Peter Molyneux: Working For Microsoft Is Like Taking Antidepressants

Thanks for peptuating by geekoid · 2014-03-26 09:32 · Score: 5, Insightful

the antidepressant myth, jerk.

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Re:Thanks for peptuating by Gaygirlie · 2014-03-26 09:41 · Score: 4, Informative

To be honest, when I was using anti-depressants the world certainly didn't feel happier or more comfortable or some silly stuff like that. Those drugs didn't make me happy or joyous, they aren't some sort of a magical happy-pill. No, they flatten feelings -- both the bad ones, but also the good ones. Sure, they helped get over the worst times since they flattened out the bad feelings I had, but in the end I stopped taking them because they also flattened out the good things.
Not that my rant really means anything or has much to do with Molyneux. Just felt like sharing what it was like for me.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 09:43 · Score: 0

This. If Molyneux really has experience of untreated depression as something that results in a flow of unfettered genius, he is in a tiny minority. People who excel in their field can only do so because their brain is so well-tuned for their particular skillset - this is why it's so awful when someone who is good at one thing thinks they can speak on anything else.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 09:50 · Score: 0

Mod parent up.
I was on them for a while when I was taking care of my late wife (she was terminal) at the time. I called them "happy pills", but they don't make you happy, they just take the edge off the badness.
After she died, I stopped taking them as soon as possible, because I wanted to *feel* again.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by geekoid · 2014-03-26 09:50 · Score: 4, Informative

Taking anti-depressants were like a heavy weight being lifted off me. I couldn't be happier.
Err.. I'n not implying they are happy pills, only that I am happy to have a range of emotions.

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Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 09:56 · Score: 1

I think it depends on the type and the dosage, for some I have herd it described as like they got back their ability to feel after it had been turned off.... for better and worse
Re:Thanks for peptuating by uvajed_ekil · 2014-03-26 10:08 · Score: 2

Thank you! Antidepressants frequently save the lives of depressed people, and are NOT like anesthetics.

Sure, some people have bad reactions, but they can be invaluable. Some people have been killed by seat belts but you should consider the net effect, not the aberration. What I don't get is the notion that antidepressants can actual cause suicides. Depressed and mentally ill people kill themselves without antidepressants pretty often, so it seems like they just don't work for some people, not like they cause suicide attempts. And of course there are multiple classes of antidepressants, which can not just be lumped together.

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Re:Thanks for peptuating by uvajed_ekil · 2014-03-26 10:20 · Score: 1

Sounds more like the guy was depressed at MS, not at all like his analogy of taking antidepressants.

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Re:Thanks for peptuating by AudioEfex · 2014-03-26 10:23 · Score: 1, Insightful

Yeah, I knew there would be offended folks right away when I clicked on comments - and look, it was the first one. Great reply, though.
Don't apologize for the "rant" - you actually explained it perfectly. It's exactly what Molyneux was trying to express - you cannot take away the downs without also affecting the "ups".
For some people, like those that cannot function properly in life because of the "lows", it's worth it or is beneficial even in some cases to limit the "ups" as well. For others, who may feel that dynamic emotions are an important part of life, it may not be worth it.
I think there is also the "over-diagnosed" factor which is what makes some people so dismissive of it in general that other folks get highly defensive over it - just like ADHD, etc. There really is nothing offensive or inaccurate about his comment. Of course there are people who have these things, and severe enough that medication is beneficial. There also comes a point when so many people are being medicated for something that it's hard to argue that we may be not properly judging what is "balanced" when it turns out almost as many folks are diagnosed as "unbalanced" as we deem "balanced" - as in, when we start medicating for the "norm" versus the "exceptional".
But that's another topic, really - the point is, the guy made an analogy and it filled the point of an analogy - it gave me an instantly clear understanding of exactly what idea he was trying to express.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by cyber-vandal · 2014-03-26 10:28 · Score: 3, Interesting

Before I started taking anti-depressants there weren't any ups. Now there are plenty. There are still downs but they don't stop me from functioning.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by tokencode · 2014-03-26 10:41 · Score: 4, Informative

It also depends on the individual. Everyone's individual brain/body chemistry is different and people have different reactions to the same dosage and substance. Generalizing reactions to drugs, especially mental health drugs, can be misleading.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Vanders · 2014-03-26 11:02 · Score: 2

I took anti-depressants for three years. My first course was Fluoxetine (Prozac to my US cousins): within a week I was a zombie. I would sit and stare at walls, or out of windows, until someone snapped me out of it.

After a month of this I was moved to Citalopram. This seemed better; there was less staring at walls, certainly. I spent over two years on Citalopram.

Then one day I stopped. It was kind of an accident; it was Easter weekend, I wasn't paying attention and ran out without a prescription to get more. So I ended up going cold turkey, which is the thing you're really not supposed to do with any SSRI.

I can tell you now, within three days I felt like I had woken up from a trance. I didn't realise it at the time, but the Citalopram made me feel like I was wrapped in cotton wool and wearing ray-bans. The feeling was exactly like the feeling of a dental aesthetic wearing off, except all over. I hadn't noticed because I'd come from Fluoxetine, which was even worse. So I thought I was onto a good thing with the Citalopram.

So please don't go around calling it a "myth". For some people, SSRI's really do have that kind of effect. In fact I suspect it's more pre-valiant than people realise, either because of long term use, because people think it's "normal", or because most people come down gradually and never really notice.

Oh and for all that, I really do believe I was much better off taking the SSRI's at the time than I would have been without them.

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Re:Thanks for peptuating by BKX · 2014-03-26 11:32 · Score: 2

There is some thought that those people are so depressed that they aren't even capable of marshaling the energy to commit suicide. When you give them an antidepressant, they start to become less depressed and but are still depressed enough to be suicidal, only now they have the energy to kill themselves, and so do it.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:19 · Score: 0

certainly people are better off killing themselves then becoming emotionless. have anti-depressants improved that much or is just more of the same numbing bullshit that makes the takers walking shells of inhumanity?
Re:Thanks for peptuating by SCPaPaJoe · 2014-03-26 12:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

Paxil saved my life. I took it for about 18 months. It allowed me time to learn to deal with my issues. That was 10 years ago. I gradually grew to not need it. Don't let anyone tell you different, for some peoples, antidepressants are a huge factor in the quality of their lives.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by seebs · 2014-03-26 13:17 · Score: 1

Then they weren't working very well, I'd say. "Depression" doesn't mean "extreme sadness", and if pills are flattening out your emotional state and removing the highs, either you're bipolar and that's a really good thing for everyone including you, or something's wrong with them.

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Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 13:22 · Score: 0

emotions are overrated
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Macgrrl · 2014-03-26 13:54 · Score: 1

How long did it take for the side effects to stabalise? My husband recently started taking this and is struggling a bit (though not in the same way that he was imploding before starting them).

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Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 15:19 · Score: 0

I had a friend in college who was prescribed Xanax for her test anxiety. Before the Xanax, she would panic during a test and fail miserably. When taking a test on Xanax, she was able to calm down and fail tests without panicking.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 16:08 · Score: 0

You sound depressed. Perhaps you should consider weeing yourself off the drugs.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Antique+Geekmeister · 2014-03-26 23:42 · Score: 1

It's also been reasonably verified in medical studies, such as http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content....
It an also be difficult to measure.. The intensity of a mania can make one feel like one is very, very productive in many ways, but the productivity can be complete gibberish. This is visible professionally among coders who do binge programming sessions of exciting work that creates reams of exciting new ideas paradigms. But on review, the ideas are old, poorly implemented, and worse, entirely undocumented. This is followed by the attitude of "just read the code" and "it's so simple, it doesn't need testing".
Yes, I've seen work done by bi-polar colleagues before they were diagnosed or were off their meds. It may be less inventive, but it's far better quality code when they're medicated.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 01:55 · Score: 0

I took antidepressants only once in my life. It was a choice of shutting down or swallowing my pride and trying to cope until the job was done.
I didn't feel panic. I didn't feel sad. I didn't feel like I was going to suffocate. I didn't feel happy. I didn't feel like smiling. I didn't think too much. I just was, clinical precision without the emotional baggage.
Stopped taking it because I figured that people being worried about me not responding to them would be worse than feeling on edge the entire time.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by WuphonsReach · 2014-03-27 02:10 · Score: 1

Not all anti-depressants smooth out both the highs/lows, some just smooth out the lows and make you more able to experience the highs. People just react differently to different meds, and the different meds have different impacts.

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Re:Thanks for peptuating by CMYKjunkie · 2014-03-27 02:33 · Score: 1

There is some thought that those people are so depressed that they aren't even capable of marshaling the energy to commit suicide. When you give them an antidepressant, they start to become less depressed and but are still depressed enough to be suicidal, only now they have the energy to kill themselves, and so do it.
*citation needed
Re:Thanks for peptuating by SCPaPaJoe · 2014-03-27 05:35 · Score: 1

The side effects never really went away. I started at the doctor recommended dose but later cut it in half. That helped greatly. The hardest one for me was reduced libido. Cutting the dose in half helped that. I would describe the overall feelings as low dose LSD (I'm an old deadhead). Also BS about needing to build up levels is just that, BS. Once I weened off, I would occasionally take half when I felt the storm clouds building. Eventually I was able to just stop completely. Hope this helps. If you or your husband need anything just reach out to me at jtebrak with G's mail service.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by TheOneFreeman · 2014-03-27 07:09 · Score: 1

Strangely enough that seems to match the aftermath of my own fight against depression, thanks for the insight on how antidepressants work.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by metaforest · 2014-03-27 19:43 · Score: 1

^^ this. Anti-depressant is a misnomer. They are more like an emotional damping element.... a shock absorber for your mind.
At one point in my life I was living in Seattle and did not know that drinking the tap water there is a REALLY BAD IDEA....
Look up Manganese poisoning.... Though I have never seen a study that says so, I think Seattle's high suicide rate might be explained not by weather and SADS, but by chronic Manganese poisoning.
I saw a doctor about some mild depressive episodes I was experiencing and got diagnosed with (after a few tests: "Are you drinking tap water? yup you guessed it...) Manganese poisoning.
The treatment was filter the tap water, or better yet don't drink it at all. Also, a prescription for Zoloft. "Take this for 8 weeks while you detox and at the end you'll be back to 'normal'." After the Zoloft kicked in full tilt two weeks later, my emotional range flat lined. Nothing was fun, nothing was interesting, nothing was ... depressing.... angering... sad... everything was ... nothing. Someone could have spit in my face and shouted abuse at me and gotten a blank, unconcerned look from me... it would have gone right over my head. I was empty; zombified. I was just alive. Fucking-potted-plant-alive. Not even potted-petunia-oh-shit-not-again-alive.
After another week on the Zoloft I dimly realized that it was going cause me to walk in front of a speeding Metro bus before the 'script was exhausted. I stopped taking it, and drifted back to sad, sleepy, weepy Eyore for the rest of my detox. That was a relief. I could feel shit again.... Yay! Shit!
Don't get me wrong... I believe that psychotropics can help people 'normalize' when they have extreme emotional/mental health issues. However, they are depressing drugs.
I was working for M$ at the time so maybe that was exacerbating the situation... set and setting... all that.
Re: Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-28 01:04 · Score: 0

Sometimes people are so very depressed they don't even have the energy to commit suicide but once on an antidepressant they can recover to a point of carrying out a suicide because their emotional state, while not good, is good enough to complete the suicide. Not really the meds fault but person should be monitored especially when beginning an antidepressant or changing to a different one.
Re:Thanks for peptuating by Anonymous Coward · 2014-04-08 22:00 · Score: 0

I'm a Type 1 bi-polar you insensitive clod.

Worst summary title ever by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 09:34 · Score: 0

Very misleading.

Re:Worst summary title ever by uvajed_ekil · 2014-03-26 10:21 · Score: 1

And just nonsensical. If anything, they should be equating working at MS to being depressed, not treating depression.

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Re:Worst summary title ever by lgw · 2014-03-26 11:29 · Score: 1

Antidepressants make many people stop getting really stressed out about stuff. That was is point: startups are really quite stressful, working at MS isn't. He's not feeling the motivation and pace that leads to his best creativity. I get that, being the same way. I'm not chasing my muse, so I prefer less stress to my best performance, but that's quite subjective.

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Re:Worst summary title ever by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 16:22 · Score: 0

>And just nonsensical. If anything, they should be equating working at MS to being depressed, not treating depression.
Like the old IBM, MS is *safe*. There is a metric fuckton of money to cushion even the worst stupidity that goes on there, stupidity that would destroy any normal startup.

That's a rather unclear metaphor. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 09:40 · Score: 0

Is it positive, negative, or just plain hard to understand?

Re:That's a rather unclear metaphor. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:03 · Score: 0

It's just wrong. Molyneux has no idea what antidepressants do, or what the underlying condition (depression) actually does to a person's creativity and motivation. (By the analogy, working at Microsoft was an improvement to his normal condition.)

Consider the source by jklovanc · 2014-03-26 09:40 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's like taking antidepressants.

Peter Molyneux has probably never taken antidepressants in his life or he would not say this. Antidepressants don't make the "world just feels too comfortable". They make the world feel survivable.

Re:Consider the source by The123king · 2014-03-26 09:51 · Score: 1, Insightful

In my experience they make the world feel survivable even when you know everything is going to shit. Seems to sum up Microsoft pretty well.

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Re:Consider the source by Threni · 2014-03-26 09:54 · Score: 1

Spot on - like those clowns who conflate "schizophrenia" with that (uniquely North-American) phenomenon of multiple-personality disorder.
Also, all Molyneux's games strongly resemble the extremely tedious, if novel, Populous; they just got worse with each revision. Microsoft have released some good games over the years, but he wasn't involved in any of them.
Re:Consider the source by jklovanc · 2014-03-26 10:09 · Score: 2

What you describe is "situational depression" as you are being depressed by the actual real circumstances. Antidepressants are not usually prescribed in those situations.
Re:Consider the source by newcastlejon · 2014-03-26 10:11 · Score: 1

Peter Molyneux making sweeping overstatements? Say it isn't so!

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Re:Consider the source by geekoid · 2014-03-26 10:12 · Score: 4, Informative

It is not uniquely North American.
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.or...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.e...

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Re:Consider the source by Anubis+IV · 2014-03-26 10:14 · Score: 1

Antidepressants [...] make the world feel survivable.
Isn't that exactly what he was saying? He was talking about how being out on his own is like having to paddle desperately while bailing water just to stay afloat, whereas working for Microsoft didn't have nearly that sense of desperation because you knew you'd survive. On one side, you're struggling for survival, on the other, there's no sense of pending doom. Seems like that corresponds to what you said.
Yes, saying it makes the world "[feel] too comfortable" was a poor choice of words to close out his thoughts, particularly after mentioning antidepressants, but given the preceding several sentences, it seems quite apparent what he was intending to say. Let's give the guy the benefit of the doubt (in this at least; I don't trust any promises he makes about his games, since this is a guy who's made a career by overpromising).
Re:Consider the source by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:00 · Score: 0

in my experience they make you feel an ungodly pain you can't begin to explain, strips you of your sense of smell and taste, and make you impotent with feelings that you'd be better off without them.
Re:Consider the source by jklovanc · 2014-03-26 11:01 · Score: 2

The problem with depression is not the impending doom but the feeling of powerlessness to effect that doom. In a depressed person's mind not matter what they do they are doomed so why try. Someone paddling and bailing a leaky raft is not a good depression analogy. A better depression analogy would be a person sitting in a sinking raft doing nothing because they think that no matter what they do they will die.
Re:Consider the source by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:08 · Score: 0

Situational depression can in fact trigger clinical depression due to dopamine depletion caused by stress and lack of sleep.
Re:Consider the source by lgw · 2014-03-26 11:34 · Score: 1

That's one condition anti-depressants treat, sure, but it's not the only one. They also work for anxiety that's not tied to circumstance (nothing wrong, but you're panicked and stressed out anyway), which is a similar brain chemistry imbalance.

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Re:Consider the source by cascadingstylesheet · 2014-03-26 11:42 · Score: 1

It's like taking antidepressants.
Peter Molyneux has probably never taken antidepressants in his life or he would not say this. Antidepressants don't make the "world just feels too comfortable". They make the world feel survivable.
Exactly right. Clinical depression is a life-threatening illness. Antidepressants are as "comfortable" as heart medication.
Re:Consider the source by jklovanc · 2014-03-26 12:05 · Score: 2

Being someone who has depression and anxiety I have different medications for those disorders. That is why they are called antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. There are a few that cross over but Ativan is an anti-anxiety medication and has nothing to do with depression.

They also work for anxiety
Some, manly SSRIs, do work on anxiety but many do not.
The point is that antidepressants bring back reality and does not make the world feel too comfortable.
Re:Consider the source by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:25 · Score: 1

Bull. Shit. Antidepressants are absolutely prescribed for situational depression. Here's a recent example:
Lacasse, J., Cacciatore, J., Prescribing of Psychiatric Medication to Bereaved Parents Following Perinatal/Neonatal Death: An Observational Study. Death Studies. DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2013.820229
To examine psychiatric prescribing in response to perinatal neonatal death, we analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey of 235 bereaved parents participating in an online support community. Of the 88 respondents prescribed medication, antidepressants were most common (n=70, 79.5%) followed by benzodiazepines (n = 18, 20.5%). Many prescriptions were written shortly after the death (32.2% within 48hr, 43.7% within a week, and 74.7% within a month). Obstetrician gynecologists wrote most prescriptions given shortly after loss. Most respondents prescribed antidepressants took them long-term.
Re:Consider the source by jez9999 · 2014-03-26 21:48 · Score: 1

Populous wasn't "extremely tedious", at least not until you'd played it for a long time, after which most games become tedious. It was fun gaming for its time, with hundreds of worlds to try and win.

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Re:Consider the source by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 22:36 · Score: 0

Then it'd be nice to have been depressed. I took them for anxiety and they crippled me more than the disease. I replaced them for alcohol and after a few months of peri-alcoholism I am mostly clean.
Re:Consider the source by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 00:47 · Score: 0

I didn't really think Fable and its sequels were anything like Populous.
Re:Consider the source by WuphonsReach · 2014-03-27 02:23 · Score: 1

Exactly right. Clinical depression is a life-threatening illness.

Spot-on. And the main reason it is so life-threatening (and frequently fatal) is because you are your own worst enemy. Sometimes realizing that you are not being rational is enough (CBT), but sometimes drug-therapy is also needed.

I've done a course of CBT (about a year, with monthly visits). The tips and tricks that you learn during CBT are very useful. It teaches you coping mechanisms, ways to self-diagnose that you are not thinking straight, and gives you symptoms to watch for that indicate you need to go get help again.

But for me, medication is the only long-term solution. Fortunately, there is a generic that works well enough to make me functional (even optimistic) without only minor side-effects.

Heck, the best part about opening that dialog with the doctor and going through that first few months of intensive treatment is that it is no longer scary. I'm not afraid to pickup the phone and call my doctor's office to seek help with it.

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Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?

Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2014-03-26 09:45 · Score: 2, Insightful

Trust me on this one, folks...

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Never been known to fail..."

Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by uvajed_ekil · 2014-03-26 10:14 · Score: 2

I'll take your word for it, if you acknowledge that there are better choices now than Paxil. It has one of the worst side effect profiles of any SSRI/SNRI, including a surprisingly high chance of withdrawal symptoms.

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Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by TheGratefulNet · 2014-03-26 11:13 · Score: 5, Insightful

at this point, I'd take working for MS over not working at all.
(yes, out of work and not able to find any; and THAT is truly depressing)

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Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2014-03-26 12:03 · Score: 0

Good luck, God speed and best wishes!

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"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by TheGratefulNet · 2014-03-26 13:02 · Score: 1

thanks, man. finding work when you are over 50 in the bay area is an exercise in self-torture. if you have a job and are of a certain age, don't lose it!

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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by drinkypoo · 2014-03-26 15:45 · Score: 1

at this point, I'd take working for MS over not working at all.
I would too, in that case, but I've both seen the kinds of people they hire and also seen what it does to people. In the former case the people I've known who have been hired by Microsoft have been deceptive, arrogant (I know! but no, seriously, even I think so) and started making excuses for their decision almost as soon as they made it. In short, you don't want to be the kind of person they hire, and you don't actually want to work there. You want to work for someone with scruples. They don't just bone their customers, they bone their employees as well.

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Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2014-03-26 17:07 · Score: 1

OK - What's your field? I may know something.

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"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 22:25 · Score: 0

It is degraded quicker in the body than other SSRIs. With a fixed dose it therefore reaches effective concentration levels in the body quicker, but when medication is stopped abruptly the concentration goes down too fast and withdrawal symptoms occur. Prozac for example stays in the body pretty long, concentrations will degrade slowly over months I think. To get the same with Paxil it has to be taken in reduced doses before stopping to take it.
Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by CaptSlaq · 2014-03-27 02:20 · Score: 1

Willing to relocate? Depending on what you're looking for, I may have a few leads.
Re:Working for MS is like NEEDING to take PAXIL by TheGratefulNet · 2014-03-27 08:57 · Score: 1

show me a bay area company that does not 'bone' their employees?
been in the bay area over 20 yrs and worked for quite a few big-name (and smaller) companies and they are all unethical, at one level or another. they will let you go at a moment's notice if it suits them. before you vest in stock, they will find a reason to fire you. if you have been there too long, they will slow your raises (if you even get any!) to convince you to leave.
they all suck. working for someone else pretty much sucks, but few of us can find a business to create all on our own AND be able to pay the bills with it. so we have little choice but to work for some company.
a few really good companies have been out there, but a lot of them went under. I loved working at SGI and Sun but they both went under! I loved working at DEC but they are long gone (and some people even say 'DEC? what's that?'). there were others that were really great to work for, but none of those good ones are still around anymore.
working for MS might suck, but I would expect most big co's to suck. as long as the paycheck is steady, that's my #1 need for right now. all else is secondary.
it takes someone out-of-work to give y'all a reality check. yes, many of you hate your jobs. think of me who has none right now and is really in need of one. if your job sucks, leave it and give it to me! I'll gladly take it as long as it pays the bills and does not totally kill me with overtime.

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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."

Almost Famous? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 09:46 · Score: 0

Never heard of him or any of these games.

Re:Almost Famous? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 10:16 · Score: 1

Never heard of him or any of these games.
Welcome to Earth. Will you be here long?
Re:Almost Famous? by cheesybagel · 2014-03-26 10:31 · Score: 1

What about Syndicate or Magic Carpet?
Re:Almost Famous? by ewhac · 2014-03-26 11:49 · Score: 1

Fable is by Lionhead Studios, home of longtime auteur game designer Peter Molyneux, who has a tendency to promise the Earth and be ultimately be crippled by his own ambition (see the big fat broken monkey-fest Black & White). During the development of Fable, for example, it was promised to have features like rival NPC characters, plants growing in real time, and a system wherein your every slightest choice and action changes your appearance and the world around you. What we ended up with was a buggy action RPG with a great big stiffy for itself.
-- Yahtzee Croshaw

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Re:Almost Famous? by GoodNewsJimDotCom · 2014-03-26 12:32 · Score: 1

Magic carpet 2's engine was way ahead of its time with deformable terrain. Its a shame they didn't keep using it. In mage battles, I found the easiest way to win was to make a mountain, then carve a hole in it and hide for mana regen, then burst people down, and hide in mountain cave again.

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God spoke to me
Re:Almost Famous? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 07:24 · Score: 0

Exactly this. What difference does it make if he's at Microsoft or not. Every game he release, his promises get bigger and the delivery gets shittier and nothing indicates that will change.

So, we hate Peter now? by uCallHimDrJ0NES · 2014-03-26 09:47 · Score: 0

I see that repeating an inaccurate simile that's in common usage is all it takes to ruin a lifetime of hard work. Thanks for perpetuating the Slash-hole myth, my loving, charming fellow /.ers.

--
Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.

Re:So, we hate Peter now? by geekoid · 2014-03-26 09:52 · Score: 1

Who says anyone hates him? only said he is being a jerk for perpetuation a myth. A myth that hurts people and prevents people form getting help.
I don't hate people I don't know.

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Re: So, we hate Peter now? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 10:04 · Score: 0

I don't know if you could call it hate. After all, the people complaining are all on antidepressants, I'm not sure they're capable of anything as strong as hate.
Or laughing at what should clearly be a joke, but c'est la vie.
Re:So, we hate Peter now? by Anubis+IV · 2014-03-26 10:31 · Score: 1

I see that repeating an inaccurate simile that's in common usage is all it takes to ruin a lifetime of hard work.
I think his notoriety for over-hyping and under-delivering did more for damaging his credibility and ensuring that some here are none too fond of the guy. He does some cool stuff, I'll admit, and I've enjoyed his games, certainly, but to hear him hype up $latest_game, you'd think the heavens would open up with angelic choirs whenever it gets released.
Re:So, we hate Peter now? by uCallHimDrJ0NES · 2014-03-26 10:32 · Score: 1

I'm not sure that repeating a colloquial joke qualifies as being a jerk. I do agree that colloquialisms can and do perpetuate myths and stereotypes. Unless they're coined on the Internet, in which case we call them "memes" and think they are not only funny, but define a new paradigm of reality that is better than the lives being lived by an imaginary group of non-Internet using folks. I digress. Anyway, my point is that the headline is at fault, and we should criticize the poster for using the comment out of context to get a non-controversial story promoted from the firehose, rather than act like Peter Molyneux is guilty of being insensitive when he simply accuses Microsoft as being oblivious.

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Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
Re:So, we hate Peter now? by uCallHimDrJ0NES · 2014-03-26 11:07 · Score: 1

Ah. Yes. Well, I'm not going to argue with that. It's not like he's a friend of mine or something. Self-promotion does get old...especially if you're a fan of the work.

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Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
Re:So, we hate Peter now? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:37 · Score: 0

A lot of people hate him. Not saying you're one of them, but there are a lot of gamers who view him as a huckster, snake-oil salesman, etc.
I personally have some sympathy for the guy. Sure his head is in the clouds and he is somewhat divorced from reality, but we need people like that. For example look at Clockwork Empires, clearly inspired by some of Molyneux's wacky ideas but they've actually managed to implement some of them.
Re:So, we hate Peter now? by seebs · 2014-03-26 13:20 · Score: 1

I don't hate him, I just think he's being sort of a jerk. Well, that, and I continue to admire his absolutely unparalleled ability to create bugs in games that leave me wondering how anyone could have gotten those results on purpose, let alone by accident. (Favorite: In Amiga Powermonger, you could only save if every floppy drive the machine had contained a write-enabled disk. This is so much more work than simply using the existing writing facilities, and even then it's fairly impressively hard to get it wrong.)

--
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
Re:So, we hate Peter now? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 03:39 · Score: 0

The morons bitching are a bunch of fruitcakes on fucking meds, its not as if theyre wholly functional people to begin with.
Pretend as if youre walking through the lobby of a mental hospital - just keep looking in front of you, ignore all the freaky, weird noises coming out of the people around you, and get to the door so you can go out into the fresh air.
Re:So, we hate Peter now? by uCallHimDrJ0NES · 2014-03-27 05:10 · Score: 1

From the comments others have been making, it's apparent that he's always sort of a jerk. I wasn't aware of that. I still don't think his use of the "being on antidepressants" phrase makes him a jerk though. A whole bunch of other things do.

--
Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.

Anyhow back to reality by jasonlanejson · 2014-03-26 09:52 · Score: 1

"Steve sometimes walks down the hallways bouncing a basketball. Or if he’s having a really good day he’s swinging a baseball bat. Do you think that sends a signal? Sometimes he brings it with him into the conference room. Is it symbolic? Maybe. I don’t know." Yeah, he probably thought he was this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B... or maybe this one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by Radical+Moderate · 2014-03-26 09:56 · Score: 4, Informative

...although I'd say the devs were on something stronger than antidepressants.

All kidding aside, Win8 does seem to be a product of "Who cares what our customers want, we'll do it our way and they can just suck it", which pretty much defines comfortable complacency.

--
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.

Re:Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 10:21 · Score: 0

"Who cares what our customers want, we'll do it our way and they can just suck it"
This sums up countless companies. phatlets? check. reverse scrolling? check. flat ui with anorexic font? check. schizophrenic ui with no start menu? check. redefining privacy on a daily basis? check.
Re:Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by rsborg · 2014-03-26 10:41 · Score: 1

...although I'd say the devs were on something stronger than antidepressants.
All kidding aside, Win8 does seem to be a product of "Who cares what our customers want, we'll do it our way and they can just suck it", which pretty much defines comfortable complacency.
Amusingly when Apple does it, most of their users either don't complain about it, or actually appreciate it.
Hmm - maybe execution and taste matter?
Meaning - Microsoft probably not only ignored it's users, it likely ignored it's own influential employees that were critical of it (especially those who weren't vocal because it would be a CLM). That's poor taste.

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Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Re:Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by rahvin112 · 2014-03-26 11:01 · Score: 4, Interesting

I agree that Win8 is a product where Microsoft didn't give a rats ass about what their customers thought of it, but it also has the feel of a product where the developers own input was disregarded. The entire metro interface feels like a design that was created by committee (that never has used it) and forced on the developers by order of management.
I honestly don't believe developers would have done half of the BS that's in Windows8 if left to their own devices and even if certain features were dictated there would have been settings to reset the behavior to previous standards. That those settings don't exist screams of management dictating behavior.
Re:Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by FuzzNugget · 2014-03-26 12:11 · Score: 2

I think it's pretty clear they were certainly not on antidepressants while making Windows 8.
They were on crack.
Re:Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by drinkypoo · 2014-03-26 15:50 · Score: 1

They were on crack.
They were on panic. They can see the writing on the wall, finally, and it's not happy writing. The proof is that tablets are kicking their ass so they went all tablet-y. But because they're Microsoft, and one size SHALL FIT ALL, they did it everywhere including places which weren't tablets, which was a typically Microsoftian idiot move. Look at Windows CE of yesteryear, it is a bad copy of Windows. And now, Windows is a bad copy of a mobile Windows interface. Microsoft is only capable of doing one thing at a time, and and chew gum simultaneously.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 18:26 · Score: 0

Which seems to be quite popular these days.
Apparently, Dice wishes to become the next Microsoft. The only problem is that they obviously haven't figured out _why_ the Slashdot community talks so much about Microsoft.
Re:Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by skovnymfe · 2014-03-26 20:43 · Score: 3, Funny

If developers were left to their own devices, half of it wouldn't be finished (the half that's boring to code) and the rest would be unusable by normal people. Just look at Linux. :)
Re:Well, that sort of explains Windows 8... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 10:09 · Score: 0

or more likely their customers are brainwashed zombies, who do what theyre told

Power trip by Animats · 2014-03-26 09:59 · Score: 1

"Nurture and grow a civilisation of reactive, living followers who worship you as a god." - product promo for his current game. Talk about an ego trip...

It's an always-on MMORPG, so managing your piece of the world may be a full time job. The graphics suck, apparently by intent. It makes Animal Crossing look realistic.

Translated by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 10:00 · Score: 1

Now that I've made soooo much money that I don't have to worry about paying my bills, mortgage, kids college, etc. I'm going to venture out and do something FUN! Yayyy! I'll also run through the grass barefoot every weekend in my paid for in cash Malibu mansion.

Re:Translated by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 01:14 · Score: 0

There's grass in Malibu? I thought it was all sand and sex wax.

I took antidepressants by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 10:00 · Score: 1

All they did was make me not want to kill myself while I was in the hospital.

They're not feel-good pills.

Since Turbine isn't doing Asheron's Call 3 by GoodNewsJimDotCom · 2014-03-26 10:01 · Score: 1

While we're talking about Microsoft and gaming: I wonder why Microsoft doesn't sit down with Turbine and cut a deal to do Asheron's Call 3. World of Wacraft is like over a decade old now, and Asheron's Call 1 is superior in some respects so if you adopted some of the WOW ideas into AC and made a new MMORPG, it could make a fight to take over WOW population base. MMORPGS are big money, but you need deep pockets to make a good one.

--
God spoke to me

Alternately by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 10:03 · Score: 0

I think Mr. Molyneux feels like the prospect of having one's business venture fail is something that inspires him to work harder.

Funding video game development isn't cheap and he could stand to take a huge loss or make a huge gain with investment into his own project.

have to admit by wavedalton · 2014-03-26 10:03 · Score: 1

I'm impressed and pleased that when I went to comment on the asinine analogy, several people already had. There are still lots of folks who avoid help they could really use, due to that myth.

Re:have to admit by uvajed_ekil · 2014-03-26 10:29 · Score: 1

Similarly, some people avoid seat belts because they heard a story about somebody getting their guts squashed by one. Never mind that tossed into the roof, the windshield, the steering wheel, the dashboard, or being ejected from a vehicle is almost always worse than being strapped to a seat. Yeah, SSRIs don't work for some people, but they work wonders for many. They're not supposed to make you "happy" - just get you out of bed or off the couch and able to get on with your life, and let you end the hopelessness. Of course the state of mental health care in the US is shameful, so many people forego help they need, or simply can't pay for it.

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This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
Re:have to admit by rk · 2014-03-26 10:56 · Score: 1

You could delete the word "mental" from your last sentence and it would still be pretty accurate.

Antidepressants... by raydobbs · 2014-03-26 10:06 · Score: 4, Insightful

I don't know about working at Microsoft being like being on antidepressants (never worked for them, don't think I'd want to), but I know that whenever I hear him talk about his next greatest game - I want to TAKE antidepressants as I know none of the shit he talks about will actually make it into the game at 1/100th the grandeur he describes. Can we say 'Master of the over-sell and the under-deliver'?

If it weren't for Microsoft... by TeknoHog · 2014-03-26 10:07 · Score: 4, Interesting

..we wouldn't be depressed in the first place.

--
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.

Re:If it weren't for Microsoft... by roc97007 · 2014-03-26 14:23 · Score: 1

He shoots, he scores.

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.

Game designers need to hear, "NO!" by VortexCortex · 2014-03-26 10:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

Indies don't usually have yes men, or more correctly: We're close enough to the programmers that they can laugh in our faces and tell us what zany ideas AREN'T POSSIBLE given the game's canvas -- the technology itself. A good designer can make amazing stuff happen in limited mediums -- They can make the most of what actually is in the engine, rather than banking on that which requires a complete rewrite.

Now the crazy thing is that when some insane idea drifts my way either from my own mind or while I'm being part of the idea reactor for the team, I may actually think on it over night and figure out how to pull it off. However, being an implementor means it's my job to say "NO!" not "Yes, but...". "Yes, but... It'll mean taking 8 times more time or money than we have." "Maybe but... we'll have to try out 20 different implementations to figure out if the feature is workable and meanwhile the other devs and content makers will be waiting to see if its possible, or they may wind up scrapping assets if not." -- Give 'em the TL;DR: "No!"

You get maybe ONE of those "That might be doable" per game, maybe TWO if you're helping make the implementation happen, and have an idea of how to pull it off. Maybe a few more if time or money or a playable release isn't important to you. It's important to try new things, especially for innovation; However, you can innovate yourself right out the other side of, "Yes, but...", into, "Oh it might be possible, but the release schedule better include relocating the asset repo before the sun explodes", and only takes one really bad, "Yes", to make that happen. The bigger the behemoth under you the more wonderful are things that seem they might just be crazy enough to work. This is always folly due to the planning fallacy. No game is ever finished (we just have to stop adding features and polishing at some point), so if you didn't hear or say enough "NO" then you'll be bound to have game designers making wonderful statements which seemed wholly plausible at the outset or individually, but are not actually executable as a whole. You wind up with a game suffering from amputations instead of leveraging what was possible to its fullest. You start to sound just like Peter Molyneux.

Sometimes it's not the designer's fault that their plans were just too crazy enough NOT to work out. And, sometimes they just push the hype-drive beyond warp 13. The public really can't tell the difference, but you can help prevent the former by learning when to say, "NO!" Saying, "NO", can leave the door open for a better "Yes!". Smaller guys say more "No", and less "Yes". Indies can't afford to entertain as many pie-in-the-sky prosaic Prozac delusions. Great ideas are a dime a dozen, it's really the execution that matters...

Re:Game designers need to hear, "NO!" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 18:34 · Score: 0

And, sometimes they just push the hype-drive beyond warp 13
I believe you mean "beyond warp 9.975". Warp 13 is just silly, I don't know what they thought about in that episode...

WORKING FOR MICROSOFT by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2014-03-26 10:12 · Score: 2, Funny

Is like sniffing glue, in the alley behind a billionaire's high-rise apartment block.

--
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."

"supertanker safety" by PopeRatzo · 2014-03-26 10:16 · Score: 5, Funny

So who forced Molyneaux to take Microsoft's money? I assume he cashed his paychecks.

People who claim to be "too comfortable" to be creative really get on my nerves.

And if risky, uncomfortable circumstances are what it takes to make Molyneaux creative, maybe he should try developing games while swimming covered in beef gravy in a pool of sharks. Maybe then he'll actually finish some games again. What a fathead.

--
You are welcome on my lawn.

Re:"supertanker safety" by lgw · 2014-03-26 11:37 · Score: 1

But isn't that just what he's doing? He found his current circumstances "too comfortable", so he's changing them. Indie game development is stressful enough even in a shark-free pool!

--
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Re:"supertanker safety" by R3d+M3rcury · 2014-03-26 13:07 · Score: 1

People who claim to be "too comfortable" to be creative really get on my nerves.
Dude, you're a barista.
Re:"supertanker safety" by PopeRatzo · 2014-03-26 13:33 · Score: 2

Indie game development is stressful enough even in a shark-free pool!
I guess there's stress and then there's stress.
I actually know some indie game developers. I've been to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) because I've written music and done sound for indie computer games. For the most part, it seems like the most stressful part of an indie game developers life is the fear that some of his piercings will develop infections.
Seriously. You know who's got stress? Oil-field roustabouts. Professional money managers. Anesthesiologists.
Seriously, have you noticed that all indie games are now "Early Access"? How much stress can your job have if you're not even required to actually complete any of your projects because you can sell them to clueless Steam customers?
Maybe it's stressful to put up a Kickstarter campaign and have to worry that your next Kickstarter campaign will have to be under your girlfriend's name because you screwed over the supporters on the last one (but to be fair, you made some kick-ass concept art and maybe a funny trailer).
If Molyneaux wants some stress to make him more creative, tell him you'll kick him in the balls if he doesn't actually finish a game sometime before 2018.

--
You are welcome on my lawn.
Re:"supertanker safety" by drinkypoo · 2014-03-26 15:41 · Score: 1

So who forced Molyneaux to take Microsoft's money? I assume he cashed his paychecks.
Nobody forced him. You can tell because he moved on.

And if risky, uncomfortable circumstances are what it takes to make Molyneaux creative, maybe he should try developing games while swimming covered in beef gravy in a pool of sharks.
That would explain his wild claims about the Fable series. Anything to get out of the pool.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"

Ignorant Bigot by turgid · 2014-03-26 10:30 · Score: 2

"It's like taking antidepressants. The world just feels too comfortable."

Spoken like a true ignoramus who's never experienced Depression.

--
Stick Men

Re:Ignorant Bigot by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:21 · Score: 0

Oh bullshit. I've been on both a SSRI and a TCA, and both made me feel so much more comfortable. After all, that's why I was taking them. If they didn't, as you claim, then why would doctors proscribe them. You are calling the entire medical cartel a fraud with your Republican-style broad-brush. We all know you are full of shit,l and antidepressants do work. Why the fuck else would people take them? Please take your right-wing antimedicine crap elsewhere.
Re:Ignorant Bigot by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:48 · Score: 0

Maybe you're just a pathetic crybaby who needs to toughen the fuck up and improve your life or kill yourself instead of popping pills. I don't remember Euler needing your prozac.
Re:Ignorant Bigot by drinkypoo · 2014-03-26 15:47 · Score: 1

"It's like taking antidepressants. The world just feels too comfortable."
Spoken like a true ignoramus who's never experienced Depression.
Or maybe for him, that's what taking antidepressants is like. Molyneux has always been a bit of an egotist, it's not a leap for him to assume everyone is like him. Or to assume that's what he assumes. Etc etc.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Ignorant Bigot by f()rK()_Bomb · 2014-03-26 23:21 · Score: 1

I've taken antidepressants, to see what they are like. I'm not in any way depressed. What he said is exactly how I feel. For example, playing games becomes impossible cause you don't care if your char lives or dies or what decisions you make, it's all fine. You feel like you are wrapped in cotton wool and floaty, like the world doesn't matter.

--
"The space elevator will be built about 50 years after everyone stops laughing." - Arthur C. Clarke ~1980
Re:Ignorant Bigot by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 03:44 · Score: 0

"Spoken like a true ignoramus who's never experienced Depression."
So to be a healthy, fully functional human being is to be an ignoramus?
What, is he supposed to be ashamed that he doesnt have mental problems, that he isnt genetically fucked up in the head to the extent that he needs to be medicated?

I don't often work for MS, but when I do.... by TiggertheMad · 2014-03-26 10:30 · Score: 4, Funny

This is the new meme of the week. My turn:

"Working for Microsoft is like being raped by a drunken billy-goat while falling down a three hundred foot high pile of chocolate chips."

--

HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!

Re:I don't often work for MS, but when I do.... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:11 · Score: 0

My turn:
"Working for Microsoft is like sneaking up on that gnome that stole your booze while air guitaring on a velociraptor that is precariously balanced on sharks with a laser cannons underneath each foot."
Re:I don't often work for MS, but when I do.... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:22 · Score: 0

.....and landing on a statue of Natalie Portman, naked and covered in hot grits
Re:I don't often work for MS, but when I do.... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:53 · Score: 0

That sounds like working at Microsoft to me. It's like "Oh wow I just completed this major project and it was successful... but I still work for Microsoft." or "well that project was a flop but its okay this happens all the time at Microsoft."
Re:I don't often work for MS, but when I do.... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:24 · Score: 0

That's not nearly as bad as being their customer and having to use Windows 8!
Re:I don't often work for MS, but when I do.... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 16:16 · Score: 0

This is the new meme of the week. My turn:
"Working for Microsoft is like being raped by a drunken billy-goat while falling down a three hundred foot high pile of chocolate chips."
You forgot the sprinkles
Re:I don't often work for MS, but when I do.... by Agent0013 · 2014-03-27 01:14 · Score: 1

My turn:
"Working for Microsoft is like sneaking up on that gnome that stole your booze while air guitaring on a velociraptor that is precariously balanced on sharks with a laser cannons underneath each foot."
I'd like to see these sharks with feet!

--

-- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.

Playing Peter Molyneux's games... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 10:57 · Score: 0

...makes you need to take antidepressants

My ass by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:06 · Score: 0

Peter Molyneux probably doesn't have to worry about whether or not he gets a pay check every 2 weeks so he can take that supertanker analogy and shove it up his over paid ass.

Idiot. by bmo · 2014-03-26 11:11 · Score: 1

It's like taking antidepressants. The world just feels too comfortable.'"

Spoken like a person who has never used antidepressants or understands or how they work, or just buys into the nonsensical Scientologist bullshit.

Antidepressants aren't magic happy pills and they aren't some sort of metaphorical rose coloured glasses.

They take the edge off. That's it. They give you the chance to back away from the emotional precipice that you would otherwise jump from. Some are better than others (Paxil sucks for many many people, for example) but properly used, they help people restore their lives from what was a bottomless pit.

Depression is the third leading cause of death. Probably the main cause of preventable death since if you don't kill yourself yourself outright, you tend to not give a shit about "healthy living" and shave 20 years off your lifespan with heart disease and other crap.

This article and summary is crap.

--
BMO

Re:Idiot. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:36 · Score: 0

This is sort of a dead horse(beaten to death already) but your reply on the subject impressed me as the most accurate reflection of my experiences with antidepressants.
Antidepressants don't make you complacent, they restore the ability to be a functional human being. They are a life preserver for a drowning victim, not a fucking pleasure cruise of comfort.
Keeping your head above water(barely) is not an accurate metaphor for contrasting leaving a safe & comfortable career because you're an adrenaline junkie.
The poster who said this was meme-ready was right:
"Working for Microsoft is like being on chemo-therapy: you get to the front of the line at Disneyland, but only if you're willing to read old-magazines in hospital waiting rooms." - Peter Molyneux on having Cancer.
Re:Idiot. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:01 · Score: 0

>They take the edge off.
In more ways than one. Whatever their benefits, they also seem to slow the mind a bit, at least in my experience. Not helpful when your profession requires high mental acuity for every line of code.
Re:Idiot. by roc97007 · 2014-03-26 14:21 · Score: 1

It's like taking antidepressants. The world just feels too comfortable.'"
Spoken like a person who has never used antidepressants or understands or how they work, or just buys into the nonsensical Scientologist bullshit.
Antidepressants aren't magic happy pills and they aren't some sort of metaphorical rose coloured glasses.
They take the edge off. That's it. They give you the chance to back away from the emotional precipice that you would otherwise jump from. Some are better than others (Paxil sucks for many many people, for example) but properly used, they help people restore their lives from what was a bottomless pit.
Depression is the third leading cause of death. Probably the main cause of preventable death since if you don't kill yourself yourself outright, you tend to not give a shit about "healthy living" and shave 20 years off your lifespan with heart disease and other crap.
This article and summary is crap.
--
BMO
Having a wife with this condition, I'd like to add that antidepressants take the edge off enough that therapy can work, and perhaps coping skills can be learned.

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Re:Idiot. by Ol+Olsoc · 2014-03-26 17:00 · Score: 2

Antidepressants don't make you complacent, they restore the ability to be a functional human being. They are a life preserver for a drowning victim, not a fucking pleasure cruise of comfort.
Yes indeed. But one of the things that often happens with depressed people is that they figure that everyone else but them is so happy that their biggest problem is getting the stains out of their underwear. I'm not being insensitive about that either, I can assure you.
Some times just not being desparately unhappy is the best we all can hope for.

--
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.

The Perfect Wine Pairing for Working at MS? by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2014-03-26 11:13 · Score: 0

Anal gang rape, vintage 1992.

--
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."

Re:The Perfect Wine Pairing for Working at MS? by rtb61 · 2014-03-26 15:05 · Score: 1

Yes, well, if you are going to feel like you are safe in the billy goat's stack racking system, something other than employee job skills rating must be going on, ewww.

--
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen

Stack Ranking? by Tablizer · 2014-03-26 11:28 · Score: 1

if you're in a big supertanker of safety, which Microsoft was, then that safety is like an anesthetic. It's like taking antidepressants. The world just feels too comfortable.

I thought stack-ranking was supposed to make everyone feel uncomfortable to motivate them; but they did away with it recently due to complaints.

Perhaps being threatened by real doom (startup failure risk) has a different feel than doom created by the superficial ill-informed bullshit criteria of a PHB (Dilbertian) ranker. The nature of real doom is relatively clear and knowable, whereas dealing a PHB is like trying to tame a chimp on LSD: too random to strategize around such that you grow tired of trying to guess.

--
Table-ized A.I.

Re:Stack Ranking? by hibiki_r · 2014-03-26 12:41 · Score: 1

It might motivate you, but not to actually be better: Many things that make you better will be tracked to the team, not to you, and a good team still has to have a poor performer. So stack ranking motivates people to make sure some people are behind you, and to make sure that your manager actually likes you, instead of making your product better. Creating conflict for the good of the application is not great idea in a stack ranking organization, because it'll make the manager work harder, and thus not endear it to him.
I remember the last time I was in a stack ranking org. Our team was way too good: A few developers were quite a bit better at their jobs than the manager even understood. Who was getting the good review? A guy that was pretty darned average, code-wise, but that played D&D with the manager. I at least managed to avoid being called the 'bad one', but it was pretty clear that there was very little future in that kind of organization unless you managed to surround yourself by relatively bad developers.
Re:Stack Ranking? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 03:32 · Score: 0

>I thought stack-ranking was supposed to make everyone feel uncomfortable to motivate them
It motivates people to focus only on things that make themselves look good and to stab each other in the back to get higher in the stack ranking. Not the kind of motivation anybody sane wants in a highly educated workforce.

Other potential titles... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:37 · Score: 0

"Working for Microsoft is like a Big Supertanker of Safety"
"Working for an indie development firm is like being on a life raft that has a big hole in the side"
2 points for disregarding context

The upper downer by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 11:59 · Score: 0

If Anti-Depressants make you more depressed with a dose of suicidal tendencies then I agree.

I don't recognize him. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:10 · Score: 0

Populous was nothing special. It's bloat. MS is bloat - no need for super tanker analogies. What you think is some big important ship is essentially just bloat..much like your own overrated work..

Re: Working For Microsoft Is Like Taking Antidepre by Tablizer · 2014-03-26 12:19 · Score: 0

And using their products is like needing them :-)

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Table-ized A.I.

Working for Microsoft Requires Antidepressants by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:30 · Score: 0

Fixed the headline.

I can bear witness to my Comment Subject Line. I actually had to change to a stronger antidepressant, and add another medication to boot.

Question: by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 12:58 · Score: 0

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I've got an open mind here...

Posting to Slashdot requires antidepressants by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 13:00 · Score: 0

so many good posts filtered by idiotic slashcode.

Who? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 14:34 · Score: 0

Peter Molyneux is one of the most famous personalities in the history of gaming

Who?

Dungeon Keeper, Populous, Black & White, but also the Fable series.

??? Never played those. Never heard of him.

Re:Who? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 16:58 · Score: 0

You must be under 20. Those games are PC classics. He was important, back in the day. Was.

Really? by 7-Vodka · 2014-03-26 15:04 · Score: 1

Then why do I feel like eating a bullet when I have to use their software?

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Liberty.

Que Sera, Sera by David_Hart · 2014-03-26 16:05 · Score: 3, Interesting

This is not a commentary on Microsoft so much as it is a commentary on Peter Molyneux's personality and work habits.

Some of us are self-starters and don't need constant crises or deadlines to get work accomplished or be creative. Others require that sense of the world will come to an end to be motivated. Hell for me would be to constantly be in crisis mode. Hell for him is to not be... To each their own...

Re:Que Sera, Sera by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 03:07 · Score: 0

Ditto!

bad analogy? by Ol+Olsoc · 2014-03-26 16:52 · Score: 1

Ever see the ads for anti depressants on TV? One of the side effects is you'll commit suicide.

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The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.

You'll need antidepressants with his new game... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 16:53 · Score: 0

"Godus", the current game he's working on is so horrendously bad one may need them just to consider playing it.

Something else called, something, something by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 20:01 · Score: 0

OH YEAH POT!!!!

Captain Obvious says, I think the pills are made to make sure your doped out, making the world a happy, go lucky place. A lot like street drugs, but wait, you can become a addict taking those drugs, you don't want to live with taboos, and guilt right?
But the prescribed pills cause the same thing!! That's different, see their prescribed, so you won't fill guilty. Or be shunned by society!!!!!!

I was being sarcastic, but it is the truth!!! The old school pills were great for substituting weed when you run out. But the ones today, I won't bother with. When you hear things like, may cause liver damage, may cause your liver to dissolve and leak out of your asshole.. No thanks I need my liver, I think?

Re:You'll need antidepressants with his new game.. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-26 21:00 · Score: 0

IK, he's even incapable of remaking one of his own games from 25 years ago correctly...

Re:You'll need antidepressants with his new game.. by SB2020 · 2014-03-26 22:53 · Score: 1

128 comments in and someone finally mentions his current project!
Godus sounds interesting, like massive persistent version of Populus. I read something recently that described how they had overhauled large parts of the game in response to beta testers comments which is how it's supposed to work, isn't it? Wouldn't happen in a big studio with millions already committed.
There's some genuinely innovative aspects to the game, such as a Joe Public (the winner of his last project 'Curiosity') being granted overall God status in the game - to be benevolent or a dick as they see fit and taking a cut of the profits.
Admittedly a lot of what sounds interesting about it is probably from Molyneux's own hype but then you have to aim high to have any chance of producing something great. Ill judged comments about antidepressants aside, would you be more welcoming to him if he said "We're basically just recreating Populus with prettier GFX?"
I would jump at the chance of working with someone with overreaching ambitions and massive industry experience.

Such a disapointment.. by Coeurderoy · 2014-03-26 23:17 · Score: 1

I must confess I was hoping to learn something along the lines of "microsoft beats small children and eat their puppies" ...
But what he really writes is that startups are more fun than large companies ...

wich is "mostly" true... except when you just have trouble paying the bills because the funding dried up and the business is not quite there...

And what he writes about M$ would be true in most large companies ... (they probably never trusted him enough to learn about the secret rooms where they really eat puppies while concocting new EULA and IP legislation...)

Well good luck to M. Molyneux anyway :)

Re:seriously though, I hate wogs. by Wootery · 2014-03-27 00:12 · Score: 1

Gather round folks, looks like we've got ourselves a clash of the intellectual titans.

Ignore the red herring. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 00:23 · Score: 0

Forget the antidepressants. That was ignorant but not intentional. Look at the two sentences bookending the throwaway blurb you are all going moonbat over:

"Whereas if you're in a big supertanker of safety, which Microsoft was, then that safety is like an anesthetic. (blah blah blah) The world just feels too comfortable."

Now we all know:
1) The root cause of the fast-food, slick-ass Persian Bazaar BS that Microsoft has been peddling for the past two decades. (Yes, Virginia, even XP sucked. One poet wrote about XP security quite recently "XP will give in faster than a drunk debutante at the prom")
2) The self-image carried by Microsoft from the top and apparently all the way to the bottom that lets them get away with #1. The flat-affected presumption of some imagined fiat power to tell the rest of us to mokeydance to the tune they call as they apply bandaids to bandaids on their product from #1.

I could segue into politics here.... but I'll keep my focus on the point. PEOPLE: There may be particular programs out there that you can only run on Windows, but there is no JOB out there you can't do nor product you can't produce on gnu/linux.

"In a life raft" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 00:35 · Score: 0

I doubt Peter Molyneux will ever have to worry about mortgage or retirement, so his raft would be floating would be floating in a nice safe and shallow pool, rather than in the wide blue ocean...

Organisational culture by Sad+Loser · 2014-03-27 03:30 · Score: 1

it seems that the piece is about organisational culture and how you preserve a high functioning development team in an a large organisation that becomes too focussed on bottom line and not enough on their customers and growth.

This must be a common problem for IT companies. do you need skunkworks? at the same time there is a piece in the news at the moment about how Jobs slavedrove the iphone team into spectacular creativity. maybe it only works when the driving force is as creative as the people being driven?

it is a bit unfortunate that most of the /. is 'my pain/depression/ side effects is bigger than yours' cock measuring, as it makes it look like people who contribute to /. are very concrete, limited and self-centred, which I find hard to believe.

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Humorous signatures are over-rated.

GODUS.. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 04:31 · Score: 0

..is the biggest crap ever.
Thank you Peter!

Creative person by Anonymous Coward · 2014-03-27 09:58 · Score: 0

"I left Microsoft because I think when you have the ability to be a creative person..."

Does he think there are people who don't have the ability to be a creative person?

Peter Molyneux, ya never knew who he was. by Trax3001BBS · 2014-03-27 18:03 · Score: 1

"Peter Molyneux is one of the most famous personalities in the history of gaming."

If I read his name in any other context I'd have no clue who he was. And I've played the heck out of Dungeon Keeper, and Populous. Odd as well, a last name like his would seem to want to stick with you.

I read someplace in that article When the idea of Microsoft and gaming comes up you think of an Xbox, actually I think of Ages of Empires, Xbox only because I was told that was the answer.

Linked at the bottom of an article blasting the working conditions at Microsoft, is of poor Mr Holtman; "Microsoft Hires Former Steam Boss Holtman to Make Windows Great for Gaming"

Wasn't there a lot of talk recently of Microsoft ditching the money pit called the Xbox?

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Peter Molyneux: Working For Microsoft Is Like Taking Antidepressants

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