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Peter Molyneux IS BACK - Talks Microsoft, Milo and No Man's Sky
- Thread starter Rymuth
- Start date
Stiler
Member
Peter's games have almost always intrigued me.
Dungeon Keeper
Populous
Black and White
Fable
etc.
The issue is that he likes to promise the moon before he knows if they can deliver what he says, sometimes even springing this not only on the press he tells it to but the developers who have to make it.
One thing you can't say though, and that's that he doesn't try. Almost every single game of his has done something different/unique that other games don't really do. From Fable's morphing based on your actions/skills, to the AI in Black and White, all the way back to shaping the world in populous.
I think his reputation would certainly benefit from being tight lipped about things until they are 100% gonna happen and waiting to reveal his games once things are set in stone and not changing.
The situation with Godus is hard to look past though, I feel bad for the guy who won that contest, it certainly wasn't the life changing thing it turned out to be that's for sure.
Part of me wishes Peter stuck with lionhead and MS didn't close the studio down, just put a leash on Peter and his "promises" to the public and wait until the game was being wrapped up.
Dungeon Keeper
Populous
Black and White
Fable
etc.
The issue is that he likes to promise the moon before he knows if they can deliver what he says, sometimes even springing this not only on the press he tells it to but the developers who have to make it.
One thing you can't say though, and that's that he doesn't try. Almost every single game of his has done something different/unique that other games don't really do. From Fable's morphing based on your actions/skills, to the AI in Black and White, all the way back to shaping the world in populous.
I think his reputation would certainly benefit from being tight lipped about things until they are 100% gonna happen and waiting to reveal his games once things are set in stone and not changing.
The situation with Godus is hard to look past though, I feel bad for the guy who won that contest, it certainly wasn't the life changing thing it turned out to be that's for sure.
Part of me wishes Peter stuck with lionhead and MS didn't close the studio down, just put a leash on Peter and his "promises" to the public and wait until the game was being wrapped up.
Ironically enough yours is the most bizarre statement I've ever read in this site. Congrats.
B1gg_Randall
Member
Lmaoooo I'm dyin.
Secret best post ITT
Also Peter, Milo seeing your drawing and showing it back to you isn't magical, that's a fucking scanner.
Netherscourge
Banned
No Man's Sky isn't dead though.
And lots of fans want it to succeed and get better.
This will any a case of people bailing out.
This is a case of wait and see.
At least for me anyway.
And lots of fans want it to succeed and get better.
This will any a case of people bailing out.
This is a case of wait and see.
At least for me anyway.
TheSpoiler
Member
I don't know. I think a shitpost is of more worth than calling people assholes without naming them or trying to engage them, and then pretending to be on some high horse like you are above this. At least those people are marginally on topic.
Still waiting on you to grow some guts and address those "assholes" fam.
Don't consider us a monolith. Moly is a fucking legend in my eyes. And while he has made some HUMONGOUS fucking unforced errors (especially recently, jesus fucking CHRIST Pete....) I still think the gaming industry would be better served to have more wide eyed dreamers like him, than to have less.
His original style of letting his wildest dreams and goals for a game he has in development just... fly... in an interview doesnt work in today's gaming climate. He needs to cut that shit out. It was tolerated (even celebrated) in the mid 1990's but not now. Industry has changed and the consumer base for games is on high alert these days in ongoing efforts to keep from being fleeced by the next over-promised over hyped POS waste of money a publisher chucks at the market unapologetically.
Telling an interviewer you are aiming for the moon and falling short doesnt fuck work these days. That shit will get you murdered, so stfu. Now is the time to show, and THEN tell.
Jack The Nipper
Banned
Saying he is a crook isn't really a very nice thing nor accurate unless you want to say every business is a crook that wants to take your money.
Supervlieg
Member
Hahahaha, shouldn't this be in the April's fool thread. No way this is real.
I'm not sure if it would have went so good for him. It seemed like Microsoft wanted to turn Lionhead into a Fable-only studio which would have limited him. On the other hand he hasn't done much with 22Cans so far. Well at least Curiosity was a great project.
I personally also like Molyneux's work. Probably the main reason I was never disappointed with it is that I never payed much attention towards Molyneux's promises.
chillybright
Banned
Lives very close to the creator of NMS.
Dark Cloud
Member
His interview is so cringey to read. This is actually the first time I've paid attention to his interview and his answers are just so ehhh.
I'd hype preorder that
A combination of Godus, Fable, No Mans Sky and a bit of imput from Keji Inafune.
FinaruDensetsu
Member
Yeah what the heck did he mean by "Yes"?? What did he get then if not money?!?! Why don't the interviewers ever press on this stuff?
Triggerhappytel
Member
Isn't this bullshit? I thought it was confirmed that the 'Milo and Kate' demo was a complete fabrication and the tech was nowhere near the level suggested?
I don't understand this response? He says he says Bryan did get his reward and then says they haven't paid him any winnings a few sentences later. Is this not contradictory?!
I think what he means is that Bryan has indeed got a share of Godus' earnings.. but so far Godus' earnings have been zero or close to zero so he didn't actually got any money.
Or at least that's how I read it.
uomoartificiale
Member
I get that the guy is a legend because of his very innovative early games, but why is he trying to tell again those Milo's tall tales?
I don't have a quote on hand right now to prove it, but I think it was definitively debunked that the demo was not real or running in realtime and it was completely staged.
Considering his afromentioned status in the gaming industry, that's just sad.
I don't have a quote on hand right now to prove it, but I think it was definitively debunked that the demo was not real or running in realtime and it was completely staged.
Considering his afromentioned status in the gaming industry, that's just sad.
In a previous interview Molyneux said that money had been set aside from Bryan.
In Service
Member
I love hearing Molyneux talk. He has a passion for development and a lovely smooth way of presenting. His optimism is genuinely infectious.
However, if he ever talks about a game he is leading development for again, I will go to my safe place and cry gently into my hands.
Unfortunately, the progress in technology has not met with his (unrealistic) expectations.
He is a dreamer and if we know that, then his presentations can be judged accordingly.
However, if he ever talks about a game he is leading development for again, I will go to my safe place and cry gently into my hands.
Unfortunately, the progress in technology has not met with his (unrealistic) expectations.
He is a dreamer and if we know that, then his presentations can be judged accordingly.
Someone thought of that as a April Fools joke: No Mans Sky 2. The subtitle should be "You can do everything you never imagined"
TheSpoiler
Member
That's weird, because I'm almost certain he was supposed to get it trickled towards him, not in one lump sum.
In fact, the only thing that turns up when I google him is an indie bundle offering to help pay for the missing money he didn't get. And a Steam forum post says that the contract was for Godus, not the new Godus Wars. The former of which was abandoned.
So if he really has money set aside for Bryan, why is it taking him fucking years to deliver or even contact Bryan?
This is what people mean when they say that Peter talks a lot of shit without backing it up. Homeboy has no reason to hold back that money. Why the fuck is he lying in that interview? That's not just being whimsical. He's a grown adult, he's cognitive of his responsibilities.
It's fine to talk about wild dreams and goals in interviews if you make clear that's what they are. He has habitually talked about them as if they were actually in his current project, as if they were actually planned in the current project, as if they were within the realm of feasibility to go in the current project even when he 100% knows they are not. That's not "dreaming", that's precisely an effort to fleece the consumer base.
Even "unapologetic" fits. You can see Molyneux is unwilling or incapable of admitting real fault. If he wanted to carry responsibility for his messes, the absolute minimum would be to at least be open about what happened to Godus. As in, publish a decent-sized postmortem to his backers that explains the key turning points of the development, what informed the decisions, up to and including what the actual state of the project is right now and what it has been for these last years. I mean, anybody can see it's dead (along with its spinoff) and no further development is happening - but the continued silence shows these guys have no spines.
Great historical industry figure? Sure. Slithery, dishonest, bordering on scammer? Definitely. These are not mutually exclusive.
Stiflers Mom
Banned
That's the thing, though, that most people seem to forget.
He was one of the most innovative minds the industry has ever had.
He should have retired earlier, though.
Ban Puncher
Member
In Service
Member
I think retire is too far. Retire from front line production/PR perhaps but ideas people are gold dust.
Air Zombie Meat
Member
Curiosity and it's non prize was the final straw for me with Molyneux. He really should have done better to make that right. All the other bs I could excuse to some extent.
Dee Dah Dave
Member
Good old Molly.
I think Peter's wild approach was great back in the olden days. His 'out there' ideas helped get magical things out of primitive hardware.
But when computing caught up his ideas no longer punched above their weight, and the limitations of them were often revealed.
I think Peter's wild approach was great back in the olden days. His 'out there' ideas helped get magical things out of primitive hardware.
But when computing caught up his ideas no longer punched above their weight, and the limitations of them were often revealed.
TheSpoiler
Member
That's because he crossed the line from "overzealous developer who can't keep his shit straight" to "snake oil guy". It's one thing to overpromise a game, but another to promise someone a cut and never give it to them, having to be reminded about it by the media, failing to still put the life changing funds in that kid's pocket, and then pretending like you got some shit set aside for the dude despite never contacting him about it (AFAIK, I can't find any update on that) years later.
And top that shit all of with pretending like you did recently. After reading that, I don't know how people can sit here and pretend like the jabs in this topic are mean-spirited compared to Molyneux's refusal to even correct that instance.
In Service
Member
They didn't contact him for 2 years or so - that's bad.
He was promised a cut of multiplayer revenue (so the story goes) but that took ages to roll out. And a cut of what? If it was a cut of profits then the thing needs to turn a profit to make a cut worth anything.
After saying all that, didn't they offer him £10k from a games bundle they rolled out in 2016 to help fund development? I remember reading something about that.
This is a case of the legal small print being (probably) correct and that equaling a really bad PR outcome. They can't pay him £500k if the game made £0.
Air Zombie Meat
Member
The prize shouldn't have been dependent on the success of an unrelated game. That's not winning a prize it's winning a chance at a prize.
TheSpoiler
Member
They still haven't.
The fine print was that when the roll pops up in the game Godus, he'd start getting the money. But that multiplayer feature doesn't exist and neither does that role, so no money.
Of course that's a matter of them getting away with it because of the fine print. After all, like you said, you can't give profits from a portion of the game that never existed!
However, it's fucking sleezy to not award that person anything after promising such a life changing event. Even a set amount could have been awarded and it wouldn't have conflicted with the original deal. "Hey we can't give you any of the MP money, because it's not available, but here's a few grand because that didn't happen". I don't think that would break the contract, especially if it was done on different grounds unrelated to the MP.
That 10k drive you mentioned? Came from a humble bundle charity. Bryan told them that he didn't want it and to give it to charity though, but the offer never came from Molyneux. Someone mentioned that he set aside money for Bryan, but that was really from an unrelated developer.
It's not just bad PR. He straight up doesn't give a shit.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
That games bundle was a thing set up not by Molyneux and co but by people that felt bad for Bryan and as a PR stunt for their new service:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...n-the-god-who-peter-molyneux-forgot-usd10-000
So yes, once again, this is the key issue that turned Molyneux from harmless fantasist to a slimy git that still refuses to just give the kid some fucking money like he promised and the whole point of Curiosity was (retrospectively turning that app into more of a total scam than anyone could have anticpated). It's indefensible and why he deserves no benefit of the doubt until he makes good on this ONE FUCKING THING.
Instead Peter will tell you he's not wealthy while also publishing photos of his Grand Designs multi-million house in an article. As I've said, its amazing how this naive harmless dreamer really has his head on straight when it comes to protecting his personal finances. Funny that.
TheSpoiler
Member
Like, look at this shit. Homeboy says Bryan got a prize and then in the same paragraph says Bryan never got the money because they haven't broke even. AFAIK Bryan hasn't even been contacted by Molyneux, so what prize is this dude talking about? The prize was money, and no money was given to Bryan, so what's the gift? Those shots one of his colleagues bought Bryan and his friends when they met up for like fifteen minutes? Being famous?
I get it. You make a game, and it doesn't make money. But saying "well, it would be a PR stunt if we did that" is hilarious. Partly because even if it would be, it'd still be a net gain for everyone, and partly because giving someone a load of money, especially a student almost finished with school, isn't just mere lip service yet he handwaves it like it is.
In Service
Member
I see your point of view and it is clearly bad PR.
But, the prize wasn't a cash sum. The prize was clearly part of a share in profits. That's still a prize. Just like shareholders still have shares, even if they are worth £0.
The game might still turn a profit next week.
Okay, we know it wont!
TheSpoiler
Member
It wasn't a cash sum, but the kid should get a cash sum since they didn't even implement the adjacent mode. It doesn't matter how much they make off of Godus - the deal was the at the mutliplayer would give him some of the funds.
It wouldn't be as bad if PM wasn't lying through his teeth again. Had he said "yeah, we haven't done anything for that kid", that's a tough pill to swallow in terms of credibility but unfortunately makes sense as the mode never came to fruition. Instead, it's that plus the run around that the kid caught and PM lying that he gave Bryan something for his troubles. At that point, it's more than just an unfortunate event for everyone and the developer being willfully shitty.
I don't think it's mean. He earned it. I think it's an accurate description of his actions. The man tells tall tales about what his products will be, then it's revealed after they release that his descriptions are not truthful. Considering the definition of "crook" is "a person who is dishonest or a criminal", I think the first half about being dishonest fits.
Would you prefer I used "Snake Oil salesman" to describe him?
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
OMG!!! LOL!!!
Basically. Dude has made millions from hyping up non-existent products, selling people an inferior fascimile of that product, then skipping town, until the next game. He didn't just do it once, it's literally the thing he's known for. He is the definition of a crook.
barneystuta83
Member
Peter has popped up on IGNs YouTube.
It looks like a snippet from an upcoming IGN Unfiltered podcast.
https://youtu.be/nLBvSMV1Klk
It looks like a snippet from an upcoming IGN Unfiltered podcast.
https://youtu.be/nLBvSMV1Klk
It saddens me to see someone I used to look up to reduced to a snake oil salesman who can't keep his mouth shut while he trys to nickel and dime people with shitty mobile games.
I got my first PC in 92 and my teens were spent playing Bullfrog games:
Syndicate
Populous
Theme Park
Theme Hospital
Dungeon Keeper
Magic Carpet
Best PC developer of their day imho.
I got my first PC in 92 and my teens were spent playing Bullfrog games:
Syndicate
Populous
Theme Park
Theme Hospital
Dungeon Keeper
Magic Carpet
Best PC developer of their day imho.
Well, he was considered one of the top designers in the world for a good while, and not without reason.
It's definitely worth checking out Kim Justice's videos on Molyneux to see what went wrong and why.
To be honest I don't think people should rag on a guy for making some lousy games - nobody has to buy a game - if it doesn't deliver then don't buy it. I think the Kickstarter thing is more egregious though, and Godus as a whole is a cautionary tale.
With regards to NMS, as it's been brought up, I like the game, it has potential and remains under active development. But it was absolutely an early access game. I think because I knew this when I personally bought it I don't really have the same issues some have. But overall I don't think it's as problematic as the financing etc. of Godus. Theres clearly a dedicated team working on it has got further in 6 months than Godus did in years. It's why NMS has maintained a small but dedicated fan base and Godus is seen universally and objectively as a disaster.
I don't think it's surprising that Molyneux and Murray have some link as Guildford is small but full of UK studios.