Interesting retrospective from Molyneux

[Square King]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06 ... -molyneux/

I had this big thing typed out, but I'll just distill it:

Gotta respect the guy for what he's done -- or what he's helped with, anyway -- but where the hell is he going now? Actually, I already know: social games and streamlined mechanics = bigger profits. I know he's got a storied ego, but his comments are ridiculous. Knowing the guy associated with Populous and Dungeon Keeper is currently churning out Fables almost brings a tear to my eye.

[BryanM]

Lonely topic needs posts.

So, I've only played a few games tied to his name (not any of the Dungeon Keepers nor Project Egos) and they had one recurring feature: big ideas, nascent or poor execution.

Black and White man, what was that thing. The Creature should have been your avatar, your (controllable) manifestation in the world. And the annoying humans should have been like insects unto you, like they are in that Primal Rage game: food. And then you'd go off and have adventures and stories with fellow gods, the only beings worth caring about.

A sandbox game without interesting toys or a game is just a dirty box. In Grand Theft, you can burn relaxing hours just cruising around and causing mayhem. In B&W, you alternate between being nice and cruel to fill up the love meter of some ants so you can gain control over territory and advance the game.

Who wants to play a dating simulator where you date squeaky ants, and has no dialogue, hot annoying chicks or emotionless bishonen dudes?

Nobody.

[Square King]

I think B&W was his last genuine hurrah. Although it couldn't deliver on its ambitious promises for the most part, it was still a few years ahead of its time. IIRC, there was a feature where the game would check your local weather and the game's weather would mimic it accordingly. In, what, 2000, 2001...that was a Pretty Cool Idea™. It was borderline greatness but had some flaws that kept it in mediocrity. But the concept of generating followers, a rudimentary good/evil mechanic and fighting with other gods made for a good game.

BryanM: Play Dungeon Keeper. It's essentially a barebones RTS with dark humor, great atmosphere and interesting creature interaction/characteristics. Worth the $3 on ebay or 30 seconds of Google searching.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

I really like Magic Carpet 2.

[Slump]

I think B&W was his last genuine hurrah.

Yeah I agree with you there. From what I've seen lately, in nearly all of his interviews he just hypes his projects so much that in IMO it's impossible for him and his studio to deliver. Listening to him talk about Fable II before it came out he made it sound much grander than it ended up being. Sure most of the mechanics he mentioned were there, Jobs, properties, marriage, etc. but they all seemed so watered down to me. The game was pretty shallow and childish in the end (my opinion of course). But yeah, anymore I take everything that man says with a whole heap of salt...

[Ed Oscuro]

Another misguided soul much helped by the studio system, I'm afraid.

Wait, I haven't actually played any of his games (but it'd be fair to say I know how Fable 2 plays, and B&W coverage was pretty hard to miss on GameSpy back in the day). B&W always seemed like shit to me; Fable has always seemed like Elder Scrolls lite (it's not nice being sucked into the preorder hype scheme!), and I've never gotten into RTSes (I've still got to play through Baldur's Gate and the original C&Cs before I start thinking about RTSes!)

It's okay to dream but it's got to be backed up by execution. Lists of bullet points don't make up for having a good core system and a good campaign. I think the folks with the more down-to-earth gameplay / storytelling first mindset will eventually rev their products enough to catch up to the wildest of dreams (Bethesda Software has been working on this, slowly, as mentioned before, and a lot of things have turned out easier to do with multiplayer and better physics than they would have been at the time he proposed them).

[BryanM]

Spore I suppose is the poster child of this. Thankfully I am old and crusty and am able to distance myself from hyperbation and thus didn't get burned. Like with the Starcraft Remake, or Left Four Dead 1 ("Hrm, only ~five monster types? Hrrmmmmmmm"). I can't think of one time that I've bought a game full price the day it came out and later been happy about the decision.

Oh by the way I guess there's a Spore movie in the future. By the Ice Age company. So I guess that'll just be super.

BryanM: Play Dungeon Keeper. It's essentially a barebones RTS with dark humor, great atmosphere and interesting creature interaction/characteristics. Worth the $3 on ebay or 30 seconds of Google searching.

I hate it when people don't do what I tells them to do, so I make it a point to do what I'm told. It's on the stack.

[Specineff]

Bioware>>>>>>>>>> Lionhead Studios.

[Jockel]

Dungeon Keeper is soooo awesome.
But other than that, i don't think Molyneux isn't anything special.
And you gotta hate his hype machine full of lies.