The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[Valmy]

Trusting Molyneux was a bad idea?  Shocking.

It amazes me that anyone still buys anything he touches.

People like Fable for some reason.  That is what gave him a second chance.

[garbon]

Trusting Molyneux was a bad idea?  Shocking.

It amazes me that anyone still buys anything he touches.

People like Fable for some reason.  That is what gave him a second chance.

I think the Fable series has been fun - though as with everything he does, way underdeveloped as compared to what he would say would be included.

[Ed Anger]

I tried Godus on the iPad. Hey, it was free.

BORING

[Syt]

And the corn-crusted cherry on top of the shit sundae that is Godus: the fate of the "winner" of the Curiosity Tap-athon:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/02/11/loss-of-faith-will-godus-ever-have-a-god-of-gods/

Eurogamer have published a really superb article in which they speak to Bryan Henderson, the "winner" of Curiosity, who was promised a life-changing prize. That prize turned out to be the role of "God of Gods" in the multiplayer version of Godus, and a share of the money made by the game. Well, a share of the money made by the multiplayer bit of the game, which was always supposed to be part of the game. But apparently, because it's still not in there two years on, means he doesn't get anything. Nothing at all. Not even emails for month after month, according to Wesley Yin-Poole's heartbreaking interview with the 21 year old.

They then go on to put this to Molyneux himself, hours after we'd published our article that revealed the depth of mess that Godus is currently in. Along with the predictable gush of apologies, Molyneux also makes some odd claims that entirely contradict a video he'd recorded the same day.

Eurogamer's story is devastating. Curiosity was a mobile game* in which people mindlessly tapped on a cube and could spend money through microtransactions in order to tap harder. At the centre of the cube, promised Molyneux, was something life-changing – and not money, he said, but something we could never guess, something enormous. It turned out when 18 year old Bryan Henderson won that it was a role in a forthcoming game, Godus, and indeed some money – a share of the sales. Godus, at the time, hadn't been put up on Kickstarter, and so there was no guarantee the project would even go ahead, but that didn't slow Molyneux. It was an "insane risk", he told us in July 2012, because he "takes insane risks all the time".

Godus, of course, was funded. A few months later, a fractured and extremely poor version of the game appeared on Steam's Early Access with no multiplayer component. Months went by and multiplayer still didn't happen. Then, it briefly did and was almost instantly removed since it didn't work. 26 months since the game was funded, no multiplayer has been added, and as we wrote on Monday, the developers think it likely never will be.

Which means that all this time later, Henderson has had no role to play in Godus. But what Eurogamer have revealed today is far worse – he's also been almost entirely ignored by 22cans and Molyneux. After being invited into the Guildford offices of 22cans, and asked to sign a contract, Henderson returned to Scotland and waited for his prize to become a reality. And it never has. Worse, communication almost immediately dried up, with Henderson eventually giving up trying to keep in contact with the studio.

When Eurogamer put this to Molyneux on Monday, he gave an all-too familiar burst of apologies and blame-taking.

"I totally and absolutely and categorically apologise. That isn't good enough and I'll take it on my own shoulders that I should have made sure he was communicated with. We will from today onwards do that."

It's obviously appalling that it took a journalist approaching the company for them to acknowledge they should have stayed in touch with the winner of their much publicised competition, but it's even more concerning that it seems to be accepted that there's no reason Henderson should have yet received any of the "millions and millions" Molyneux boasted the game has made in a video released by 22cans on Monday evening. Henderson's "clock will start ticking" as soon as they've implemented the multiplayer hub that the project's new lead has already said he can't see happening.

"I simply can't see us delivering all the features promised on the kickstarter page, a lot of the multiplayer stuff is looking seriously shaky right now especially the persistent stuff like hubworld." – Konrad Naszynski

Speaking to Pocket Gamer last August, Molyneux told them that Henderson, "makes a portion of every pound we make. He accrues all that money – we're not paying him yet, but he's accruing it."

It's also worth noting that when we spoke to Molyneux in 2012, he told us that Henderson would be God Of Gods for a very significant period of time. He said, "we could make it five years. We could make it ten years."

But when he spoke to PG last year, it had enormously shrunk to just half a year:

"His reign will last for about six months from when we unlock multiplayer. Within those six months, communities can come together to earn the right to challenge Bryan and overthrow him as god of gods."

So potentially far less than six months then. Indeed, if Bryan gets overthrown, Molyneux told them, then that new person would start earning profits from the game. A madly different prospect from the "life-changing" claims made three years ago.

Another odd claim to come out of Eurogamer's interview is that the reason the multiplayer hasn't worked in Godus, and for the extensive PC development delay. As Eurogamer puts it, Godus' publisher forced a server switch back in November 2014, which then forced 22Cans to build new tech in order for people to keep playing the game." Right, but how does this square up with claims made in the Kickstarter pitch, where Molyneux explained they were turning to crowd-funding in order to avoid needing a publisher.

"But we need funding to continue, and rather than partner with a publisher, we're keen to explore the exciting new Kickstarter platform. It means we can stay independent and it gives you the opportunity to have a voice in the development of GODUS... Funding it via Kickstarter allows us to stay a small independent team with unlimited freedom in our creativity. It'll just be you, us and our unbridled dedication (no publishers)."

Five months later 22cans signed a publisher for Godus.

Finally, in the Eurogamer article Molyneux tells Wesley, "But, we are – and this is going to sound ridiculously excusey but it's the actual truth – we are now working on combat, which is the piece of the puzzle we need in the game before we start working on the Hubworld and the multiplayer." Which strikes as a little strange, since in the video he recorded on the same day, he explained that they were currently working on finishing the story and that combat was planned for later this month.

Where does this leave things? In such a muddle. With Molyneux appearing to contradict himself in interviews and videos recorded in the same afternoon, it's really hard to know how to unpick it all. And as for Bryan Henderson, the chances of his ever becoming God Of Gods does look slim. That he may not receive anything at all seems utterly awful.

We are hoping to speak to Peter Molyneux very soon and hopefully put these confusions to him.

*It's worth noting that Peter Molyneux assured Rock, Paper, Shotgun that Curiosity would be coming out on PC, to the extent where he appeared at our PC-only show, Rezzed, in 2012, to promote the game to an audience of PC gamers. He later tried to claim that there was never meant to be a PC version when Nathan interviewed him for RPS, then when pushed stated, "Maybe said it was possible to do on PC, but I think we didn't do it on PC because we put all of our love of tapping into tapping with a finger and not with a mouse. I can't remember playing it on PC, but I can imagine it would be a little bit more tedious with a mouse than it would be with a finger." Which makes it a touch galling he plugged it at our PC show.

[Grey Fox]

This makes me think that I've never played Fable.

[garbon]

Poor Bryan, too young to know that you shouldn't trust Molyneux.

[grumbler]

I tried Godus on the iPad. Hey, it was free.

BORING

I'd say the exact same thing about the Fable series, except for the free and iPad parts. 

[Syt]

Well, RPS' John Walker had a chat with Peter Molyneux following the recent articles. It's a long read, but ... well ... you judge if Walker is just out for blood, or if it's the tough love Molyneux needs.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/02/13/peter-molyneux-interview-godus-reputation-kickstarter/

Opening lines:

RPS: Do you think that you're a pathological liar?


Peter Molyneux: That's a very...

RPS: I know it's a harsh question, but it seems an important question to ask because there do seem to be lots and lots of lies piling up.

Peter Molyneux: I'm not aware of a single lie, actually. I'm aware of me saying things and because of circumstances often outside of our control those things don't come to pass, but I don't think that's called lying, is it? I don't think I've ever knowingly lied, at all. And if you want to call me on one I'll talk about it for sure.

TL;DR points from Molyneux:
- games are hard to make
- he's passionate about them
- budgeting/planning time for games development is impossible when doing something new, even with all his experience
- he means/believes everything he says when he says it
- mistakes were made
- RPS/press wants to destroy him
- he just wants to make great games and works hard for it

I don't disbelieve him, but I think he's not competent enough or too naive and blue eyed to run his own show. He (much like Tim Schafer) is a good, occasionally great developer, but like him he needs boundaries and a publisher who can put their foot down if need be. Props to him, though, for not quitting the interview (but then again he's a bit of a narcissist, I guess).

I wonder, though, if any dev will sit down with Walker for an interview after this.

[Grey Fox]

If the gaming industry wants to taken seriously it's makers need to get called out from time to time.

[The Brain]

Sit down with a Walker.

[Syt]

Favorite quote:

Peter Molyneux: No, I actually said, "I wish I hadn't focused on," I didn't say I shouldn't have done.

[CountDeMoney]

Video game industry.     Nothing but monkeys and footballs.

[The Brain]

Anyone played Tokyo School Life? Any good?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/320760/

[Barrister]

Well, RPS' John Walker had a chat with Peter Molyneux following the recent articles. It's a long read, but ... well ... you judge if Walker is just out for blood, or if it's the tough love Molyneux needs.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/02/13/peter-molyneux-interview-godus-reputation-kickstarter/

That's not an interview - that's a cross-examination.  But Walker isn't terribly effective at cross-examination.

I dunno - I think we all knew Molyneux was full of shit before this.  All he's done is given us another example of how full of shit he is.

[Syt]

Well, it's not often that games press is doing anything of the likes, well, at all. In many ways it's a cuddlefest, except if a developer or publisher really screws the pooch (Ubisoft releases last year, Molyneux, DoubleFine's Space Station DF9 debacle ... and a lot of the time it's quickly either water under the bridge, or they're given then benefit of the doubt with their next games). I don't need a piece like this for every failure (and Molyneux is an easy target, because he gladly digs himself into holes deep enough so he can hang hismelf with all the rope you're giving him), but more distance between developers and commentators would be welcome (but that goes for almost every product specific reporting).


Anyways, Molyneux promises to not talk to the press anymore. Make of that what you will, considering the general value of him promising anything these days.


He's described his upcoming game The Trail (or Trial? some sites say one, some say the other) as an "experience never seen before":

'It can be understood at a glance, and it entertains the idea of communication beyond words, by means of music, art, and so on. The problem with social media is that we communicate too much. If you and I, who are having a conversation right now, could only say ten words to each other, we'd feel frustrated, with lots of things to say that we can't utter. But, on the other hand, we'd make every effort to make those ten words sound as meaningful as possible.'

The British game guru wants his game to be exciting by appealing to the competitive spirit that is embodied in highest score tables. In fact, such tables have always been characteristic of video games. 'Let's think about a very simple notion like highest score tables. They tell you how good you are at playing the game. We all like them. They're part of Candy Crush. They're part of Call of Duty. But is there a way of turning this into a core component of the game, an exciting element in its own right? [...] If I can get the game to excite people together, if I can make them feel the excitement of discovery together, if I can reach out to them not as individuals but as a group, if I can make them care about their neighbours as much as they care about themselves, then I think I can have a game that builds on feelings and emotions untapped so far.'

As usual, nothing about actual gameplay or mechanics. He probably has a vision in his head that excites him, but it will be interesting to see if he can put it into a computer program in a reasonable amount of time, in a way that comes close to his vision, and with the available resources.