Godus Kickstarter: 'Maybe People Don't Want Originality' - Molyneux

NowGamer: Godus is 22 Cans and Peter Molyneux's chance to reinvent the god-game genre, but there's a chance Kickstarter might not deliver.

[majiebeast]

Really Peter really! Maybe its the fact that you have been hyping your past games(Last 10 or so years) as new and innovative, while in fact they are stale and shallow. Dont blame people blame yourself for this cause we have all seen some of the games and products kickstarted.

[Dailynch]

I think you're being a bit harsh on Molyneux. I'm really looking forward to playing Godus.

[nveenio]

I would look forward to playing any game that is what ol' Pete claims it is. But they never work out that way. And that's why people hesitate at buying his pitch.

[Baka-akaB]

I dont think he is ... he has an habit of hyping existing features as something new and earth shattering , only to deliver an half baked idea , if lucky .

The molyneux of the fable era certainly aint the fresh one of the populous and dungeon keeper era .

Hell we should be harsher , before he dares accuse gamer of not wanting originality , he should take a real look at his current game and figure they aint that original nor polished .. just zany or focusing on the most unnappealing things

[TimmyShire]

I agree with Dailynch. All these people who say he's 'overhyped' his games, I don't see how that's any different to Call Of Duty or whatever else.

He gets passionate about his games, and I'd rather see someone like that create a new game than yet another COD or Battlefield.

He's never made promises he can't keep - as far as I can remember - and people need to remember that Molyneux is one of the few genuinely innovative devs in the industry.

And if he's trying to do something innovative - instead of another Fable or whatever - I think we, as gamers, should support that.

[dedicatedtogamers]

My opinion is that developers should be engineers first, promise-keepers second, and "artists" as a distant third.

Molyneux has this backwards. His games are buggy, his games lack depth, and he constantly spouts grandoise aspirtations for his games without delivering.

To be honest, I would be fine with his games if he had unfulfilled promises but he still delivered a solid product. The first Fable was like that, and Fable Lost Chapters shows that there was more to flesh out in the game. But his later games just got worse and worse as his ego took precedent over game design, optimization, and bug testing.

I have no sympathy for game designers who cry because their "artistic vision" doesn't sell. This isn't Hollywood. You're not a movie director. You're an engineer who should focus on making an excellent game before you worry about adding your own quirky artistry.

Peter, people DO want originality. Perhaps they simply don't want YOUR version of originality. Farting at people, a dumb-as-a-brick dog companion, horribly designed menus, and your pathetic "morality" systems simply aren't fun, even if they could be classified as "original".

[sjaakiejj]

"My opinion is that developers should be engineers first, promise-keepers second, and "artists" as a distant third. "

That's a rather ignorant opinion, because those areas are mostly mutually exclusive - meaning that they're not handled by the same person.

Peter is a Game Designer, and fits mostly in the "promise-keepers", though I would rephrase that as dreams, ambitions and aspirations.

Just to emphasize this - Peter is _NOT_ an engineer, and is _NOT_ an artist.

[baodeus]

@meji

I dont think u even play his game, u just like to jump on the hate band wagon, and that is the most popular trend on N4G.

I love his game (they do have flaws) because they are quite unique. If u truly play his games like they were meant to be played (detail oriented, passion for exploration) then u would find them quite amazing; particularly the very deep, lively, dynamic NPC interaction (which many if not most people didn't know about).

Beside the first fable game (can't have kids), what other promise that he didn't keep?

[DeforMAKulizer]

I am personally really looking forward to Godus but i do think that Molyneux himself suffers from a God syndrome.

He thinks that everything he touches would be gold, when in fact it is just plain old ordinary and sometimes disappointing.

I also do fear that he is borderline delirious, with such comments and the talk about his death and what not.

Hear is to hoping that you regain respect with Godus.

[TimmyShire]

I don't agree that he thinks that. Read the interview in that link, he's genuinely worried about the project. I just think he's innovative (see above!)

[DeforMAKulizer]

I love the individual and i know he is modest, but the way he is handling the downturn is insane.

And Here*

[Picnic]

Yes- the vast majority of his games, Fable excepted, are God games. Hasn't he realised that they're not everyone's favourite genre? I like to be given the setting, I don't like construct any part of it. At least Little Big Planet gives you a story mode.

[barb_wire]

I wouldn't consider 'Magic Carpet' a God game, like wise on 'Syndicate'.

Heck, he should just do 'Dungeon Keeper 3'

[MariaHelFutura]

You would be speaking about Midus.

[Krew_92]

It's annoying when he keeps calling himself Indie. I know he is now, but not even a few years ago he was part of a huge studio. It's like being Indie is the new hip thing or something...

I do look forward to this game, but he just seems pretentious by how he speaks sometimes. I know he's a kind man and is serious about his work, but he's not exactly a long time Indie developer.

Much respect to Indie developers.

[sjaakiejj]

Indie developers are never long time indie developers, because the business model doesn't hold up for extended periods of time - the business needs to expand to survive, which is exactly the point at which it becomes corporate.

[mamotte]

Dear Molyneux. Having played Black & White 1 & 2, I love the god genre. Just change the game's name to "Black & White 3" and problem solved.

[dedicatedtogamers]

It is likely that neither Molyneux nor his new team own the rights to the B&W series. I believe EA owns the Black and White name. This is similar to how 2K Games tried to get the IP for System Shock from EA but instead ended up making a new IP (Bioshock) with the same gameplay.

[Alos88]

Not all innovation is a good thing, Molyneux. There have been plenty of games with original ideas that were crap.

[3GenGames]

Keep it simple. Make a good story, don't clutter it with crap it doesn't need. And originality is always needed in some way. Don't let the business get to you. Generic games aren't fun. Even if it's an original and gripping story and that's it, it's enough reason to play it as long as nothing brings it down. (See: Bad controls, ugly designed graphics, crap music, etc.)

[MartinB105]

Peter equating the idea that "maybe people don't want originality" with the possible lack of funding and support for his games is just delusional.

I love original games such as Journey, Unfinished Swan, Dyad and Limbo. I just don't care about HIS "original" games.

[KingItachi]

No, Molyneux people are tired of you.

[kindi_boy]

I like the idea of the game, but I hate Molyneux...

[AntsPai]

I love original games like Okami, Killer7, God Hand, Limbo, tokyo jungle, heck even littlebigplanet was an original idea that was great.

I just wish Molyneux would make a good game again and Godus just doesn't tickle my "that looks awesome" spot.

[isarai]

People want originality, they're just sick of your hyped up lies

[DigitalRaptor]

No Peter, people just don't like promises that go undelivered time and time again.

[SephirothX21]

Funny how many sheep on this site will hate on man who actually cares about games and genuinely tries to make good games. So what if he over promises. only idiots believe everything a dev says and plus they don't have to buy his games and can read reviews before buying. People like hating on this site because they've noting better to be doing. If they put as much effort into to developing games as they do bitching about people far more successful than themselves, maybe they would be able to write their own game.