Peter-Molyneux
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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.
Daily iPhone App: Curiosity makes you wonder what is in the cube
Curiosity, a free app that arrived on the App Store last night, is more of an experiment than a game. It's developed by a company called 22 Cans, which is Peter Molyneux's latest endeavor. Molyneux is the famous creator of classic games like Dungeon Keeper, Populous, and Fable. Now he's built 22 Cans to work on smaller, more experimental projects. Curiosity is definitely that. As you can see in the video below, it's essentially a collaborative destruction engine, tasking thousands of users around the world with chipping away at a large virtual cube, in hopes of discovering what's at its center. That's the whole game, really. When you log in (optionally with a Facebook account), you can tap away at various surfaces on the cube, and clear them out to earn coins. The coins let you buy various implements to destroy the cube with additional effectiveness. All 50,000 players (the total when I logged in to play) will continue to hack away at the cube's many layers until its center revealed. Some text that appears in the game's introduction reveals a twist: only one player will discover what's in the cube (because presumably only one player will get to hack away at the final square in the middle). Of course, no one knows who that will be. If you're curious and want to help find out, Curiosity is a free universal download on the App Store right now.
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.
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.
What's inside Molyneux's Curiosity cube? Not a dead cat or Half-Life 3
Peter Molyneux is narrowing the answer to the question posed by 22 Cans' first experimental game, Curiostiy: What's Inside the Cube? It's not a huge pile of money, a dead cat, a sports car or Half-Life 3, Molyneux says. However, whatever's inside there will "change your life forever."Maybe Molyneux is toying with us. Maybe the cube is harboring two huge piles of dead sports cars and a copy of Black Mesa Source. The answer was right in front of us the entire time, and the knowledge of purposeful human deception will change anyone's life, at least for a little bit.Curiosity is undergoing Apple certification now.
Molyneux seeks Curiosity beta testers
Peter Molyneux is curious about whether his new game works, and so he's opening a beta test for Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube. Anyone interested in trying the first of 22Cans' experimental games, and with "a spare hour at about 16:00 GMT Tuesday-Friday," can apply for the beta on Facebook.Curiosity is due sometime this month, following a delay caused by Molyneux's interest in avoiding confusion between his game and the Mars robot.
Molyneux's follow-up to Curiosity is 'Cooperation'
Curiosity, the first project from Peter Molyneux's neux company, 22 Cans, isn't even out the door yet and already the fabled designer is talking up the studio's second project. The next game from 22 Cans is currently called Cooperation, Molyneux told Polygon. Curiosity will see iPhone gamers slowly working to discover the secret at the heart of a mysterious cube. Meanwhile, Molyneux said that Cooperation will be "very, very different."Proving that he has not yet lost his great gift for hyperbole, Molyneux went on to say, "If you think of [Curiosity] being the biggest mystery posted to the digital world, Cooperation is the biggest cooperative effort the world has ever known." The game (seemingly despite its title) will be competitive and may have something to do with tug of war. Presumably, it will also be the 8th Wonder of the World.
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."
Molyneux's 'Curiosity' changing title 'because of NASA' [update]
We're surprised the issue didn't come up sooner, but according to tweets from Peter Molyneux, one reason his "experiment" Curiosity has been delayed is that the name is already in use, by ... some government program or whatever."Humm there is a problem with the name Curiosity," Molyneux tweeted. "We can't use it because of NASA. I wonder what one word would sum up Curiosity: The Cube." He plans to tweet the best suggestions from the @22Cans account.As the team (and the collective mind of Twitter) brainstorms, we'd like to offer one warning: don't just change it to "Qriocity." For some reason, that's already in use.Update: Molyneux told Modojo "The name change is prompted by the need to have something simple to search for in Google. This worked well for 'Curiosity' but since NASA: Curiosity is now obviously generating a lot of interest we need to change the name." In other words, it's not a trademark concern or anything like that, just in the interest of avoiding confusion.
Molyneux's 'Curiosity' delayed to September
What's inside the cube? You might have thought you were going to find out today, but Curiosity, the first "experiment" from Peter Molyneux's 22Cans studio, has been pushed out of its August 22 release date into September, as revealed in this new trailer.Wait – maybe it's not ever actually coming out, and the release date will be continually pushed in order to create an eternal feeling of curiosity in its would-be audience. Molyneux is potentially on some next-level emotioneering here. Just in case we haven't got it all figured out, we're checking in with Molyneux for the real reasoning.
'Critical Path' trailer is loaded with games industry talent
A trailer for Critical Path, a "transmedia project exploring the art, philosophy, politics and psychology of video games" recently surfaced. The trailer, created by a Los Angeles-based studio named Artifact, shows dozens of game designers talking about their craft and the place games take in the history of expressive media. The project aims to "give game designers their due as innovators and influencers of culture."Critical Path is described as the culmination of "two years of filming and archiving" interviews, according to Artifact's site. "User feedback will influence future interviews, which will be added to the archive on an ongoing basis."Among the 37 names listed at the end of the trailer are Warren Spector, Jenova Chen, John Carmack, David Cage, Cliff Bleszinski, Ken Levine, Peter Molyneux, Tim Schafer and Hideo Kojima. You can watch the trailer here.
We can't tell if Molydeux is doing the work for Molyneux, or it's the other way around
Peter Molyneux's first experimental title with 22 Cans is Curiosity, a potentially million-player title that has people chip away at a cube until one person hits the final piece and uncovers the ultimate secret inside. Peter Molydeux, a digital parody of Molyneux, has created a trailer for Curiosity using a few exaggerated quotes (and some not so hyperbolic)."It will make the God Particle seem smaller than an atom," Molydeux (correctly) states. Molyneux has described Curiosity as something that "is so valuable, and so life-changingly important."Molydeux's trailer posits that this discovery is "about to change life as we know it" and "it will be covered in the media for all eternity," while Molyneux has previously said "It's so amazing I think it will appear on news reports."In response to Molydeux's trailer, Molyneux has offered a few hints as to Curiosity's secret, tweeting that he thinks the parody "is truly amazing. It's not a message, it's not an advert, it's not a job. I am loath to give more clues."Curiosity will support microtransactions, with items ranging from $0.50 to $50,000. The game will be launched on August 22 for iOS, Android and PC.
Molyneux's first 22 Cans experiment Curiosity hits iOS, Android and PC August 22
We were introduced to Curiosity back during E3, and come August 22, everyone will have their chance to try Peter Molyneux's first 22 Cans experiment. Molyneux revealed the Curiosity launch date during PC and indie games conference Rezzed, in Brighton, England.At the core of Curiosity is a secret, one that Molyneux says "is so valuable, and so life-changingly important," as reported by Eurogamer. "It's so amazing I think it will appear on news reports."Back in March, Fable series creator and longtime Microsoft man Peter Molyneux left subsidiary studio Lionhead Studios. Soon after, he announced his new studio 22 Cans, which proposes to create 22 different digital "experiments" precluding the studio's masterpiece.
Peter Molyneux divulges DLC details for Curiosity, we apply for a loan
Peter Molyneux's first post-Lionhead game, Curiosity, holds a big mystery and now it promises DLC with a colossal price tag. The game -- the first of 22 experiments -- will reveal a secret to the gaming guinea pig who deals the final blow to a single black cube. Shortly after its release, chisels that pack a mightier punch to the monolith will arrive as DLC for those who long to crack the container open. Prices for the downloadable tools will start around $1 (59 pence) for an iron implement and reach up to roughly $78,000 (£50,000) for a one-of-a-kind diamond version that hits 100,000 times harder. Once the secret is revealed, 22 Cans will use social media to study how the winner proves the milestone and spreads the news. Curiosity is expected to drop in about six weeks for iOS and PC, but feel free to begin pondering the secret of life, the universe and everything that lies inside the digital fortune cookie.
Peter Molyneux reveals first game from his new studio: Curiosity coming to iOS and PC
Peter Molyneux has revealed what he's been up to since he left Lionhead. At E3, he paid a visit to Spike TV, bringing with him several screens from his upcoming title, Curiosity. He didn't give away much on what we can expect from 22 Cans' first effort, although we'd hazard a guess at something "conceptual." It's set to arrive on PC and iOS in around six weeks and Molyneux was showing off those stills from his iPad. Hit up the source for the full -- but brief -- interview.
Peter Molyneux introduces Curiosity, his first 22 Cans experiment, for iOS
Peter Molyneux has introduced a game called Curiosity from his 22 Cans studio, coming to PC and iOS in about six weeks. Appearing on Spike TV this morning, Molyneux showed off screens of the game on an iPad, and said it would be the first of his experimental games out of the brand new studio he started after leaving Lionhead.Six weeks isn't long to wait, so we'll see more about this one soon.
Molyneux: 22 Cans conducting '22 Experiments,' first one due in 6 weeks
Peter Molyneux's new studio is going to create his greatest game ever, but first it plans to make 22 of the almost greatest games ever. 22 Cans, Molyneux's studio, is rolling out a project called 22 Experiments, a series of digital releases leading up to the "final product," Molyneux told Beefjack.The first experiment could drop in as few as six weeks for undisclosed platforms. Molyneux said the projects are "very very different, unusual, I think very intriguing things," probably because that's his thing. During a talk at Imperial College London's GaME12 event, Molyneux provided a vague vision for the direction of his studio, saying he wants to use current technology in ways no one else has, and sharing the following idea:"I love this one thought, and I have experimented with this in previous games, that you find out more about yourself while being engaged with this experience than [you would] with anything else. And we all love finding out about ourselves – whether it's through personality tests, or someone turning around to you and saying X, Y and Z."We look forward to a seriously introspective game of 22 Questions starting in six weeks.
Molyneux's Populous rebuilt as Caplin's Reprisal, play God now
The first true god game for PC, Peter Molyneux's Populous, unleashed its fury in 1989. Today, that omniscient rage has been remapped, revamped and softened in designer John Caplin's first title, Reprisal, an homage offering to the deity that is Populous.Reprisal is browser-based and free, playable right here. So far Reprisal has snagged more than 1 million players, going by the game's Universe Population counter. Maybe give your fingers a good stretch first -- we hear playing god isn't so easy a task.
Lionhead seeks multiplayer level designer for game development, long walks on beach
Microsoft's Lionhead Studios is looking for a multiplayer level designer with "a deep understanding of online multiplayer games," a job posting reveals.We assume Lionhead also would like any new designer to be adept at making the public forget Fable Heroes ever happened.Lionhead's recent time in the spotlight hasn't focused on what games it may be creating, but instead on Fable creator Peter Molyneux's departure and what that might mean for the studio. With no other information or speculation on Lionhead's next title, aside from this multiplayer designer business, we're going to throw our best guess out there: A Team Fortress 2 clone that looks like Minecraft, plays like Call of Duty and is called "Half-Alive 3."
