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Fable 2 Follow Up a "Significant Scientific Achievement"?
In a bold statement, game developer Peter Molyneux is claiming that his new Fable 2 follow up is a "significant scientific achievement". His unbridled excitement stems from years of work on AI, simulation, and character interaction. "Fortunately for fans of Molyneux-style hyperbole, the man is back with wide-eyed, reins-off enthusiasm of his own future work. [...] In Molyneux's own words, 'I think it's such a significant scientific achievement that it will be on the cover of Wired.'"
There, fixed it for you. 'I think it's such a significant scientific achievement that it will be on the cover of Wired.' Yes, Wired.
Someone just said that major scientific achievements make the cover of Wired. Not Nature, not Science, not Physical Review Letters. Wired.
*cough* *cough*
No offense Mr Molyneux but it would probably be better to get your major scientific achievement on the cover of UFO Magazine. More "major scientific achievements" have died after making the cover of Wired than almost any other hipster magazine. At least with UFO Magazine you will still have some believers in 10 years.
It won't be what he's boasting but I'll play it and probably enjoy it. If they can deliver even half of what they claim, then I'll be satisfied.
Am I the only one who loves Peter Molyneux and his crazy claims about his upcoming works?
It's funny every time, also it's fun to let the imagination run wild a bit... the problem is in the fans taking it to heart so strongly.
Getting on the cover of Wired is more of a significant marketing achievement.
More seriously, if this is actually a scientific advance, then it would be published in peer-reviewed journals, scrutinized by the community, and (if worthy) built upon by others. It isn't really science if you keep the secrets of your techniques locked up, and don't allow others to see/understand what you're doing. And it's certainly not a "significant achievement" if all you're doing is using the same techniques that are well-established in the field. Grandiose claims of novelty need correspondingly rigorous evidence.
I tell you, there's no greater reward for scientific achievement than to be put on the cover of Wired.
...and in related news, Mozart still laments having never made the cover of Rolling Stone.
I want to follow him around and periodically shout "Try to get your combat multiplier *even higher*! Until the cops drag me away.
A message from Peter Molyneux.
There is something I have to say. And I have to say it because I love making games. When a game is in development, myself and the development teams I work with constantly encourage each other to think of the best features and the most ground-breaking design possible.
However, what happens is that we strive to include absolutely everything we've ever dreamt of and, in my enthusiasm, I talk about it to anyone who'll listen, mainly in press interviews. When I tell people about what we're planning, I'm telling the truth, and people, of course, expect to see all the features I've mentioned. And when some of the most ambitious ideas get altered, redesigned or even dropped, people rightly want to know what happened to them.
If I have mentioned any feature in the past which, for whatever reason, didn't make it as I described into Fable, I apologise. Every feature I have ever talked about WAS in development, but not all made it. Often the reason is that the feature did not make sense. For example, three years ago I talked about trees growing as time past. The team did code this but it took so much processor time (15%) that the feature was not worth leaving in. That 15 % was much better spent on effects and combat. So nothing I said was groundless hype, but people expecting specific features which couldn't be included were of course disappointed. If that's you, I apologise. All I can say is that Fable is the best game we could possibly make, and that people really seem to love it.
I have come to realise that I should not talk about features too early so I am considering not talking about games as early as I do. This will mean that the Lionhead games will not be known about as early as they are, but I think this is the more industry standard.
Our job as the Lionhead family of studios is to be as ambitious as we possibly can. But although we jump up and down in glee about the fabulous concepts and features we're working on, I will not mention them to the outside world until we've implemented and tested them, and they are a reality.
Thank you for reading.
Peter.
Source: http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/01/1651219
I'll believe it when I see it. I wish you the best of luck Mr. Molyneux.