (rather than solely fixing the one he started, hyped, and is still broken), Godus Wars, which will be released next week. He states, "I had the chance to stand back and I tried to get to the core of what that journalist [John Walker of RPS] was saying, which was, you're over promising and under delivering. What's the solution? Here, a year later, is the solution." It's a companion to Godus in essence, free for original owners.

Molyneux continues, saying, "After a couple of days I came up with this simple strategy: I would just be a coder and a designer, and I would talk to the press perhaps about something I had done and had released, but not talk to the press about what I am doing, because that is clearly not working, and redefine my relationship with those people," as he talks to a member of the press about what he's doing. Sadly, it was also revealed that Bryan Henderson, winner of Curiosity, has still yet to receive any money from 22 Cans. Even for the most arden??t Molyneux defenders, this is a sore spot.

I've always had a complicated relationship with Molyneux myself. I still remember reading about the promises of Project Ego in a gaming magazine over a decade ago, and feeling crestfallen when basically none of it happened. "Is this the same guy that helped create some of my favorite games like Dungeon Keeper, and Populous?" I couldn't believe it. While he was once a passionate visionary, his perpetual hype and mediocre projects started to rig?htfully wear on people. But to me, he'll always have his legacy.

In a way I feel bad for him. He deserves the scrutiny, but the dude clearly loves video games, and just like Hideo Kojima and Miyamoto, he wants to create them until the day he dies. He's just...not as good at it anymore. Not speaking to the press and doing what makes him happy was probably the best -- though it's a trend I don't think is likely to continue, as he seems to require a general sense of approval, which is something he hasn't really ha?d in a long while.

Godspeed, Molyneux.

"It was tempting to retire…" [Eurogamer]

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Feels his colleague was treated unfairly by the press

In a YouTube video posted by Double Fine Productions, founder and CEO Tim Schafer provided an update on the current state of the point-and-click adventure Broken Age's second and final act. Schafer also took time at the end of the video to share his thoughts concerning his friend and industry veteran Peter Molyneux's recent run-in with the gaming press.

Regarding the events surrounding Molyneux's interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun's John Walker, Schafer had this to say: "We've seen some extremely rough treatment of Peter on the Internet and on the games press. I think it's really unfortunate and unfair and I don't think it's healthy. Obviously, things did not go as expected on his game and because of that people are making some nasty accusations about Pet??er -- and I can relate to that, believe it or not.

I'm not saying developers like Peter and I shouldn't be responsible and shouldn't be accountable for deadlines -- I am just saying the reaction to recent events and the tone of that reaction are really way out of pr?oportion to the seriousness of the events themselves."

Schafer makes some fair points in his defense of his colleague, and ?I do agree somewhat that Walker's interview was perhaps too harsh in tone; but the problem remains -- how should the games press and public investors hold developers accountable, especially in the case where the develo?per has had a very public history of over-promising and under-delivering?

In gaming's recent past, it's ??been much easier for customers to stomach when a game that's been funded by faceless corporations fails to live up to expectations -- someone else is left holding the bag and eating that loss, not the customer. The worst case scenario here is that the customer is left with a choice: purchase a substandard product or don't. It's completely optional.

However, in the brave new world of crowdfunding and Steam Early Access sales, things aren't going to get any friendlier or less complicated. Now that developers are reaching out directly to custome??rs for funding they have to realize that these individuals need a direct and public channel to address these sorts of situations no matter how "fair" or "healthy" their reactions seem. Hard questions concerning money are never going to get any easier to answer, and I'm sure most developers who have been held accountable by private investors are well aware by no?w.

The post Tim Schafer comments on the Molyneux interview appeared first on Destructoid.

Game news nirvana

This past weekend I was up late and feeling loopy, and some haikus about a Flash game nobody cares about fell out? of that state. Struck with inspiration, I thought, "Why can't all news be digested 17 syllables at a tim??e?" Thus, the video above was conceived.

Here are the stories mentioned, in case you missed them the first time a?nd would like more information than a three-line stanza affords.

• Critic Anita Sarkeesian immortalized as TowerFall alternate archer
• Could this be it? A true Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor?
• The Shulk amiibo will be at Game?Stop tomorrow, I hope you pre-ordered it
• Nearly two years later, Molyneux still hasn't delivered for the Curiosity winner
• Review: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
• Review: Evolve
• Square Enix reveals new Dissidia Final Fantasy

There! Are you feeling a little more zen now?

The post Last week’s top stories, now in handy haiku form appeared first on Destructoid.

Let's go with probably not

If you pay attention to video game news and the media, then chances are you know the name Peter Molyneux for more than the games Populous, Black & White and Fable. His name has become synonymous with over promises and what seems like flat-out lying to some.

To loyal Molyneux fans, the past and present have not been kind. And recently, the frustration caused by years of broken promises boiled over in a recent Rock, Paper, Shotgun interview. The piece is long. And wheth??er you a??gree with the style in which RPS approached the interview, it's clear the years of constant used car salesman-like tactics have taken their toll.

Because of the recent backlash, Molyneux told The Guardian that his days of speaking ??with the press are done:

"I love working on games, it is my life. I am so honoured to be a part of the games industry, but I understand that people are sick of hearing my voice and hearing my promises. So I’m going to stop doing press and I’m going to stop talking about games completely. And actually I’m only giving you this interview now?? in answer to this terrible and awful, emotional time over the las?t three days. I think honestly the only answer to this is for me to completely stop talking to the press."

But is he really? The Guardian pointed out that even though Molyneux told them the interview would be his last, he also spoke with RPS and another out??let around the same time. Is this the last?? we've heard of Molyneux? No chance.

Pe??ter Molyneux interview?: 'It's over, I will not speak to the press again' [The Guardian]

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Because he's such a trustworthy person

At this point most hardcore gamers know not to trust Peter Molyneux. He makes grand promises that his games will push the envelope or change your life in some way, and in a few cases, outright lies. Then he has the balls to retroacti?vely state that you shouldn't have bought his last game, and that his next game will be amazing.

We know the song and dance he performs and the brand of snake-oil he peddles. But Bryan Henderson, winner of the 2013 Curosity prize, didn't even know who Molyneux was. Now, he feels our collective pain, as he still hasn't actually received said prize.

Much like our follow-up with a Nintendo Power contest winner, Eurogamer got together with Bryan recently to get his side of the story on this "life-changing" Curiosity win. Accordi?ng to him, he's been emailing Molyneux's developer 22Cans "every month" to see what's going on, and they haven't delivered yet.

Basically, he got to visit the studio, got a signed poster and t-shirt, and then hasn't been in real contact with them since. Bryan is being a great sport about it though, stating that he "wouldn't be bothered if I'm missing out on something. Really, I w?ouldn't," and that he's moving on with his life. It's a?? shame what happened to him, as he apparently hasn't even gotten an apology until Molyneux was goaded into one by Eurogamer.

Evidently since Godus is still in development and not doing as well as he predicted (this is a game that went over its Kickstarter goal by the way), Molyneux can't make any promises righ??t now.

Except, he al??ready ma?de a promise to Bryan. He already got his press. But most of us knew better.

The God who Peter Molyneux forgot [Eurogamer]

You can see how poorly development has been handled by Molyneux in this "Community?? Update" below. I feel terrible for the other two people in this awkward video.

Here's an exact quote fro?m Molyneux: "now this is going to sound like an excuse..."

Yuck.

The post Nearly two years later, Peter Molyneux still hasn’t delivered for the Curiosity winner appeared first on Destructoid.

'It feels more and more like a joke'

Despite strong sales numbers, Microsoft's ?Kinect has always been a contentious piece of hardware. Even though the iteration that comes bundled with the Xbox One is more functional than the original for the Xbox 360, it still has its share of detractors. One such person that isn't so enamored with the newest Kinect is former Microsoft employee and Lionhead Studios head Peter Molyneux.

When asked by Edge what Microsoft could do to reverse the fortunes of the Xbox One, Molyneux weighed in regarding the Kinect. "I actually wish Kinect wasn’t a requirement. It feels like an unnecessary add-on to me. Maybe it’s because we’re in England, and it doesn’t really use the T??V stuff, but it feels more and more like a joke. My son and I sit there saying random things at it, and it doesn’t work. They could cost-reduce it [by removing Kinect]. I’m sure they’re going to release an Xbox One without Kinect. It would be unthinkable that they wouldn’t," Molyneux commented.

Though hardly the first person to make such an argument, Molyneux has a point. By releasing a bund??le with just the console, Microsoft could effectively price it at about $400 -- the amount that Sony charges for the PS4. That'd certainly help for the crowd that's uncomfortable paying an extra $100 for a peripheral that they don't intend to use.

Can Microsoft turn things around for Xbox One? ??We speak ??to the execs in charge to find out [Edge]

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'A Golden Age for games of all sizes'

Yesterday, Destructoid ran a story in which designer Peter Molyneux shared his belief that the indie craze will disappear. Speci?fically, he said that what we're s?eeing is just a cycle, and that "it won't last."

Many people disagreed with Molyneux's sentiments, including Devolver Digital co-founder Mike Wilson. In an open letter sent to Destructoid, Wilson wrote that indies are making games "because they love it. They aren't competing in secrecy but rather openly collaborating, lifting one another up and inspiring one another. Gamejams!!! And while many of them are doing incredibly well financially, that's not the? point, or certain??ly not the main point. Which we think is what is quite different than the past, at least to our eye."

Read on for the full letter from Mike Wilson.

The point is that this isn't a fad; these are the fruits of the breaking down of the brick-and-mortar, corporate driven machine via the miracle of digital distribution (thanks, Gabe!) and therefore are easy, global and accessible for the fans to find whatever they want, not what's being fed to them en masse. The Internet happened. ??Social and mobile gaming happened. These things aren't going away.  

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Just as well he's still in bed with Microsoft, eh? Oh wait...

Peter Molyneux is at it again, this time saying that the recent indie game boom of the last few years isn't going to last. Sound the doom sirens! Speaking to CVG, Molyneux explained, "These things go in cycles, what I'd say is, enjoy this time, because it won't last." Whilst that seems like a dire warning, it seems good old Peter sees the current indie movement as part of an o??n going cycle in the industry, whe??re AAA and indie games will jostle for superiority.

"Don't think we're going ??to be all indies for the next five years -- these things go in cycles, just like in the music business. You have a time where punk is big, and then you have times like now where everything is manufactured." Whilst comparison with the music industry seems apt, it's worth remembering that major companies still dominate the market.

Peter still thinks that it's a great time for indie games and I'd agree with that for sure. "We used to have these very defined ways to create a game, which resulted in Halo, Call of Duty and all of that stuff, but now we've thrown all of that away. The games that we're celebrating now are stuff like Papers, Please - which is brilliant."

In his book Rip It Up And Start Again, the critic Simon Reynolds said the "true sign that you're l??iving in a golden age is the feeling it's never going to end." He wrote that in relation to the music industry but the sentiment is the same in the games industry right now, as the games I'm really keen to play are outside the traditional triple-A sector. I can understand Molyneux's point that as indies start to make?? more and more money and become bigger, that growth can stifle creativity.

As our exquisitely moustachioed Conrad Zimmerman (who edited that lovely header graphic) pointed out, both EA and Activision?? started out as small-scale, independent publishers before becoming the behemoths they a?re today. Could a publisher like Devolver Digital or Double Fine become as big in 10 to 15 years from now? Probably not but it'll be interesting to find out.

Molyneux: Enjoy the indie craze as it won't last [CVG]

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A textbook example of 'love abuse.' (Huh?)

Electronic Arts has acquired more than a few beloved studios only for them to fade into obscurity following a painful, drawn-out death. The demise of Theme Park and Dungeon Keeper developer Bullfrog Productions stings to this day. Speaking with Kotaku about wha?t went wrong, co-founder Peter Molyneux characterized the publisher as having good intentions that? didn't work out.

"EA is not an evil empire," he told the outlet as part of a larger piece about his career. "They're a company that have done a great deal for this industry. [But] when corporates buy companies, several things change. You've got this problem where the founders of the company get a lot of money -- that changes those people. That changes the company there."

Continuing, he said: "You've got the problem of what I call 'love abuse.' When EA bought Bullfrog, they just wanted to make it nicer. They moved us to a nice office, where we couldn't shoot each other [with BB guns] in the corridors. We had an HR department because that was a nice proper prof??essional thing to do. And that changes the flavor of the company."

BB guns and "love abuse." For all the hyperbole Molyneux uses when describing whatever his latest project happens to be, gosh, I can't not like the guy. I just can't.

One Explanation Behind EA 'Destroying' Bullfrog [Kotaku]

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He admits he'll never make his perfect game

Peter Molyneux has a well-deserved reputation within the gaming industry of being an overly excitable and dramatic guy. It seems that those characteristics follow him in defeat, too. Speaking to Develop at Casual Connect, Molyneux stated that Fable III "was a trainwreck."

Molyneux gave his two cents with regard to the creative process, saying there's an "empirical decay" between what a developer envisions at a project's outset, and what the final product ends up being. He applied this theory to the Fable series -- the game's that Molyneux is most well-known for. "“In my mind, as a designer, whenever I’m making a game I have this perfect jewel in mind,” he told Develop. “Fable for me was this beautiful, incredible, amusing, funny, artistic, wonderful gem of a game that anyone could play, that tugged on the heartstrings and that was instantly eng?aging," he said.

However, he had no problem admitting his shortcomings. “The gem that was in my mind has never come to be; it’s always flawed in some way. I thought Fable I – when you consider that it was the first game I ever did of that type -- wasn’t bad. It was h??ugely flawed in some senses, but it wasn’t bad."

He continued “I think Fable II was a step in the right direction. I think Fable III was a trainwreck. It was built to be much bigger than what it was constrained to be. If I had my time again, I’d take the advances we made from Fable I to Fable II, I’d make the same advances from Fable II to Fable III and spend another entire year working on Fable III. But would it be that perfect gem tha?t’s in my mind? No.”

Molyneux: I'll never make my perfect game [Develop]

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The man does come up with great soundbites

After weighing in on the backlash against EA's latest Dungeon Keeper drama, Peter Molyneux has been talking to Pocket Gamer about how he plans to implement a different kind of free-to-play model for his god game, GODUS. "What we ??need is a new term," Molyneux said. "And that term is more like 'invest-to-?play.' We are tempting people to invest some of their money into a game."

Now whilst our eyes all collectively roll back at the sight of another Molyneux soundbite, he does seem to at least be identifying the problems that is at the root of a lot of free-to-play games, like Dungeon Keeper. He describes the free-to-play system in a lot of mobile games as "taking a huge hammer and smashing our customers with it. We're saying: 'Be patient or pay money.' That's not going to get people to invest ?their money."

Whereas more standard F2P titles on PC and consoles have more rounded payment model that can entice players to spend money on a f??ree game, most mobile games I've played have simply gated player progression to ?a system of "speed this all up for cash."

Molyneux is cagey about how exactly the payment model will work, especially as you can buy GODUS for £14.99/$19.99 on Steam right now. The only one that can tell us is Peter Molyneux and given his recor??d, I will wait to see how this all pans out.

GODUS interview [Pocket Gamer]

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Fabled developer weighs in

EA's recent mobile reincarnation of the classic Bullfrog Productions strategy game Dungeon Keeper, has undoubtedly received its fair share of criticism over the passing week. Our own Chris Carter called it "...a hollow freemium shell of what once was," in his review and it looks like the game's original designer, Peter Molyneux, ??is just as disapp?ointed.

"I felt myself turning r?ound saying, 'What? This is ridiculous. I just want to make a du??ngeon," he said speaking with the BBC. "I don't want to schedule it on my alarm clock for six days to come back for a block to be chipped."

Continuing on: "I don't think they got it quite right, the balance b?etween keeping it familiar to the fa?ns that were out there but fresh enough and understandable enough for this much bigger mobile audience." 

Personally, I'm not sure what to think of this mess EA has created. The fact that EA has found a way to pad their scores on the Android marketplace, has all but guaranteed I will n?ot be downloading this free-to-play title anytime i??n the near future. 

EA faces?? criticism over mobile Dungeon Keeper game [BBC News]

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and as a result, I feel really old

Whilst looking at the newly-created page on GOG.com for Theme Park, I was shocked by the revelation of its original release date of 1994. Was Bullfrog's seminal management sim really that old? In fairness, looking at screenshots of Theme Park today it brings back memories that are, to be honest, a little mixed up with RollerCoaster Tycoon. 

Theme Park came out on almost every system imaginable at the time and its hook of managing your own theme park was totally intoxicating. Although the managerial gameplay was improved upon by the release of Theme Hospital three years later, I think I still want to play Theme Park again just to see if it holds up. 

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Helps if you're in the UK though...

Following on from 2009's Gameswipe special, acerbic critic and former PC Zone writer Charlie Brooker has delivered another excellent videogames program this time on Channel 4. How Videogames Changed the World is a two-hour special charting the lineage of videogames from Pong and Space Invaders to The Last of Us and Minecraft. Of course it helps if you're in the ??UK and can just watch it on Channel 4's on-demand site but i?f you're somewhere else in the world, I'm sure you'll have your own means of watching (*cough* YouTube).

If you've watched a Charlie Brooker program (or read his excellent TV Go Home) you'll know it's a mix of interviews, clips, and social commentary. The history of videogames is told over 25 notable titles with some interesting picks for the defining games that have shaped what we pla??y today. There's appearances from the likes of Tim Schafer, Nolan Bushnell, Will Wright, David Braben, and Peter Molyneux. 

Personally speaking it was quite something to see Hover Bover, one of the f??irst games I ever played on my parent's Commodore 64, on a TV screen. I say "TV screen" I actually watched the program on my laptop today whilst hungover. Ooops.

Brooker recently gave an interview with The Guardian saying how hard it was to get someone to commission a show about videogames which seems a shame. Mind you, earlier this week Channel 4 also show a program about young Brits on holiday in the Mediterranean which involved them drinking each other's vomit an??d urine so maybe videogames can do without TV. 

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Peter Molyneux's god game coming to Steam early access this week

When Peter Molyneux's Curiosity cube was tapped away, we learned its winner would be god in 22cans' upcoming Godus. Much like in our Real World, religion pays for those at the top. Speaking to Rock, Paper, Shotgun in an interesting interview, Molyneux explains:

We’re releasing the Steam Early Access?? version on Friday the 13th of September. At the end of October, we release the iPad version, and two weeks later we release the Android version. He gets all that money from all those versions. I don’t know how many it’s going to sell. It’s 19 bucks. 19 bucks, if it sells 100,000, it’s a nice amount of money. If it sells a lot more, who knows?

Who knows, indeed. Like most of Molyneux's oeuvre, the ideas behind Godus are intriguing. You can form your own religious clans to oppose and overthro?w the game's god, but the individual you send then transcends your clan. Who knows how that will end? History shows hit or miss success when it comes to coups and propping up dictators. 

Molyneux also touched vaguely on the story, calling it, "a completely different story to any story that you’ve played in a game." Talk about typical Molyneux. " It’s tempting to make a story about Zeus on Mount Olympus, but that doesn’t… It doesn’t really add to the game. I think this story is very… It’s going to be interesting. It’s a bit crazy. It’s a crazy story." Crazily, I'm quite interested to see how Godus plays out. And I love its art style.

W???????????????????????????ho wants to join my cult and prop me up as a god? Just call me Kurtz. 

Molyneux On R?eligion, Godus’ &ldqu?o;Crazy” Single-Player [RPS]
via Curiosity winner to receive 'unca??pped' portion of God??us' profits [Polygon]

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Black & white & blue

The Smurfs 2: The Video Game isn't your typical licensed movie game chaff, thanks to what appears to be an appearance from 22 Cans' Peter Molyneux as iconic Smurfs villain Gargamel. Molyneux of course is known for the Fable series, as well as the recent cube-tapping experiment Curiosity and the upcoming Godus. There also seems to have been some sort of eyebrow augmentation remiscent of Morgan Freeman in Dreamcatcher. It's like someone drew ??them on with a dry er?ase marker.   

Just for the record, I'm pretty sure t?hat hideous automaton is not actually Peter Mol?yneux, but simply the fevered nightmare dream of some overworked, underpaid 3D modeller that had to churn out this licensed garbage with no time or budget. I'm sorry for everyone at Ubisoft and WayForward that had to work on this videogame. I'm just so sorry.

If you hate your children and want to give them night terrors of creepy Gargamel or that taxidermy-gone-wrong cat, The Smurfs 2: The Video Game is available on Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, PS3? and 3DS.

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Are you going?

Penny Arcade announced that Peter Molyneux will be hosting the story time keynote presentation for PAX Prime 2013 this year. Yeah that's pretty much all the news there is for that. Oh, and here's Peter reviewing iPhone fart apps because.

We're now 59 days away from PAX Prime, which will be a four day show this year starting August 30 and ending September 2. Are you going? Let us know! We have a lot of fun stuf??f planned for you. You like fun stuff right?!

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And take a cut of his paycheck

Peter Molyneux's at? it again, but this time, his lofty game idea hinges on the behavior of Bryan Henderson, an 18-year-old university freshman from Scotland.

Henderson won Molyneux's Curiosity contest by clicking the game's final cube, and has been rewarded by being deified in GODUS, the next project from Molyneux's studio, 22Cans. The gig pays too, as Molyneux says that Henderson will receive a "significant" portion of the profits that GODUS rakes in. However, the position comes with one Mount Olympus-sized catch -- players will be able t?o overthrow him.

After?? a certain period of time, other players will be able to usurp Henderson's throne, and take a cut of his salary. Molyneux hopes that this caveat will keep Henderson a fair ruler instead of leading to a predictable god-complex.

Despite his mighty status, there will be limitations to Henderson's reign. "These [powers] are wi??thin the confines of game balancing. Some of them are moral decisions, some may be territorial decisions" Molyneux states. "He can't kick everyone in the world. He can't suddenly decide that everyone's games get deleted."

Regardless of the reaction to their ruler, Henderson sounds like he's up for the challenge. "If anyone tries to over?throw me, they'll have to give me everything they've got" he says.

Godus ?;Players Can 'Overthrow' T?heir Virtual God Bryan [Wired]

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The Destructoid Show lands a gnarly kickflip

Look out, h??ere comes today's Destr??uctoid Show! 

Today, we talk about Wolfenstein: The New Order and The Evil Within, both of which were previewed by the valiant and swarthy Hamza Aziz. Sonic: Lost World looks surprisingly uncrappy, and some Scottish kid has been turned into a god because he tapped on a cube in Peter Molyneux's silly Curiosity game. Finally, Tara played around with Anthony Burch in the new Borderlands 2 DLC, Tiny Tiny's Assault On Dragon Keep.

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-cue Zelda Opening Chest music-

Finally, after seven months, fans have finally reached the center of Peter Molyneux's Curiosity. The lucky tap was done by Bryan Henderson of Edinburgh, and was revealed by Molyneux earlier today on Twitter. Bryan, being an awesome fellow, decided to share the contents of Curiosity with the rest of the community, and I don't think this was some?thing that anyone expected.

The short video features a miniature Molyneux doing what he does best: talking about his current game. He describes the overwhelming response that the title garnered and thanked the fans for their support. Curiosity's big reveal relates to the god game 22 Cans has been working on for a while now, Godus. While the reveal in itself was a bit like watching patiently with enthusiasm as a firecracker fails to go off, the interesting part is how the winner of Curiosity will be linked to this new game.

In Godus, Bryan will not only be the big deity on campus but will also have a hand in creating the rules governing the game. As an added bonus, Molyneux also revealed that Bryan will get to share in the revenue generated by Godus. Fame, fortune, and ??godly power -- not a ba??d deal.

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22 Cans founder says wacky things

We all know Peter Molyneux lives in a gumdrop world of magic and make-believe, but perhaps none of us realized he was so far gone as to live in a world where Nintendo and Sony apparently don't exist. According to the 22 Cans founder, Xbox 360 won this current generation, destroyed its rivals, and now stand??s alone to face Apple. 

Yeah ... he's gone totally mental now. 

"2013 is proving to be the year of the console hardware refresh," the maniac told the BBC. "Although it’s exc??iting, it’s not nearly as exciting as when the Xbox 360 exploded onto the gaming scene just over seven years ago.

"Back then, the 360 represented a huge leap forward in gaming, with a tangible increase in performance and fantastic multipla??yer support. Gamers and g??ame-makers were justifiably super-excited. Now it is that time again, but the world has changed."

Molyneux points to the rise of competing smartphone machines and Valve's Steam Box, a?nd seems to argue it entirely from the point of view that Microsoft is the only company left in the console industry. 

"Tablet, mobile PC and sma??rtphone makers are refreshing their hardware on what feels like almost a weekly basis. And on the horizon looms Valve with its PC-based Steam Box. Thereby hangs the problem for Microsoft: how to justify its new console, how to get us all excited.

"Its competition is no longer Sony and Ni??ntendo, but rather Apple, Google and Samsung. Rightfully, Microsoft can claim it won the last console generation. However, it has always targeted the living room as the big priz?e.

"That’s why it packed the 360 with an array of 'living room' fe??atures to try to persuade us that the machine could be a mix of set-top box, internet music streamer and Facebook browser."

I won't deny that it's smart for any console manufacturer ?to consider Apple, Google and Samsung with a degree of seriousness, but for Molyneux to totally discount Sony and Nintendo seems rather blinkered and myopic, especially when a new generation typically leaves everything to play for. It doesn't matter who "won" last generation (it was Nintendo anyway), the dynamics always change, and last gen's winners don't automatically get a free pass in the next one. 

Molyneux spent a lot of time with the Xbox brand this past ge??neration. One wonders if he ever rose his head up from his desk and looked at anything else while he was there.

Xbox revealed: Experts on Microsoft's nex??t games console [BBC]

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Fable creator wants Microsoft to tone down the "all-in-one media hub" shtick

Former Microsoft Games Studio director and current mobile developer, Peter Molyneux, is anxious to learn more about Microsoft's next Xbox, set to be unveiled on May 21. However, he fears that Microsoft might be playing up the "media hub" capabilities too much and is los??ing s??ight of what truly matters in a home console: the games.

"What I would do is double-down on what this console is for: it's for playing games," the perennial promise man told EDGE in a recent interview. "It's for playing console games for this massive, incredibly loyal audience of gamers out there. When they start to mix all this other stuff in there I'm kind of slightly like: 'look, I don't want another way of looking at Facebook.' You know, I've got all the  ways of looking at Facebook. I don't want another way of looking at Netflix. Just give me what I've p??aid my £299 for, and that is to play amazing, incredible computer games."

Ignoring Molyneux's own history of aiming for the stars but coming up woefully short, the man has a point. When Microsoft spends a hefty chunk of its E3 conferences talking up SmartGlass or even Internet Explorer like it's some big thing, or releases a barely functioning Kinect app to order pizza because using a phone or web browser is so exhausting, you have to wonder if the company has completely missed the point. These are supplementary features that ??don't deserve all the time and attention awarded them. Can the machine play games? Talk about that, please.

Peter Molyneux on the next Xbox: "I don?'t want another way of look??ing at Facebook" [EDGE]

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What's in the cube?

Curiosity recently found itself back in the news due to some in-app purchases that let users add or remove large groups of blocks from th?e experimental game. It's back once more, and thankfully, the end is nearly upon us; we'll -- or, potentially, only one of us, if the "winner" doesn't share -- will know what's inside the cube. It's said to be life-ch??anging.

"If it goes at the same rate as it has at its height [to date] then we'll be going through about ten layers a day -- that means it'll be all over in five days," 22Cans' Peter Molyneux told Edge.

"If it goes at the same rate that it is at the moment -- one laye??r a day -- it's going to take fifty days. It shouldn't be too much longer but it really depends on how many people come back on to the cube." Knowing that the secret is almost out should prompt play?ers to return. It better!

What’s Inside The Cube? Curiosity players will find out in ???a few days, says Peter Molyneux [Edge]

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A 'war of attrition' will ensue, hopes Molyneux

I had long since deleted Curiosity from my iPhone a??fter spending admittedly far too much time (see: more than five minutes) tinkering with the cooperative game about chipping away layers of a massiv?e cube. But now, here I am, redownloading the thing after seeing on Eurogamer that some absurd new microtransactions have been added.

What's in the cube, Peter Molyneux? We may know soon, or we may never know -- that's the "joy" of these in-app purchases. For $0.99, users can remove 10,000 cubelets; $6.99 for 100,000; and $10.99 for 500,000. On the flip side, users with cash to burn can add that many cubelets for the?? same prices. "We don't know quite what will happe??n," said developer 22Cans.

Chaos? That's my guess. It's worth pointing out that, two layers prior to the big unveil of what's inside the cube, these pay-to-add-or-destroy options will be turned off. I suppose I shouldn't be at all surprised by this.

Molyneux adds option to re-grow Curiosity cube [Eurogamer]

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