“I hope by Christmas we have a prototype that people can download and say, ‘Actually, you know what, they’re already doing good work,’” Molyneux told us. “And this is what needs to happen with Kickstarter and games. The promises… wouldn’t it be amusing if I was the one to prove this right? These promises have to result in great games.”
And in one of the previous updates he said that 22cans is “desperate to get our prototype out to everyone in the world so you can really see how wonderful this game is.” Yeah, obviously, he could have been talking about the video.
I also wonder why none of the developers got in touch with Orland and asked him to update his article. You’d think that would be the right thing to do.
Seriously? Your take basically is it was stupid to think they intended to release a playable prototype because of the phrase “I hope”? I’m not talking about them not having released something last Friday.
When I read the statement “I hope by Christmas we have a prototype that people can download” I’d say it means “I hope we’ll be done by then” with the timing being the thing in question - not the general intention to release a prototype at all. Right now it seems that they never planned such release.
I don’t think it was stupid for folks to want a playable prototype released–and to hope for it based on those comments–I think it’s stupid for folks to think that his comments represented any sort of binding promise.
What is it that any of the Fable games tried to do that you think was so worthwhile? Like them or don’t like them, but what was released in no way, shape, or form matched the pre-release hype. And not in a “yes, the faces in Oblivion are better. They got upgraded from a face that could cause death to barf to merely fuck-ugly” way.
I get that the dress-up aspect (both collecting the outfits and of course the wearing) is fun. I don’t begrudge anyone that. But we were told that Fable was going to change how we viewed RPGs/gaming/whatever. And not in just a “this is producer hype” kind of way. It got repeated ad-nauseum, both because Molyneux is a relentless marketer of his own stuff and because everyone is willing to give him the time of 10 days. But it wasn’t in any way, shape, or form what they initially promised. It was fun for some people but it was not a particularly imaginative game.
He went through the song-and-dance again twice more. Fable III, in particular, is just awful. I mean, Lionhead effectively took various “staple” features of rpgs and just made them worse. Everything outside of fighting requires a mini-quicktime event. The inventory screen is now it’s own separate area, requiring lots of extra loading to get in and out of for simple things like “well, I want to try these pants, or this pistol”. Leveling up is it’s own separate area, and is bad on top of this. The actual ruler-portion was so badly done that its existing is actually worse than if it wasn’t in the game.
I can understand how someone would look at Black & White and say “I wish someone would try something different, like this” (how bout we not bill it as the AAA title it never will be, though?). I don’t get how someone can look at any of the Fable games, or Curiosity, and say that however. The things the Fable games did well outside of dress-up they didn’t really do especially well. The occasional good ideas are usually rendered irrelevant for some other reason (e.g. the weapon leveling idea in Fable III is interesting, however the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. A lot).
I am tentatively interested in Godus; I won’t ignore something just because it’s Molyneux (though after Curiosity, I will entertain the thought if briefly. That said, I want it to make it’s goal regardless). But I think you are under-selling the gulf between what he claims will happen with some game and what happens. I think it’s understandable that people would be wary of his projects at this point. Yes, everyone in this space is double-plus jaded. Consider this, however. . . let’s create a parallel universe where our Peter Molyneux of 10 years or so ago disappears for much of the subsequent decade. He then reappears pre-DFA and launches Godus. Godus is almost certainly to crowdfunding and pc-gaming what DFA was at the time. And yet now it might not reach it’s funding goal.
Some of the criticism is unfair, yes. But there’s a reason we’re at this point, and I don’t think it’s because nobody is interested in a new Populous.
I’d love a properly done Populous for iPad. But I’m done with big name developers who promise far more than they end up delivering. My copies of Black & White and Spore have taught me to wait for released product that is reviewed by people whose taste in games I share. Or at least whose opinions I’ve respected in the past. So, no, I will not be preordering Godus.
There is much reason not to be pre-ordering the game from Molyneux. Much. He has the credibility of a politician and a peddler of snake-oil combined. So I say, don’t. But if you still care for the “god game” and the spirit of Populous, maybe not so slick with production value to what Molyneux claims. But who knows how much to believe anyhow, and is it even real or just a money pit and broken promise? There is another way. I speak of Planitia. It is in alpha version but something to keep an eye on.
“Planitia is a unique, fast-playing real-time strategy game based on classic “god games”. In Planitia, you shepherd your villagers, helping them grow and give you mana. But you are not the only god in this world, and conflict is inevitable! Once you have enough mana, you can use your god powers to help your villagers further by blessing their land or healing them, or you can SMITE THE HEATHEN UNBELIEVERS with lightning, earthquakes, meteors and volcanoes! You can also convert your villagers to soldiers to directly attack the enemy or fend off their attack. The final game will include four-player multiplayer as well as a single-player campaign. There is only one true god…is it you?”
If you’re going to reinvent Populous, the first thing that has to go is the need to stretch out flat land for your people to expand. It was a dumb activity in Populous I and II, and there’s no need to bring it back.
Oh the horror. Molyneux’s team gets a chance at developing their God game. I can see why you are upset. Especially considering it doesn’t sound like you pledged for it.
People love to hate Molyneux. But I’m glad he’s around and so enthusiastic about his games. I still remember firing up the original Populous on PC for the first time. And similarly for many of his following games. And for all the meh about Fable II and it not fulfilling the game’s promises, it’s still one of my favourite 360 games of all time. Fable III, not so much though.
Well i was slightly surprised this made it, that was a very close call. I might have been interested (as i liked the old Populas era games) but as it is also being developed for Android and iOS it just seems likely to be too ‘lite’ for my gaming tastes? It will probably have some gawd awful ‘social’ twating type stuff also, so not for me.
Still, congrats on making the KS goal and good news for those folks that wanted it.
Hell, the Milo debacle alone is enough for people to not like him. He basically faked a presentation misrepresenting how far along the technology was and after multiple delays of never getting it working right he blames the industry for it never seeing the light of day. Never mind the fact that everyone was hyped about it and that had he actually had a product that worked it would have sold like fucking crazy. No, it’s “the industry wasn’t ready for it” garbage. It’s one thing to be a pie in the sky, over-promising developer, it’s another to mislead the public and then put the blame on them when you fail miserably.
When you take the above, add it to the constant over-promising and under-delivering, and wrap it up with the fact that his last decent game was made in the 90’s and it’s pretty easy to see why people “love to hate Molyneux”. And it’s not even a haters gonna hate type thing. It’s perfectly natural for people to get sick of someone like him, as eventually the whole song and dance wears thin.
