Project GODUS, the ultimate Peter Molyneux fiasco

[Metro]

Time for a 'The Molyneaux did this' gif.

 

[WalkinDude]

Wow, skimmed through this and this is impressive even for moly standards. So when's he going back to Microsoft to create the new and improved F2P fable?

 

[Hobo Elf]

Some guy released an editor that you can use to give yourself resources, cut the timer time by as much as you want etc.. Long story short people have been blazing through the "content" in a manner of few hours; without said editor it'll take you probably a week at least due to how much Facebook game waiting there is to be done. Then 22cans' new Community Manager (old one left due to too much pressure involved in his job) posted a thread on Steam defending the timers, which make you wait from anywhere between 10 minutes to several hours with nothing else to do but wait and twiddle your thumbs. His defense was literally this: "It makes the game more strategic (massive lol) and we don't have enough content in the game so we have long timers. It's a feature you guys!!". The ride never ends. No shit they don't have enough content because they've remade the game 3 times now. YOU HAD ONE JOB, MOLLY. All he had to do was make a spiritual successor to Populous as was promised in then KS campaign. Had you done that they probably would've been done by now. Instead they'd rather spend all their time figuring out ways to stretch non-content and implement draconian money making schemes in some sneaky way that people will be OK with (hint: they won't).

I'm just surprised that when people or "press" talk about shit KS projects, no one talks about Godus. This is about the most malicious failed KS project there is with the way they keep stringing people on with empty promises and then keep defending their blatantly shit mechanics. Failed KS projects that end due to the project running out of money is mercy and more desirable compared to this.

 

[Drax]

Because talking shit about some obscure indie team of devs is easier and safer than talking shit about this "celebrity" money-whore freak.

 

[m_s0]

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

...

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."

This reads like a parody, no joke. Wow.

 

[Perkel]

Tried it and it is currently garbage.

And i am dude who like Peter for his actual work. I thought all his games -fable were fucking fantastic. B&W was god tier game (no pun) i spend nearly 200hours and this game delivered best AI in all games and since B&W there is no better AI. Hell there is no AI even that can "learn" like creatures in B&W


Problem is mentioned waiting. This game is all about it. It's not about management as in B&W or having awesome god powers like in Populus. It's all about waiting for those pink bubbles to do anything. I mean if i for example want to sculp terrain i need literally to wait like 5-10 minutes to have mana pool that will allow me to do something worthwile.

For example B&W in essence is same game but it is filled with sidequests, fun shit like throwing shit at people, monsters which take a lot of time to train and so many other things coupled with actual story and ton of humor (polish VAs are also god tier).

Here it is waiting , waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. Boink +200 mana ! waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting + 200 mana ! , sculp a little, waiting, waiting, waiting waiting and son.

Even with more developed tech tree it will be same game. This game needs major rework of gameplay to be even berrable.

 

[Blaine]

"Invest-to-play"... Molyneux is an endless source of entertainment to me lately, though not through his actual games.

 

[Burning Bridges]

I'm surprised he's still alive. Last year I thought he had cancer or something.

 

[Angthoron]

I'm surprised he's still alive. Last year I thought he had cancer or something.

It was probably left incomplete at the design table.

 

[Perkel]

I'm surprised he's still alive. Last year I thought he had cancer or something.

Finally will make good god game ?

 

[Norfleet]

Here it is waiting , waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. Boink +200 mana ! waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting + 200 mana ! , sculp a little, waiting, waiting, waiting waiting and son.

Let me guess, you played Good. There's a solution to that waiting business: BLOOD AND SOULS FOR LORD TINKY-WINKY! Play it like you're an Aztec God and you'll never have that problem.

 

[Perkel]

I don't know what is state of the game now but earlier you couldn't sacrifice population nor there wasn't any place to do so.

 

[Norfleet]

Wait, maybe I misunderstood you. I was referring to B&W. If that's what you meant, then, yes, you can sacrifice population, just pick them up and toss them into the fire on your temple.

 

[Astral Rag]

Molyneux: Work at 22Cans is the hardest I've ever done

The studio boss discusses the difference between console and mobile, and the biggest mistake he's made in 20 years

Peter Molyneux says his work at 22Cans has been the hardest he's ever done.

Speaking at Apps World Europe, the industry veteran, whose credits include Bullfrog, Lionhead and Microsoft, said he underestimated the work involved in developing Godus, particularly on mobile.

He said whereas in console development devs would make the game, release it and then take a break, "on mobile, it's constant fucking crunch. You release and then you realise your busiest day is two days after release".

He admitted one of the mistakes he made with god game Godus on mobile was the monetisation and thinking it was a simple problem to solve.

"That's the biggest mistake I've made in the last 20 years, because it's not simple," he said.

Molyneux described monetisation as like a drug, calling it a difficult psychological trick to convince users to pay money when integrating it into a complex game like Godus, without making the game seem unfair.

He highlighted that around the time of release, monetisation and downloads were at their peak, thanks in part to being featured on the App Store as Editor's Choice.

"Then you have a trail off," he said. "I tried all sorts of things. Getting some press, putting myself in front of press in America and Europe. And the trouble is it's very hard to find the publications that will give you the headlines or even begin to compete with the media on consoles.”

Another key challenge 22Cans faced with Godus was the amount of content mobile players were able to get through and the amount of updates required for a mobile game to keep up engagement.

"Virtually every three weeks there needs to be updates," he said. "This is just iOS. When we do Android, god knows what's going to happen. We'll probably explode from the pressure."

Molyneux said he had expected mobile users to play a lot less than console and PC gamers, who often sit and play through two-to-three hour sessions.

But mobile players in fact were racking up to 12 sessions a day on average, lasting between ten to 40 minutes, meaning they were consuming content at a much faster rate than the game had originally been designed for.

"I thought they'd take about six weeks to get through that," said. "[It took] six days. It was horrendous.

"We were looking at the analytics and this graph, and literally hour by hour we were saying to each other, what the hell are we going to do, they are going to run out of content."

Molyneux said the issue of monetisation and content consumption was one that 22Cans was still experimenting with. He added that ultimately however, he learned monetisation needs to be loved like any other feature in a game, and that developers have to get it right.

"And that has to be perceived as a fair system," he said. "If it's unfair, those harsh monetisation techniques won't work.

"Why? Because consumers are starting to say I'm not going to spend £2 on this because I know if I do, in 20 minutes I'll have to spend another £2.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/molyneux-work-at-22cans-is-the-hardest-i-ve-ever-done/0199980

One of the devs actually posted this on the Steam forum:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/232810/discussions/0/624074858799384521/

 

[Drax]

Molyneux described monetisation as like a drug, calling it a difficult psychological trick to convince users to pay money when integrating it into a complex game like Godus, without making the game seem unfair.

Good grief, does this man not listen to what he's saying?

 

[Astral Rag]

It's like that thing Ubi was talking about

 

[Fronzel Neekburm]

Peter Molyneux warns of the "destructive" nature of crowdfunding
http://www.pcgamer.com/peter-molyneux-warns-of-the-destructive-nature-of-crowdfunding/

 

[Bubbles]

Peter Molyneux warns of the "destructive" nature of crowdfunding

You should also quote his reasoning:

Crowdfunding can be "very destructive to the final quality of a game," he said in a recent interview, because it encourages developers to make wild promises that they ultimately can't deliver.

 

[set]

Peter Molyneux warns of the "destructive" nature of crowdfunding
http://www.pcgamer.com/peter-molyneux-warns-of-the-destructive-nature-of-crowdfunding/

What possesses him to say these things? Does he not yet realize that it makes him sound like a complete prick? Nobody will respect a person who can't own up to their own mistakes. Repeatedly.

News flash, you can't blame the people you're lying to for lying. Most other developers do a good enough time balancing hype with hope.

 

[Norfleet]

Molyneux said he had expected mobile users to play a lot less than console and PC gamers, who often sit and play through two-to-three hour sessions.

But mobile players in fact were racking up to 12 sessions a day on average, lasting between ten to 40 minutes, meaning they were consuming content at a much faster rate than the game had originally been designed for.

This guy finds this surprising? The reason PC/console gamers only rack up 2-3 hour sessions is because Generation ADHD can only focus on something that long, tops, before being distracted by a blinking light or shiny object and running off, whereupon they are no longer at their seats and cannot continue to play until the stream of shiny distractions brings them back to be distracted by the computer again. Mobile gamers will, of course, manage to play more because it's a hell of a lot harder to run away from your phone, which kids these days carry with them freaking everywhere. Of course, they're just as easily distracted, if not more so, hence the short sessions, but they can NEVER ESCAPE FROM THE PHONE. It's always there, serving as a shiny distraction from something ELSE.

 

[Infinitron]

Peter Molyneux warns of the "destructive" nature of crowdfunding
http://www.pcgamer.com/peter-molyneux-warns-of-the-destructive-nature-of-crowdfunding/

Source: http://www.techradar.com/news/gamin...-destructive-force-that-damaged-godus-1275205

Molyneux: Kickstarter is a 'destructive' force that damaged Godus
EXCLUSIVE 'If I had my time again, I wouldn't do Kickstarter at the start of development'

Despite once describing Kickstarter as "the only way to make a game in today's world", Molyneux believes it can also be hugely damaging. His latest game Godus, which set out to 'reimagine' 1989's Populous, was initially put on Kickstarter in 2012, later launching on PC, iOS and Android after meeting its funding goal of £450,000 ($732,510).

But Molyneux thinks that the Kickstarter route ended up being detrimental to the project, and has warned of the temptations to over-sell a project - something the gaming icon has earned enough of a reputation for over the years as it is.

"What I've learned is that doing Kickstarter and Steam Early Access, before you've got something which is defined and playable, is a hugely risky undertaking that can be very destructive to the final quality of the game," Molyneux told TechRadar.

"And if I had my time again, I wouldn't do Kickstarter at the start of development, I would do it at the end of development or towards the end of development. I'm not saying I would never do Kickstarter again, but if I was to do Kickstarter again, I would say 'look, we've done half the game, you can download this demo, you can play the game. You know what the game's going to be, now we're going to take it from this point to this point.'"

Hidden gems
"What doesn't work for innovational games, in my mind, is to put an idea down and say 'Here's the idea, give us the money so we can turn it into a game'," he added. "I don't think that works. Because I think what ends up happening, and what ended up happening with Godus, is that people get a view of what the game is going to be like from what you've said here, and that view is quite often different from what the final game is."

During Godus' journey to launch, Molyneux came under fire for several development decisions, including the introduction of pay-to-win gems that weren't mentioned in the original crowd funding pitch. That, according to Molyneux, is the dangerous reality of the Kickstart pitch.

"There's this overwhelming urge to over-promise because it's such a harsh rule: if you're one penny short of your target then you don't get it. And of course in this instance, the behaviour is incredibly destructive, which is 'Christ, we've only got 10 days to go and we've got to make £100,000, for f**k's sake, lets just say anything'. So I'm not sure I would do that again."

 

[set]

I think what you need to do is actually have an idea before doing a kickstarter, unlike what Mr Molyneux did.

 

[Drax]

What a fucking cowardly asshole.

 

[damakon_666]

the game is free on the play store, so i don't understand the benefits of those who funded it on kickstarter.

still, it's a poor waiting simulator disguised as a barebones god "game"

there are better facebook games than this, and i haven't noticed any of those being kickstarted yet

too bad too, since i was looking forward for a pop or B&W sequel, and i would have paid for it, but all i got is this social crap "free game"
.

 

[Bubbles]

there are better facebook games than this, and i haven't noticed any of those being kickstarted yet

Must be nice up there on the moon.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1638432938/taletown-a-facebook-game-for-readers
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/omicron-g/neko-cleaning-service