NYT Profiles Creator of Black & White and Fable

Amy's Robot writes "The NYT has a profile of Peter Molyneux, creator of 'Populous,' 'Black & White,' and the upcoming 'Fable.' In Fable, the moral decisions you make affect the character's appearance, the outcome of the game, and so on. You get the impression that Molyneux's unconventional approach to game design infuses each of his creations with something more than your average game. Fable will be released for X-Box on September 14."

Comments

First RTS game

[revscat]

I've had several discussions with my friends who swear up and down that since this guy was responsible for Populous that he basically invented the real time strategy game. I don't think this is true. I remember playing Utopia on the Intellivision years before I played Populous, and it was definately real time strategy.

Don't get me wrong. I repsect the hell out of Molyneux. The two titles I have played by him - Populous and Black & White - were very enjoyable. I just don't think he invented the RTS genre. Some unknown dude at Mattel did.

Re:First RTS game

[DLWormwood]

I just don't think he invented the RTS genre. Some unknown dude at Mattel did.

That would be Don Daglow, who at last reckoning would be at Stormfront Studios. He was the primary programmer of the Utopia game.

Calling it an RTS would be kind of stretch, though. While it had the same diversity of resources/buildings that games like Warcraft and so on have, there were no real military units beyond a couple of boats and terrain tiles representing rebels. There was little opportunity for tactical play, or even basic "rushing."

Reviews

[StevenHenderson]

Fable is getting some pretty solid reviews.

Re:Game creators

[CAIMLAS]

THere are some games that have awesome creators.

Take Deus Ex (the first one) for example. Incredible story, awesome gameplay, and a complex game world all lead to a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Granted, it was a literary's game, as it had a lot of references to culture and literature, but I think that certainly added rather than subtracted from the overall gameplay experience. It had a head to it, unlike most games which are fairly base in their approach to entertainment.

Max Payne is another example of a stunning presentation and execution. Though drastically different in gameplay, it still had an awesome story and felt "finished". Nothing was out of place.

All the good films that are remembered tend to have these same elements. They get you involved with the characters and the story and help you form emotional attachments.

B&W had some good things about it, but the overall implimentation was lacking. The bugs were frustrating, the gameplay drawn out and poorly paced, and the actual goal and the method by which to execute it were pretty nebulous until you got further into it... never played Populous. I don't remember anything about it.

Re:Game creators

[CaptainPinko]

Personally I blame the gamers. When it comes down to it few of them (in my experience) have sophisticated tastes in art, film, theatre, and so on. Most of them seem to dismiss it as pretentious crap. When gamers say stuff like (quote from a conversation from yesterday) "I watch movies to turn off my brain" is it any suprise that games off as low-brow as they are? And think about even the books gamers read. Most of them are technical, or if they aren't they tend to be fairly blunt.* I find it a shame since I am doing a combined CS/Liberal Art degree.

*By blunt I mean you can't miss the point, some SciFi have have good points about technology and society or pollution or something, but its fairly in your face lacking it subtlety and nuance. Also they don't seem to be drawn to behavioural novels, more plot driven ones.