If you know his work – the Fable series, god game tentpoles like Populous and Black and White, Dungeon Keeper, and the superb Theme Park and Theme Hospital – then you almost certainly know of Peter Molyneux. And if you know Peter Molyneux, you also know that he has a reputation. Whether you believe it’s earned or otherwise, over his extensive career, Molyneux has become regarded as an overpromiser, someone who might – before release – say that a game contains features that, for whatever reason, are not present in the final work. Speaking to PCGamesN, as Molyneux and his studio 22cans reveal new strategy game Masters of Albion, the legendary designer says he is sorry for “pissing people off.”
The original Fable remains perhaps the most famous, or infamous, example of how Molyneux earned part of his renown. Before the game launched, Molyneux made assertions about various mechanics and features, including, most memorably, a system whereby if you knocked an acorn from a tree, it would plant in the ground and itself grow into a tree over time. For his new strategy game, Masters of Albion, Molyneux is being more careful. In the past, he openly discussed features and ideas that hadn’t yet been implemented – now he’ll only talk about something if it’s already playable and working in the test build. Similarly, for Master of Albion’s first trailer, Molyneux says he made a concerted effort to moderate the volume and enthusiasm of his voice.
“I’m so, so, so sorry that I, as an individual, have sold games by overpromising, and talking about features that didn’t really exist in the game or talking about features that weren’t locked down,” Molyneux says. “I apologize to anyone that got excited and got disappointed.
“It’s taken me a ridiculously long time to realize how important that is, and what a responsibility you have as a creator to talk excitedly about something, but only when you can show it, demonstrate it, and prove it. About ten years ago, I was talking about Godus [22cans’ first attempt at a god game] in the same way that I talked about Fable and Black and White and Dungeon Keeper, and some of things I talked about – for very good reason – didn’t make it into the game.
“And I think people just got pissed off. And I can completely understand that. I’m really sincerely sorry to those people. I wasn’t doing it because I had a plan. I was doing it out of ignorance really, and now I’m really obsessive about only talking about things I can show.”
Masters of Albion is a strategy, god game, and quasi RPG all in one. As the celestial ruler of a small town (and later, a city, and then a series of cities) by day your job is to plan and build houses, shops, and general improvements for your worshippers. By night, however, you can take control of a designated hero and protector, and head outside the city’s walls to defend it from besieging mobs of ghouls and monsters. We spoke to Molyneux about the game and its development in more specific detail right here.
It’s a promising idea, combining the best aspects of some of Molyneux’s most renowned works. Nevertheless, the legendary designer plans to be careful with his choice of words.
“It’s a realization that while it’s great to talk with enthusiasm and it’s great to show people the wonder of what’s going on in your mind, if that becomes a promise and something that someone becomes really excited about, and then they actually commit their time to that, and then that’s promise is just not in the game, they’re going to feel disappointed,” Molyneux says.
“I am a very frail person when it comes to this. I don’t have a tough skin where I can take peoples’ dislike or hatred very well. I just don’t look at the comments. It’s too psychologically harmful. After the whole debacle about ten years ago with the press, that took me a long time to recover from. If I’m going to come back, I have this rule: I’ll only talk about things that I can show.”
When it comes to comments and feedback, however, Molyneux says that there is an exception. Throughout development of Masters of Albion, 22cans will gradually open the game up to its community, and seek input from fans with regards to potential changes.
“At some point we’re going to start building a community,” Molyneux concludes, “and then there are very good design reasons to listen to that community. You’ve got to be careful it doesn’t become design by committee, but that engagement has very real value.”
We’re still waiting on a release for Masters of Albion but you can already wishlist it on Steam right here. Otherwise, you might want to try some of the best building games, or maybe the best 4X games available on PC.
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