Peter Molyneux has grown up. In fact, he told Develop this past week that he believes the whole industry has matured. "We're growing up ... when I first started in this industry we were like six year-olds," Molyneaux says, speaking to the enormous development team sizes for games like Lionhead Studios' most recent foray, Fable II, and lamenting the industry's past arrogance towards structure of, well, any kind. "My feeling is that if you're making mistakes when you've got 100 people, that's a really big mistake," Molyneux says, adding, "You'd better make sure that you're making the mistakes when you're a ten or 20 person team; If you're doing that with 100 people, you are throwing millions of pounds down the toilet."
That being said, his position on what Lionhead Studios is doing other than Fable-related properties remains ... loose ... to say the least. "There are lots of things I would like to show you now; Within ten feet of you right now is possibly the most exciting thing I've ever seen," Molyneux teased Develop. What could it be?! We may never know, nor may you, as Molyneux remains surprisingly coy in his description. Lionhead has confirmed work on more Fable II DLC, so for the time being, we'll just have to be content with that.
Reader Comments (59)
Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 7:52PM (Unverified) said
EDIT: Don't bother with the 'first' business. It's silly and off-topic. Please and thank you.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:09PM MarkezJM said
That's your opinion, of course, but realize that just about everybody in the industry 'talks'. If you want to find fault, I'd say it's moreso with the media who publish what he says every time that he does speak. The only time I tire of hearing industry folks, is when it's the brass from Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, etc.
I can handle ignoring Newell when he pipes up and says something, doesn't mean I have to chime in and say he's a huge gasbag with nothing relevant to contibute (ok, mostly, that is)
I'm really anxious about the Fable II DLC, can't wait for details. I mean clearly the guy is passionate about what he's doing, so you've got to give him credit for that to some extent.
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I can handle ignoring Newell when he pipes up and says something, doesn't mean I have to chime in and say he's a huge gasbag with nothing relevant to contibute (ok, mostly, that is)
I'm really anxious about the Fable II DLC, can't wait for details. I mean clearly the guy is passionate about what he's doing, so you've got to give him credit for that to some extent.
Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 10:16PM Tiptup300 said
I agree with him. Remember not even movies started out as mature as they are now. The first ones were just 5 second black and white mimes walking around with occasional captions. I think video games are finally at the brink of graphical capabilities. Right now, it's not which game looks the best, it's which you like the look of.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 7:57PM (Unverified) said
I think the gaming industry, would be a bit better off if someone shoved a dirty pair of socks in his mouth to keep him quiet.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:38PM SoCoolCurt said
while generally i would agree with you (he is SO arrogant most times), this time he didn't say anything bad. i agree with him actually, the industry has certainly matured. think about it, it's grown from a nerd/geek hobby into an industry that rivals the movie business. company growth is certainly a huge part of that.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:03PM The Wicker Man said
He looks like a stretched version of the little man from another place on Twin Peaks.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:09PM Saria the Cat said
Is one of this "big mistakes" game-crushing bugs in Fable II? Bowerstone Market STILL a laggy glitchfest that struggles to load. Please, please, please have someone work on major game-breaking glitches and release a patch so we can continue to enjoy our game. I love Fable II and just want to fully enjoy it.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:42PM SoCoolCurt said
i haven't played Fable II yet (blasphemy right?) but in general, i don't agree with his notion that bigger teams equals less mistakes, as i find glitches in just about every game i play. it's more like bigger teams show how complex things have gotten. a guy in his basement probably can't make anything to rival retail releases anymore.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:48PM Saria the Cat said
@SoCoolCurt: I agree. I think bigger teams can equal even more mistakes, especially if people aren't good with communicating to each other, staying on the same page, etc. The more bureaucracy involved in any organization, the longer things take to process and the more red tape there is for things to get lost along the way.
Of course, intensive game testing is crucial, since developer's can't be expected to catch every single bug there is in such a complex game. But really big bugs going by unnoticed, unrecognized, and un-remedied is inexcusable.
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Of course, intensive game testing is crucial, since developer's can't be expected to catch every single bug there is in such a complex game. But really big bugs going by unnoticed, unrecognized, and un-remedied is inexcusable.
Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 9:09PM (Unverified) said
If bigger teams equal less glitches, Fallout 3 must have been made by one guy.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 9:19PM Saria the Cat said
@Popfrogs: You've got to be kidding if you're suggesting that Fallout 3 has no glitches. Full on freezes, the character getting "stuck" in the "environment," visual glitches (walls disappearing), spatial glitches (the character falling through floors or walls). There's a ton.
And, I don't think we're suggesting that bigger team = more mistakes or smaller team = more mistakes. Just that bigger teams could mean more mistakes of they aren't very careful and communicative with one another.
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And, I don't think we're suggesting that bigger team = more mistakes or smaller team = more mistakes. Just that bigger teams could mean more mistakes of they aren't very careful and communicative with one another.
Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 9:22PM Saria the Cat said
@Markez: I've heard plenty of other people having trouble with Fable (it's all over the internets too) but it really does seem hit or miss and there don't seem to be real solutions or preventive measures that can be taken to avoid bugs from occurring. It's almost like RRoD. It will either hit you or not hit you and there's not much you can do to prevent it from happening (aside from normal system care).
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 9:26PM MarkezJM said
Gad almighty, again today, I tell myself I might finally start sinking some time into Fallout 3. I really want to get deeper into the story to the point where I'm sucked in. As I've griped here numerous times before I never left Megaton after getting out of the Hatch. Instead I just ended up burning a few hours in SR2 again.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 9:44PM (Unverified) said
What he said is that making mistakes with bigger teams is worse than mistakes made with smaller teams. I don't think he's saying bigger teams are better, but bigger teams can't afford to make as many mistakes are smaller teams. Smaller teams are more agile and are better for learning what you're doing and working the kinks out of a system, and by the time you're in a team of 50+ people you had better have a good idea of what you're doing or you'll risk losing a lot of time and money fixing your mistakes, which if caught earlier on in a smaller team may not have grown out of proportion.
He may have been talking about the development process for all AAA titles (not the difference between small studios and big ones) since almost always the beginning of all development for any major title starts with a much smaller active team than it ends with.
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He may have been talking about the development process for all AAA titles (not the difference between small studios and big ones) since almost always the beginning of all development for any major title starts with a much smaller active team than it ends with.
Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 10:41PM The Wicker Man said
@saria u dildo he meant the opposite of what u suggested! Get off his d@ck u uptight jerk head. (cause u r zombe goast)
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Posted: Mar 23rd 2009 3:13AM (Unverified) said
On what platform? It runs perfectly on my 360. I had a lot of fun in Fable 2 but I did miss the freedom to explore the countryside that there was in Oblivion. Both games had their pros and contras.
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Posted: Mar 23rd 2009 10:25AM (Unverified) said
Fair enough, "The Destruction of Megaton" is the best moment in games in 2008. I rarely get chills from a game, and that was a moment of chills.
Just remember, Fallout 3 is the scariest game of all-time because at any moment it could become real.
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Just remember, Fallout 3 is the scariest game of all-time because at any moment it could become real.
Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:32PM (Unverified) said
honestly, I never knew his mom could fit into a toilet.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:30PM ShelaMonster said
I feel like Peter likes to build way too much hype.
Granted Fable 2 was a "good" game, in the respect that it, for me, was fun.
But a lot of things were left out, things we were teased with...
I bit the first time he teased with Fable 2, and I felt I didn't get all that it was suposed to be, so now I take whatever Peter says with a bit of salt.
(Not the good luck kind...)
~Shela Monster
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Granted Fable 2 was a "good" game, in the respect that it, for me, was fun.
But a lot of things were left out, things we were teased with...
I bit the first time he teased with Fable 2, and I felt I didn't get all that it was suposed to be, so now I take whatever Peter says with a bit of salt.
(Not the good luck kind...)
~Shela Monster
Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:31PM PantsParty said
I need a US version of this post. What are these "pounds"?
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:57PM F1 Basu Gasu Bakuhatsu said
Oh come one give the guy a break, Sure he had some screw-ups back in the day, but he's gotten allot better since then.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:36PM (Unverified) said
How the hell did this guy become a game developer "celebrity?" He has done jack sh!t besides the mediocre Fable series... why would anyone listen to him? And what the hell is he even talking about here!?
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:45PM (Unverified) said
I agree with fable 1 being mediocre, but so far 2 is a pretty damn fun game. Now I want to go back and play it more >.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:51PM DevilSei said
Yeah, the last great game he made was "Dungeon Keepers". Fable 1 was good, but it was better than Fable 2 will ever be.
As for what he said, no frackin duh, dont need King Nothing telling me that.
If you ask me, the picture on his laptop is a perfect example of his career, right now we are suffering the nuclear fallout though...
lets hope the next game they makes is Dungeon Keeper 3, and that he doesn't talk at all about it. Seriously, stitch his mouth shut, no game needs the amount of hype he pukes out.
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As for what he said, no frackin duh, dont need King Nothing telling me that.
If you ask me, the picture on his laptop is a perfect example of his career, right now we are suffering the nuclear fallout though...
lets hope the next game they makes is Dungeon Keeper 3, and that he doesn't talk at all about it. Seriously, stitch his mouth shut, no game needs the amount of hype he pukes out.
Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 8:36PM Gun Barrier said
"If you're doing that with 100 people, you are throwing millions of pounds down the toilet."
I've lost a pound or two on the toilet before. O.O
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I've lost a pound or two on the toilet before. O.O
Posted: Mar 23rd 2009 1:17AM Discotheque said
Yes please! End this god-awful Fable series. I hope he makes Black and White 3...and don't make it 360 exclusive, it should at least also be on the PC.
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Posted: Mar 22nd 2009 9:49PM (Unverified) said
Yeah from the sound of things, I doubt he's played the game to the end.
Anyways, he's not talking about his games' themes, but the industry as a whole.
But judging from your logic, any game in which you're less than a god would be less mature than Black and White? Yeah that makes a lot of sense.
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Anyways, he's not talking about his games' themes, but the industry as a whole.
But judging from your logic, any game in which you're less than a god would be less mature than Black and White? Yeah that makes a lot of sense.
Posted: Mar 23rd 2009 2:20AM BigD145 said
Go back even earlier to Bullfrog and THAT was an era where the industry was growing up. Bullfrog was up and running in a year and pushed out great games for its time. Lionhead stumbled around for 4 years before making good with B&W. Molyneux was selling for Windows and Mac and some others. Then came Fable. A satellite developer made a short console exclusive that had been done before. Big step backwards there.
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