Project GODUS, the ultimate Peter Molyneux fiasco

[Angthoron]

Well, I also imagine that it isn't going to be a game made by Petey. At least not the "Really fun" part.

 

[Xu Fugui]

This is going to end well

I love that account.
https://twitter.com/PeterMolydeux

I wish real developers were like this.

 

[tuluse]

Oh, parody account. That first one honestly seems like something he would say/think of.

 

[DraQ]

♫ Imagine all the people
Buying D-L-C ♫

No heaven indeed.

 

[Xu Fugui]

Oh, parody account. That first one honestly seems like something he would say/think of.

That's the idea, it just takes it a bit further. I wonder how Molyneux feels about it, on one hand it mocks the extraordinary claims he makes to hype up his games before they are released and on the other some of the idea's are more creative and refreshing than what the industry have seen for a long time. There's even made a game jam themed after the over-the-top tweets.
http://www.molyjam.com/
Very experimental stuff, and a couple of them are great.

Most hardcore game ever

 

[Drax]

Oh, parody account. That first one honestly seems like something he would say/think of.

:D Yeah, I fell for it too, it actually sounds a completely plausible Molineux sentence.

 

[Kz3r0]

DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA:

spacedyemeerkat 17 minutes ago
I'm also tremendously disappointed by the way this has unfolded. It's the only Kickstarter I've backed where I've felt genuinely mislead.

zdsdead - Gimp of the WOM 6 days ago
I just want to let you know PM, and 22 cans, that I shall never support any future games you touch, or have any input into, whatever future guise you go under. We the KS backers have been mislead, badly treated, in many regards, but the very recent "Total and Utter silence" was the straw that broke the camels back for me. There is absolutely no excuse, in the total amateurish, disregard, that you have held, us the backers in. In short I feel your project, is a cancer upon KS in general, to the detriment of genuine projects

Allan MacKenzie-Graham on May 22
For context, I have backed 53 projects, several of which have not delivered on their promises. I am OK with that, I knew I was taking a risk and people are fallible. I have never asked for my money back and I am owed far more than 30 pounds on other projects. This, however, is different. It is clearly misrepresentation. I want my money back.

Allan MacKenzie-Graham on May 21
Followed isotone's lead. I am a patient man by nature, but this project makes a mockery of kickstarter and it needs to be addressed. I reported the project as abusive. My message below. Thanks to isotone for the words.
Hi, I am writing to complain about the way this project has been run. I understand that there are usually delays and differences in delivery and promises etc but I feel that the GODUS campaign has crossed the line into outright fraud and I will be seeking legal advice regarding this matter.
The pledges taken were for both a separate PC and mobile game. It is now apparent that these are exactly the same game and May 16th the mobile game was launched as a free, pay-to-play app. I pledged for three copies believing that it would not be pay-to-play. This is massively disingenuous, if not explicitly fraudulent.
As a side note, I don't believe that Kickstarter does ANYTHING to protect its users from outright fraud and I think this may be the last straw. Don't be surprised if people stop using your service. Perhaps if Kickstarter held a high profile project accountable some of us might find our faith rekindled.
Allan (mostly copied and pasted from someone who has a better way with words than I do)

 

[Bubbles]

The long, hard roadmap to success has been released.

The most important bits:

Currently, the team’s current focus is polishing the iOS version for a casual audience based off how that audience plays the game. It’s worth remembering that the first ten months of Godus’ development focused entirely on the PC version of the game and it’s only been in the last few months that we’ve given the mobile version the care and attention it deserves. Rest assured that our focus will return to the PC version at the end of summer/beginning of autumn.

• Hubworld will introduce the ability for Godus to connect players together.
• Initially we will be connecting PC – > PC players and mobile – > mobile players.
• Cross-platform implementation will come later (no ETA as yet) and allow trading between players of Godus, regardless of their platform of choice.
• The more you trade, the more you advance your own civilisation.
• Trade is its own statistic – you don’t micromanage the trade of individual resources such as ore, wheat or population.

• Happiness is a new resource represented by a unique bar that reflects the emotional well-being of your Followers and will deplete over time, requiring you to continually improve the morale of your civilisation through Gifts.

• LONG TERM GOAL: It is our aim for players to use Hubworld as a tool enabling them to communicate with each other in-game.

 

[Metro]

This is worse than I could have possibly imagined.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Anything new in this thread? New images of Peter crying or somesuch?

 

[:Flash:]

There was a time when a chat function was implemented in every multiplayer game.
Now we have "a tool enabling them to communicate with each other in-game." as an all-caps LONG TERM GOAL.

 

[set]

Can anyone with an experience in graphic design or something explain Godus's aesthetics? Like, why do they look like something a two year old pasted together? Perhaps the most hideous thing about Godus is its bland, vague and misshapen design. What are/were they thinking?

 

[Angthoron]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05/30/molyneux-on-godus-surprise-publisher-free-to-play/

Lengthy.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05/30/molyneux-on-godus-surprise-publisher-free-to-play/

Lengthy.

May 30th, 2013

 

[Angthoron]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05/30/molyneux-on-godus-surprise-publisher-free-to-play/

Lengthy.

May 30th, 2013

Oh goddammit.

 

[Astral Rag]

Godus is out now for free on iOS

PC version is getting a "spectacular, bonkers & undeniably amazing" feature.


By Jeffrey Matulef Published Thursday, 7 August 2014

Populus and Black & White creator Peter Molyneux has released his latest god game, Godus, on iOS today.

The free-to-play affair puts players in the role of god, shaping a civilization and its surrounding landscape as you see fit. You'll be able to carve rivers into the terrain, rain down meteors, guide villagers on adventures, and learn more about these people's belief system.

"In Godus your hands will sculpt the mountains and carve rivers. Your touch will create pastures for your people. You will be loved by tiny worshipers that need your help to grow and your direction to progress through the ages of civilization," explained Molyneux in the release announcement.

"Power comes to you through influence, and your miracles guide the forces of nature. You must decide whether to use such awesome power for good or ill," he continued. "As you progress through the game you will find history hidden in the land through mysterious artefacts that uncover the true story behind your Followers. By journeying to far off lands to complete quests, you will bring back powerful abilities for your ever-gracious people."

Over time developer 22cans will add new features to Godus, allowing players to clash with rival gods, unlock new abilities and compete in various challenges.

Godus is still available on Steam Early Access, where a new "Settlements revamp update" will be added tomorrow. This version will be receiving a "spectacular, bonkers & undeniably amazing PC-exclusive feature," according to 22cans community manager George Kelion.

For more on Godus, our Chris Donlan took a deep dive with the PC version in April where he was less than impressed in the Dungeon Keeper creator's latest effort. "It's still hard to pin down what, if anything, 22Cans actually wants Godus to be," he said at the time. "After 70 hours of Godus, it actually sounds like blind, panicked, directionless design that chews up eager, talented developers and bores and confuses and angers the players." Hardly a glowing recommendation then, but game design is an iterative process, so perhaps this official iOS release will be better. It's free anyway, so see for yourself how you like playing god.


http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-07-godus-is-out-now-for-free-on-ios

 

[Astral Rag]

Peter Molyneux: F2P Godus will have monetisation 'that hasn't existed before'

Peter Molyneux is the famed British developer behind Populous and Fable.


Molyneux reckons he's cracked free-to-play. He says he's come up with an entirely new way to get your cash in upcoming strategy opus Godus, and it will apparently be "delightful".

Though you definitely shouldn't call it 'free-to-play' in front of him.

"There cannot be a term that is less true," he barks. "What we need is a new term. And that term is more like 'invest-to- play'. What really are we doing? We are tempting people to invest some of their money into a game."

He compares the current library of free-to-play mobile games to "taking a huge hammer and smashing our customers with it. We're saying: 'Be patient or pay money.' That's not a delightful mechanic. That's not going to get people to invest their money."

Deeper dungeons


No game fits that description quite as well as EA and Mythic Entertainment's mobile revamp of Dungeon Keeper, a game series that Molyneux himself created when he was working at Bullfrog.

Talking about this reboot, he says: "The free-to-play mechanic was so dominant that it obscured all the fantastic work they did. It was like a horrible odour."

"I wanted to play and keep on playing and keep on playing. But I just kept getting beaten up for being an impatient gamer."

I ask Molyneux how he would have made a new Dungeon Keeper for mobile.

"Well, I wouldn't be greedy," he starts. "I would probably not use the free-to-play model at all."

"I'd no longer make it 2.5D so you're stuck on one level. I'd make it so you could dig the Mines of Moria," he says with a hint of creative glee in his voice.

"And there's a Balrog in it! That's what I'd want to make. This sort of device would be perfect for that," he adds, pawing at his iPhone.

God of gods


So, according to Molyneux, Godus will be the anti-Dungeon Keeper.

"We can't be so crude in making the first thing we teach people in these games how to speed things up by spending gems. That's absolutely insane."

Instead, there'll be monetisation in Godus "that hasn't existed before". And it will be as "fresh and as new and as different from anything you've ever seen in any game", he adds, in one of his now-typical promise-the-moon sales pitches.

He's cagey about the finer details of Godus's monetisation, so getting him to divulge concrete examples is like pulling teeth. But here are a few hints that should set you up for the full announcement in the coming weeks.

For one, you won't be able to pay a penny in Godus until you're deemed ready.

"You've got to be subtle about it and slowly layer in those mechanics. The point we introduce monetisation depends on the player, and the game maker has to get you into the right mindset."

You might also want to think back to the monetisation techniques employed in Molyneux's barmy social box tapper Curiosity.

Those purchases - including angry badgers and the ability to troll players by adding extra cubes - were an experiment on the part of Molyneux and his team to see "how can we put as much inventiveness and creativity into people paying money into a game as we would any other mechanic".

Games as a hobby


Most importantly of all, though, the brains behind Black & White wants to "to tempt people to think about being proud about investing. Before we even talk about monetisation, we want players to feel like Godus is a hobby (not just a game)."

I ask Molyneux if he's worried that no one will pay at all. Games from overly generous free-to-play game devs that don't hobble your progress and prey on your impatience have flopped, after all.

"Yeah, I'm worried about that, but those risks are worth taking," Molyneux says. "We could layer in 'it takes six days to build this house', and maybe we'd make a shitload of money, but that's not my ambition for games."

"There has to be a better way."

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Android/Godus/news.asp?c=57324

https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/godus/id815181808?mt=8

But I'm sure the PC version is a totally different game that wasn't (originally) built around the same nickel and dime, cow clicker mechanics.

memento_molyneux.jpg

 

[Metro]

I don't feel sorry for anyone who backed this given Molyneux's recent history.

 

[Astral Rag]

Meanwhile on iOS:

 

[J_C]

Molyneux is dead to me.

 

[DraQ]

We need a memento moly icon.

 

[Bubbles]

The root was black, while the flower was as white as milk; the gods call it Moly, Dangerous for a mortal man to pluck from the soil, but not for the deathless gods. All lies within their power.

 

[Metro]

Schafer is dead to me.

 

[J_C]

Schafer is dead to me.

Tim Schafer is the greatest man on Earth!

 

[Hobo Elf]

I don't feel sorry for anyone who backed this given Molyneux's recent history.

I did it for the lulz and to share the inanity with others. Following the game since its development has been nothing but entertainment for me. Reading the forums and watching people go from hopeful to angry to desperate to indifferent and witnessing the the many iterations of the game, each equally stale and stupid as the previous one and questioning how the devs manage to keep fucking it up.
The game was updated quite recently but I just got around to testing it myself. They added a dev commentary which has been a whole new level of entertainment for me. Having Molyneux personally explain to me that the game is literally shit is fantastic. Molly keeps telling the player how they should play the game in these commentaries and he's even urged the player a few times to not waste Belief on sculpting the land into the players image, because it's not worth the time or effort. Man, way to slam one of the most defining (read: only) game mechanics this fuck up of a social experiment has. It is truly a unique experience.

Edit: to quote the Molydeux parody twitter acount:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then became inpatient so paid $49 to do the rest. - Genesis 1:1"

Pretty much sums up the whole "game" aspect of it. It is just a long ass waiting game that only leads to more waiting. And Molyneux has the balls to say "oh yeah this part is kind of boring but please bare with it" in the commentary. It's not his exact words, but that was the spirit of it. Instead of boring he said grindy.