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Molyneux: Kickstarter, Early Access can be 'destructive'
Peter Molyneux's Godus earned £526,563 ($852K) on Kickstarter in December 2012, yet the designer recently admitted that he would delay the funding campaign entirely if he could go back to the game's pre-planning stages. In an interview with TechRadar, the Fable series designer deemed Kickstarter and Steam Early Access as "very destructive to the final quality" of games that aren't particularly far along in their development stages. In the case of Godus, 22 Cans' spiritual successor to Populous, Molyneux said supporters had a "view of what the game is going to be like" based on the Kickstarter project, which differed from what the "invest to play" game wound up becoming. "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,'" he said. "'You know what the game's going to be, now we're going to take it from this point to this point.'" Godus is currently available on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam as well as iOS and Android. [Image: 22 Cans]
DeNA and 22 Cans bestow Godus upon iOS devices
Godus, the game that gives you phenomenal cosmic power, is now available on an itty-bitty living space: your iOS device screens. Mobile game developer / publisher DeNA has translated Peter Molyneux's game that quite literally lets you play god for Apple's iPad and iPhone, while simultaneously removing the price tag, meaning Godus is free to download and play. Meanwhile, the PC version of Godus continues to evolve on Steam Early Access, with a recent post announcing that those who contribute "the most interesting, informative and helpful articles" to the Godus Wiki will receive signed merchandise from the team at developer 22 Cans. [Image: DeNA/22 Cans]
Godus iOS soft-launches on New Zealand App Store
Peter Molyneux's new god-game spread its dominion to iOS after soft-launching in the New Zealand App Store over the weekend. Godus is available as a free download, and although no official announcement's been made its arrival downunder is likely the prelude to a full release in the coming weeks. The iOS version offers gems as in-app purchases, with 100 gems costing NZ$6.49 (around $5.60). Purchasable gems have been a subject of contention for Molyneux and devloper 22 Cans, harking back to Godus' launch on Steam Early Access last year. However, the industry veteran denies his mobile model is like other free-to-play games. "What we need is a new term," Molyneux said earlier this year. "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." [Image: 22 Cans]
Molyneux: You can doubt me, but Godus will evolve
Godus creator Peter Molyneux told me how much he's enjoying responding to feedback and using analytics to change his game in "massive ways." In the din of the Eurogamer Expo press area, the 54-year-old designer showed me spreadsheets stuffed with values that he could adjust there and then, things like how much an in-game follower wants to build temples or how social they'll be. It wasn't lost on me that I was watching the man behind the multi-million selling Fable series show me the Excel innards of his indie game. Molyneux described these values as smaller changes that are easier to effect, but he talked about how 22 Cans has "totally changed" the rules of the game's multiplayer in Steam Early Access: "We love the Early Access thing, we love that every week there's going to be radical changes to this game."
Molyneux on Fable Legends: 'I'm a fan'
After a report emerged on Peter Molyneux's "mixed feelings" towards the recently unveiled Fable Legends, I asked the veteran designer if he had any resentment over seeing a major Fable entry crafted without his involvement. His answer was a quick, cheerful "Not at all." "I'm now more of a fan than a person involved in it," Molyneux told me. "They're very talented people [at Lionhead], I'd just be fascinated to see where they're taking it. They've announced the Legends route which I find intriguing." Molyneux previously expressed surprise that Lionhead isn't carrying over the Fable story to make Fable 4, saying "there was a great prize to be won there." Instead, the upcoming Xbox One game will be multiplayer-centric, trading character creation for more defined heroes. Speaking to me at last week's Eurogamer Expo, Molyneux was upbeat, albeit somewhat cautious about the project. "I'm a fan. I like the idea, it seems to be a playful idea, and I'm gonna be fascinated to see how that evolves. Until they make a game and I can get my hands on it... then maybe I'll think to myself 'Oh God why did they do this and that?' But at the moment I'm intrigued and fascinated."
Curiosity: A worthwhile shame
I played Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube. I played it for a few hours over the course of its six-month lifespan. I feel a small amount of shame in confessing this, shame that I don't feel about anything else I've ever played – not Hooters Road Trip, not Dragon Power, nor any of the other terrible things I've subjected myself to. At least those things were games. Curiosity is a repetitive chore with a thin layer of "game" over it. It's gamification, applied to nothing. But despite making fun of it relentlessly – and, on a couple of occasions, even simultaneously while making fun of it – I tapped cubes. My ironic detachment failed, and I couldn't help but buy into the hype on some level, at least enough to participate. I admit that even though I knew it was a dumb game predicated on a promise from someone notorious for hyperbolic and unfulfilled promises, the novelty of the "life-changing prize" intrigued me. And so I joined thousands of strangers in helping some guy scratch off the world's most annoying lottery ticket.
Assassin's Creed 3 director Jamie Stowe joins 22cans
Assassin's Creed 3 level design director Jamie Stowe recently joined Peter Molyneux's 22Cans studio. Stowe will assume the role of technical director for Godus, the developer's spiritual successor to Populous. Stowe worked at Codemasters as a QA lead and level designer prior to joining Ubisoft Singapore in 2009.22Cans successfully raised £526,563 ($852K) on Kickstarter in December 2012 to fund Godus' development. Molyneux and his crew posted a new video update to 22Cans' Facebook page, which welcomes Stowe to the team.
Godus Kickstarter concludes at £526K
Peter Molyneux's 22cans studio has completed its Kickstarter for Godus with £526,563 ($852K) in funding, from 17,184 backers. The game, which is a spiritual successor to Molyneux's Populous, reached its Kickstarter goal of £450,000 two days ago.If you'd like to check out some prototypes for Godus, 22cans gave an overview earlier this week, following up with a multiplayer video. The game will be out when Molyneux says it's out.
Molyneux's Project Godus reaches Kickstarter goal
Peter Molyneux's studio 22cans has reached its £450,000 ($730K) Kickstarter goal for Godus, a spiritual successor to Molyneux's classic game Populous. The Project Godus Kickstarter reached its goal with a little under two days to go.The studio has been a PR kick the past couple of days, summoning a pair of prototype videos that helped drive donations for the game's final days on the crowdsourcing site. The first gave a basic overview, while this morning's showed off the prototype for Godus' multiplayer.
Godus prototype video released as Molyneux Kickstarter teeters
With three days left to go, and another £80,000 needed to reach its Kickstarter goal, Peter Molyneux's studio 22cans is throwing out a "hail mary" prototype video of Godus.22cans also plans to post a second prototype video sometime today with commentary from Molyneux, detailing Godus features found in and missing from the current prototype video.Project Godus currently has about £389,000 ($630K) in pledges, with a goal of £450,000 ($730K) and three days to go. Per the basic rule of Kickstarter, the project will not receive the pledged funding if it doesn't reach the goal. You can explore more about Godus and Molyneux's move back into indie development in our Super Joystiq Podcast Special.
Molyneux hopes to have Godus prototype available on Friday
Peter Molyneux and his experimental game studio 22 Cans hope to have a prototype of project Godus available tomorrow, December 14, the famed creator tells Ars Technica."I've seen the prototype, I've actually played it... I've got a few changes I'd like to be made, but the progress has been pretty constant, so Friday is going to be the time when we show the rest of the world what the prototype is," Molyneux says.Godus is a reimagining of Molyneux's breakout 1989 god game Populous, and the new prototype should be available for PC and mobile download. Earlier this month, Molyneux told us he hoped to have a prototype out by Christmas."[The prototype] is not the most beautiful piece of computer interaction ever, but you knead it and you touch it and you get the idea that sculpting the landscape is amazing, seeing things react in the landscape is incredible, and it's definitely going to work," Molyneux says.The Godus Kickstarter has seven days to raise £180,000, to reach its goal of £450,000.
Molyneux has 'hope' for downloadable Godus prototype by Christmas
22 Cans Kickstarter project Godus will hopefully have a downloadable prototype by Christmas, Peter Molyneux told us in a recent interview. The 22 Cans founder, who is painfully aware of his public persona of over-promising over the years, recognizes Kickstarter projects are currently in that same precarious position."I hope by Christmas we have a prototype that people can download and say, 'Actually, you know what, they're already doing good work,'" Molyneux told us. "And this is what needs to happen with Kickstarter and games. The promises... wouldn't it be amusing if I was the one to prove this right? These promises have to result in great games."Godus reaching its Kickstarter funding goal isn't a guarantee. The game (as of this writing) has £193,613 pledged of a £450,000 goal, with 18 days left to go. According to Kickstarter stat tracking site Kicktraq, the game will just make its funding goal if it sustains its average per day pledge total, but backers have been diminishing every day.
22 Cans talks Curiosity: What's in the Cube and more
22 Cans is Peter Molyneux's latest endeavor -- a smaller indie game company from the creator of titles like Populous, Black and White and Fable that's putting together more experimental games on platforms like iOS. The company's first title is Curiosity, a game/experience that arrived on the App Store a little while ago. And now the developers are doing some interviews talking about how Curiosity is doing, and what's next for 22 Cans going forward. Jack Attridge is up first; he's a game designer at 22 Cans, and he recently talked with 148Apps about how Curiosity has changed during development. Initially, it was very straightforward (and the game is still very simple): Players would just tap away "cublets" off of a gigantic cube, in a sort of massively multiplayer attack of destruction. But the devs found that the game needed even more rewards, so they added in combo bonuses and a clear screen bonus for clearing cubes completely off of the iPhone or iPad's screen. He hints at what's next with the game as well: "There is something that people tapping on the cube are doing, and are already involved in that they are unaware of," says Attridge. "I can't say what that is yet, but in the future...that tapping will have counted for something." We're not sure what that means, but Curiosity has been interesting so far, and odds are it will continue to be so. Over on RockPaperShotgun, Molyneux himself chimes in to say that 22 Cans has been overwhelmed by the reaction to Curiosity, both in terms of its servers being overrun, and Molyneux's own emotional state (at one point in the interview, he reportedly breaks down and cries when considering just what he wants the experiment to mean to the world). 22 Cans has also just launched a Kickstarter for another game, called Project Godus and supposedly based on Populous itself, so Molyneux talks about how he's approaching game design these days. It sounds much more agile and responsive than the big titles he's worked on in the past. Both interviews are definitely worth reading, especially if you've been as fascinated by the experiment behind Curiosity as I am. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the 22 Cans model as it continues forward.
Molyneux reinventing Populous with 'Godus,' calls on Kickstarter for help
Peter Molyneux's next experiment with his new studio, 22 Cans, is a "reinvention" of his classic god game Populous, fittingly titled Godus. "Project Godus" is now live on Kickstarter, where 22 Cans is asking for £450,000 to develop this rebirth of god games for PC, iOS and Android."Godus blends the power, growth and scope of Populous with the detailed construction and multiplayer excitement of Dungeon Keeper, and the intuitive interface and technical innovation of Black & White," its Kickstarter description reads. It will be multiplayer, probably with up to eight players at a time (though it seems Molyneux would like more). 22 Cans expects Godus will take seven to nine months to develop.This is the second endeavor from 22 Cans, following Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube. Check out the Kickstarter video for Godus below.
22 Cans apologizes for Curiosity's popularity, working on fixes
The last 48 hours have been tough for Peter Molyneux's new outfit, 22 Cans. After launching Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube? earlier this week on iOS and Android, the servers were overloaded by the sheer numbers of players participating. There is also another significant bug that seems to be erasing player coins, which are used for in-game boosts.The video update above was made by 22 Cans designer Jack Attridge, wherein he tours the office and asks a bunch of employees what they're doing about the problems. The team looks to be working to resolve these issues but, in response to the server overloads, 22 Cans has also opened a PayPal page for donations – you know, in case you really want to know what's inside that cube.
Curiosity team squares off against connectivity problems
22Cans is at work fixing connectivity issues with Curiosity: What's Inside The Cube. If your experience with the networked cube-tapping game is limited to error messages, it should be addressed soon. "I now understand what's going on," Peter Molyneux tweeted. "Basically we and our server are overwhelmed by the number of people trying out the experiment." His team is working on an update.As of writing, users who have successfully connected have cleared the first layer of "cubelets" off of two faces of the cube. After the first layer is completely cleared, players will begin clearing ... an unknown number of additional layers in an effort to find a secret in the center of the cube.
PSA: Molyneux's 'Curiosity - What's Inside the Cube?' now on iOS, if you're curious
Peter Molyneux and 22 Cans' Curiosity - What's Inside the Cube? is now available for free on the App Store. The first of the studio's 22 "experiments" was due on Android tomorrow, but Molyneux tweeted this morning 22 Cans is now trying to push it out today.So how does the game work? Quite simply, actually. Curiosity revolves around, surprise surprise, a giant cube. You can rotate the cube to get access to all six sides, and then zoom in and out as you please. The aim is to get to what's inside the cube, and that's done by tapping away at its sides to shatter its outer layers of 'cubelets,' one cubelet by one. Each tap alters the state of the cube on the game's servers - meaning in theory the cube appears the same to everyone at the same time. Of course, latency plays its part.Tapping squares earns you coins, with multipliers added when you build up a run of taps. You can also earn coins by getting friends to play the game. Coins can be used to purchase square-smashing add-ons, like a diamond chisel or a bomb. We tried out the firecracker, which manically breaks the cubelets around it in a quick little spiral.As for what's actually inside the cube, that is now public knowledge. And it is - drumroll please - a video link, which actually explains what's really inside the cube. So what's actually in the video? It could be instructions for how to find the secret treasures of Xanadu, or maybe all of Molyneux's hopes and dreams somehow condensed into five seconds of footage. Whatever it is, it'll be up to that one winner to decide whether to keep the link private or show it to the world. Of course, the winner could just link to some other vid and we'd never know.
'Curiosity: What's Inside The Cube?' reveals all on iOS, Android November 7
Peter Molyneux's 22 Cans will satiate your Curiosity on November 7, releasing the game for free on Android and iOS. 22 Cans confirmed the Android release details to us, noting Curiosity: What's Inside The Cube? (to give it its full title) launches at 0.22AM Pacific (3.22 AM ET, 8.22AM British). Molyneux then tweeted Curiosity is arriving on the App Store the same day.Curiosity is the first game from Molyneux's new outfit, and the first he'll have released since leaving Microsoft and Lionhead. Although, Molyneux is referring to Curiosity and his next 21 projects as experiments, before 22 Cans finally makes its one and only game proper. Whatever you want to call it, Curiosity is supposedly going to change someone's life forever.So no, Molyneux hasn't really changed.
22 Cans will make one game and only one, after all those other games
22 Cans, Peter Molyneux's development studio, is "only going to make one game and that's it," Molyneux tells VG24/7.Of course, this game will come after the 22 "experiments" Molyneux's team is working on now, the first of which is Curiosity: What's inside the Cube, a million-player game that ends with one person discovering the life-changing secret inside a big cube."But everything that we do, every thought that we have, every moment of a day, is all working towards this full game," Molyneux says. "22 Cans is only going to make one game and that's it. You just release that single experience then you refine it and adapt it like – and don't think of this in any way other than an analogy – when a TV company makes a soap opera."Considering Curiosity was announced in June and has since undergone a delay, name change and beta (and is expected to launch on iOS any day now), we can look forward to 22 Cans' actual, singular game in about seven years.
Molyneux's Curiosity now subtitled 'What's Inside the Cube'
Peter Molyneux confirmed the new title for his next project, formerly known as Curiosity, this afternoon. Earlier this week, Molyneux revealed that the name would have to be changed in order to keep it from colliding with the massive internet presence of NASA's identically named Mars rover. The new name – again, supposedly chosen to help distinguish the game – is Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube, according to a tweet from Molyneux. (Well, actually, the tweet reads "Curiosity:Whats inside the cube," but we're erring on the side of proper punctuation and capitalization.)Perhaps throwing a reference to Peter Molydeux, his Twitter doppelganger, Molyneux noted in a following tweet that he's unhappy about the choice, saying that he voted for "Cube of Duty."
