Peter Molyneux Interview: “I haven’t got a reputation in this industry any more”

RPS:"When Peter Molyneux agreed to speak to me, I knew the interview was going to be tense. I knew that an article we’d posted on Monday, asking what was going on with the development of Godus, had kicked up an enormous storm for 22cans and its boss, with the rest of the gaming press picking up and running with it. So I assumed, when he agreed to chat, he knew that it wasn’t going to be a smooth ride. I wanted to get to the root of so much that now seems to form the reputation of the developer, the outlandish promises that so often aren’t kept, the ridiculous time-frames claimed, and the often disappointing or lacklustre results. I especially wanted to do this now that the people funding such things aren’t deep-pocketed publishers, but the players themselves. I wasn’t expecting it to take us in the direction of Molyneux’s declaring that I was “driving him out of the games industry”."

[-Foxtrot]

No shit Sherlock

[LordMaim]

He wishes he didn't have a reputation in this industry any more.

It would be better than the reputation he has now.

[ArchangelMike]

Yep... the reputation of being a pretentious self indulgent prat.

[The_Blue]

Exactly. Its his fault, Godus and Fable were all over-hyped.

[GarrusVakarian]

Sure you have...

...it's just not a very good one.

[Gazondaily]

This. Which is a shame.

[BattleTorn]

He hasn't created zip worthwhile in a long time, but his name still turns my head...

and I still respect him for speaking his mind, from time to time

[Cernunnos]

A shame? He earned his current reputation completely.

[Yetter]

came here to post the very same comment, but i'll just give ya a bubble this time

[MasterCornholio]

Pretty much. It was up to him to produce incredible games but he failed to do that. That's why he has a pretty bad reputation in the industry.

[ArchangelMike]

It's a shame really. He used to be one of the greats. What happened along the way?

[rainslacker]

Up until failing on a kickstarter I never had a problem with him. He has a good portfolio of games to his name, and most of those games failings come from the over-promises he himself made that never made it to those games. The games themselves though were typically very good regardless though.

I've also found him to give pretty honest analysis of companies and the industry on a regular basis in interviews and sometimes blogs.

Since opening 22 cans I haven't been impressed, particularly with his first project, and now he's reverting back to his self-loathing attitude which is much different than his overly ambitious and optimistic view of games in general.

I don't know why he makes some of the comments he does on his personal failings. I think he is sometimes too hard on himself and takes things way too personally. I don't feel sorry for him or anything, as he has had opportunities that any creative game developer would love to have. I don't feel he squandered his time at MS, or before, but with 22 cans he went from being a game developer to being a person trying to be a visionary long after others have already had those visions. It isn't creative to develop mobile games which have already been created, nor is it creative to just slap a new skin on them and sell them on his name alone. He squandered his reputation in the past couple years, and that's his own fault.

He can always come back, it just takes getting back to what he did great, and that's have a bold vision that went well beyond what was possible at the time. being a visionary is hard, but he was often way ahead of his time.

[yewles1]

Every time with this man...

[lemoncake]

Only thing he can do now is keep quiet for a few years and then make a good game. If he cannot do that he might as well hang up his gaming coat and call it a day, hopefully he saved enough of the money he made over the years to retire on.

[Hellsvacancy]

As much as I hate the guy I do feel kinda sorry for him, Populous The Beginning is one of my favourite games of all time, so he has got it in him to please even the hardest of people

He just needs to stop whining and get his head down and make a new game, or quit

[lemoncake]

He had left bullfrog before they made that version of populous. I have always been a big fan of him though and loved alot of the games he worked on while at bullfrog and at lionhead. A lot of my childhood involved bullfrog games so its sad that he has ended up like this and isn't making great games like he used to.

[ArchangelMike]

Yeah he needs be able to deliver on his big ideas with a really good stand-out game (no pressure right?!). But I think broadening his audience agian will help. Kinda like Kojima. I think once Kojima broadened his audience beyond the Playstation faithful, he got even more popular than before.

[Dirtnapstor]

Does he cry in this interview too?

[christocolus]

Wow..i kinda feel bad for him now.

[DougLord]

You people are jerks and bullies. You can't name more then a handful of devs with more good games under their belt and you guys are harassing him to the point where he might quit developing games at all. I hate freaking Internet tough guys. Comment boards get so filled with hate and bile and filth.

[smoothop]

For me its how he treated someone that was made empty promises, Go and read Eurogamer's article from the other day and you'll soon see how he works, he only started paying attention when it blew up in his face and that shows he doesn't really care. I can forgive him for making crappy games of late, but treating people like crap deserves no respect. If anything this will do him some good, it'll make him a better person if he goes the right way about it.

[DigitalRaptor]

I honestly cannot comprehend how somebody could be such an insane hypocrite on this site. You are that which you criticise.

Go and start a "Leave Molyneux Alone" campaign and cry some more. He's a great personality and I'm sure an all-round nice guy, but he has deserved every ounce of criticism he's garnered (minus the disgusting personal threats) and it's been nobody's fault but his own. Lying about his games and about technology whilst piling on the hype, unrealistic expectations, and empty promises that people like you took and ran with, and then admitting that he was disappointed in his games, apologises about hyping up non-existent features - only to go on and repeat the same thing, without having learned from the experience.

He lied about Curiosity and that was basically a big money making scam. He lied about the winner of that game and what they would receive. He deserves everything aimed towards him at this point, and I'm glad to see his rep burn because lies and dishonesty catch up to everyone eventually.

If he quits developing games, then the industry would be better off. He hasn't made a game worth the hype since the first Fable game 10 years ago. He also drove Fable down a road it's never returning from.

[smoothop]

I don't feel sorry for him in the slightest, just hearing how he treated that guy in the Eurogamer article was enough for me to know how he works. His going through the phase of feeling sorry for himself now and that's what self absorbed people do, like someone else said, he should just go off the radar and produce something good and show the world his got some grit and determination. There are plenty more people out there with bigger problems than Peter, I'm pretty sure his a lot better off than most people.

[Nicolee]

stop the new game and get that 24 people back to work with Godus , and give the guy who won the 'Curiosity' 1% profit as promised.

you can't just take people to work with new game when the old game isn't even finish as promised.

[juaburg91]

The thing that baffles me, not in a negative way, but in a sincere and caring way is, what went wrong? I mean if you are a talented game designer such as him(he has made good games before), how do you lose your way? Did he lose passion along the way, or what can it be? Normally talented film makers stay fairly consistent throughout their careers, with maybe one or two lesser films that what they made before. So i really wonder whats up? Maybe he does not believe in his own abilities anymore?

I do hope he gives it one more shot and makes a game which he feels proud of.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Sure you have a reputation, Pete. Brian Williams is the new you.

[snookiegamer]

Never thought I'd see the day I agree with DougLord. Anyway, get over it Peter Molyneux. Why so much self loathing? Absolutely no need. Okay so you messed up, you're Human. It's good that you 'Owned It'.

....Now move on ;)

[Retrohelix]

The RPS article and the Eurogamer one make fascinating
reading.
The winner of 'Curiosity' Brian, doesn't come across as a gamer and doesn't really seem that bothered about the whole affair anymore... though after 3 years waiting, I think most people would have written off any promises by now. In some ways this played to Pete's advantage. Had the winner been a hardcore gamer, I doubt he would have kept everything so low key for so long.
The interview with Peter Molyneux is fascinating though... a real insight to a person who believes their own hype and with everything around Godus now blowing up in his face... has resorted to feeling sorry for himself.
I want to say he doesn't quite deserve all the hate coming his way... but then you read the interview and its hard to really feel anything but justification for what he is now getting.
You would think with the amount of articles published throughout his career around his 'over promising and under delivering'... he would have learned his lesson year ago... but evidently he hasn't.
It is clear through all of this that 'Curiosity' was just a gimmick to push his kickstarter into reaching its goal. It's clear from Brian's interview with Eurogamer, that they really had no idea about what to do with him and had no interest in him at all. They should count themselves lucky Brian remained so low key about it all...
The RPS interview is long and a detailed read... but worth it if you want to get an insight into Peter Molyneaux and how he thinks...
He doesn't come across as a very pleasant person. Someone whose has little care or thought for both gamers and those people he makes promises too. Very self absorbed and now things are going particularly bad... has resorted to feeling sorry for himself and chucking his toys out of the pram... accusing media of trying to ruin his reputation and drive him out of the games industry...
Harsh reality is he is his own worst enemy and has no one to blame but himself... though I don't think he will ever come to realize or admit this...