Molyneux admits Milo is "contentious"
Doesn't think of it as a released product.
Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has admitted that Project Milo, which allows gamers to interact with a virtual young boy using Xbox 360 add-on sensor Kinect, is suffering from associations with paedophilia.
"There's a lot of huge mountains to climb before that [Milo is released] happens, Molyneux told The USA Today.
"The reason for that is it is enormously contentious for us to do a game, a story, an experience, about a boy. You are immediately appealing to all the dark thoughts of humanity.
"I actually love that, the idea of being so contentious that it makes people turn around and say, 'You can't do a story about a boy.' But, for me, doing that in that way is absolutely right.
"After all, for me one of the best films I saw last year was about an old man and a boy scout. It was called Up.
"If I described for you this story, 'It's about an old man and a Boy Scout, strangers meeting and living together and going on adventures, you'd say, 'You can't do that. It's out of the question.'
"What you look for in drama and story is uniqueness and you look for experiences that people haven't had before and I think it's good to get it on a contentious level."
Last month Microsoft mouthpiece Aaron Greenberg told Eurogamer Project Milo's release was in Molyneux's hands.
According to Molyneux, however, it seems increasingly unlikely that Milo will make it onto store shelves.
"I don't think of it as a released product at the moment," he said.
"I still think this is a very, very big tech demo. I don't think of it as something that would be a boxed product on the shelf."
Still, Molyneux reckons Milo will eventually end up in gamers' hands: "I think so, eventually. I do."
What is Project Milo? Watch the video below to find out.
-
Related games
-
-
Kinect
Xbox 360
-
Milo & Kate
Xbox 360
-
About Wesley Yin-Poole
Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.
Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.
You may also like...
-
Velocity Review
Scream if you wanna shoot faster. 18
-
Max Payne 3 Review
Out of time. 180
-
HTC One S/One V Reviews
HTC's 2012 Android family grows by two, but which is the One? 26
You may also like...
-
Velocity Review 18
-
Max Payne 3 Review 180
-
HTC One S/One V Reviews 26
-
App of the Day: New Star Soccer 19
-
The Last of Us trailer reveals Ellie redesign 90
-
Grand Theft Auto 5 vehicle list found on Max Payne 3 disc 60
-
For Diablo 3 gamer Francis, Error 37 is the last straw 181
-
Someone has finished Diablo 3 already 132
-
BioWare asks fans to help brainstorm Dragon Age's future 46
-
More Halo 4 multiplayer details revealed 21
-
Ubisoft discusses next-generation game budgets 27
-
Lionhead making MMO-like new IP RPG for next Xbox - report 22
-
Nvidia claims GeForce Grid processor will make game streaming "as common as renting a movie online" 33
-
Japan chart: Mario Party 9 rules, Starhawk debuts at four 31
-
Zenimax threatens Dragon Shout app creator with legal action 15
Comments (69) Latest comment 2 years ago
Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Given the amount of truly dire "OMG this ar game 4 pedo LOL" bollocks I've seen on this site every time the game is mentioned I can understand the problem he's having.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Anyway... shut up Molynuex. Stop talking and go make Fable.
Edit: His right, my left. I always do that...
Comment below viewing threshold Show
He's on about the fact that virtually every single mention of Milo ends up with paedophilia jokes in the comments thread. It's a horrible, damaging stereotype that so many males seem perfectly happy to continue inflicting on the whole gender. I'd wager that the vast majority of guys reading this aren't paedophiles, so why do so many act like any relationship between a man and a child is perverted sexual one?
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
That's what Milo said...
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I sort of figured it would stay as a tech demo. I just want to see how an old fashioned adventure game can be revived through this new kinect medium.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
In all seriousness though, it's only the outraged bible thumping middle class of America that actually give a crap about this surely? Any normal person would view it maybe as a leap forward in the way we interact with virtual characters and enjoy it in that context. Unless for some reason there is a hot coffee mod in there somewhere, I really don't see a problem.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Peter Molyneux wants you to touch his boy! That's like a paedophile! Because it's about a boy! Ha! Oh man I am cracked RIGHT up by that every time I've heard it repeated whenever an article about Milo pops up. Every time!
Everyone calls him a liar, but then has to go and prove him right when he makes the comments he's doing here. The irony, it is delicious.
edit: Stuz, sadly no. The Penny Arcade forum is generally a pretty decent place, but you just can't mention Milo or Molyneux without a bunch of honking morons chiming in to call it a boy-touching simulator.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Nice little tech demo, I just can't see much appeal for it in mainstream.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
While I do think it's sad that 'LOL paedophile' is the standard response to something like this, a simple change in visual style might make it more marketable.
Theory: if Nintendo was making this with a young boy in the Mushroom Kingdom, for example, few people would take issue with it.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Shareholders who don't really understand games won't look past it.
"I was shocked to find out my son could hand Milo a drawing of his cock and then be invited to go fishing" - Sarah, Tunbridge Wells.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
whaddaprick
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Exactly this.
It's a fucking embarrassment that a videogame where you talk to a child is constantly considered paedophilic. I think some of you need to grow up, have kids, and realise that your attitudes aren't sending the world in a good direction. As a father or two (soon to be three), I saw this game at E3 last year and didn't bat an eyelid. Some of you however seem to see paedophilia in this - not sure what that says about you to be honest.
My friend went to watch his daughter do ballet and got shit loads of dirty looks from the mums. Brilliant. It won't be long until kids are completely segregated from any adults that aren't family.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
the issue is that this concept piece does not look fun or entertaining and has zero appeal to core gamers or the mass market.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
It just goes to show that both claims are ridiculous....
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I don't however get why people say things like, "shurrup and make Fable 3 now" since it is well established that peter is just a figurehead these days and the real work is done by his team.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
'Thou shalt not think that any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a peadophile… Some people are just nice.'
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Molyneux shouldn't have put any fuel on the match by even attempting to answer any criticism of the game in this way. The only way to deal with this is to return to sender with a shrug and WTF. If you see Milo and think 'what about paedos?' you are a total fruitcake, and/or a paedo.
What next? Bioshock is dangerous for catering for watersporting gun nuts into self harm? I hate this world, in which everything is bad for you and we have to tiptoe for fear of disturbing the already disturbed.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
So people joke about Milo, easiest one is the creep factor.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I think some of you need to grow up, have kids, and realise that your attitudes aren't sending the world in a good direction. As a father or two (soon to be three), I saw this game at E3 last year and didn't bat an eyelid. Some of you however seem to see paedophilia in this - not sure what that says about you to be honest.
Interesting. So presumably, if one of your two (soon to be three) children was 10 years old, and they came back from the park and reported that a grown man had come up to them, shown a deep interest in their personal life and tried to make friends with them, you would consider this perfectly normal and appropriate and encourage the development of the relationship? Genuine question.
I kind of agree with your point, but I think you're overplaying your anti-kneejerk kneejerking. Something like Milo needs to be set in a context. Playing with my character's sons in Heavy Rain didn't feel creepy because it was set in a context - they were my (surrogate) sons.
The problem with Milo is that it has always existed without a context. I'm supposed to be making friends with a 10 year old boy, but for what reason? In the real world, grown ups making friends with completely random 10 year-old strangers is not normal, and really would be viewed with suspicion - especially by the parent and I suspect even by someone as conscientiously liberal as you. And by not providing any other context, that's the only one that they leave.
Some of this naturally rubs off on the product. I agree that the rabid forumites get tiresome, though.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I totally agree with you, you made good arguments : context is important in society relationships,
actually determines the type of relationships in our societies :
an example : having a dinner in a restaurant with an 8 years child, if it is your son, or the son of your friend you are waiting he returns from the WC of the restaurant, or a stranger child...this changes everything....
another example : having a dinner with a woman, if she is a colleague, a girlfriend, your mother, your sister...etc it is different....if its is in the context of your job, or outside your job....its different...
context is very important
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
The problem is that we live in a society where a man can't say "Oh, I love children" without "paedophile" popping into a lot of people's heads. A lot of guys are afraid of approaching an apparently lost child in a public place because they're worried about it being taken the wrong way. I work in education and it's horrible when you're approached by a distraught child who clearly wants a hug and your first thought is "How do I handle this without getting into trouble?" and not "How can I help this poor kid?"
I do find your example of an adult approaching a child and attempting to forge a relationship strange. Like you said, it lacks context. The issue is that perfectly normal, contextual relationships between men and children are increasingly seen in a negative light and that it is being casually reinforced by the men who are suffering under those false stereotypes.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
See, I agree with all that. But that being true doesn't stop Milo in its current form being a bit weird.
I think they just never bothered with a context because it's just a tech demo - and a bloody impressive one at that. Take that and stick it into something like Heavy Rain and you're going to have something incredibly compelling.
However, at the same time, there's no point denying that in it's current format it comes across as a bit weird. Even Molyneux can see that. I'm not sure why anyone else would deny it.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Oh yeah, lacking context it is a bit weird. But to be fair, most games revolve around killing people. If I recall correctly, the BBFC Manhunt 2 decision was all about the context of the killing in the game.
My issue is with guys making paedophile jokes every time it's mentioned. It's like women posting "That bitch should be in the kitchen! Hurr, hurr, hurr" every time a story about a female game character popped up, except, say, fifty years ago when there was much less awareness of women's rights issues.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
And if Molyneux isn't a sexual deviant of some description, I'll eat my own turd. The mans got pervert written all over him.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Dick and Fart jokes tends to be the order of the day around here. It's something people either love or loathe, but trying to change it ain't going to happen. People are just going to tell you to shove your moral highground up your arse.
I've read some of the darkest jokes I've ever heard on these forums, but I understand that it's all said for the craic at the end of the day. Some of the best humour is making fun of really deadly stuff, as often humour is used as a way of coming to terms with such stuff/laughing at the tragedy of life.
Perhaps you need to find a new website/gaming community more geared to your way of thinking? There are plenty of them out there with their own unique spin on things (some are really good), go nuts.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I think you have both hit the nail on the head with the context (and the Heavy Rain example was spot on - maybe I'm getting old but the nappy changing scene genuinely moved me, but if someone showed me a nappy changing tech demo I might wonder what they had been smoking).
My issue with this has never been about what it is trying to achieve. My issue is that someone with so many years of experience such as PM has would think that, without the context you descirbe, this was a remotely saleable idea.
If you are showing a tech demo, show a dog, show a talking dog, show an elderly grandparent, show a cartoon character. Almost anything really except a ten year old boy. Once the tech has been proven, and you are taking the thing further and surrounding it in a meta-game, then you can perhaps replace that character with a kid.
Though even then, I would have questions (not moral tabloid judging questions, but reasonable business questions) about who exactly the target audience is. I think at the root of all this, there doesn't seem to have been enough thought about who would want to play this; who it might appeal to so strongly that the lack of context wouldn't be an issue (show an fps fan a stunning tech demo of an fps, and they will wait for the context with baited breath). As it is, I wonder if the tech behind the demo might ever see the light of day in its current form, because the first impression was made so badly.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
My issue is with guys making paedophile jokes every time it's mentioned. It's like women posting "That bitch should be in the kitchen! Hurr, hurr, hurr" every time a story about a female game character popped up, except, say, fifty years ago when there was much less awareness of women's rights issues.
It does get dull, and I do agree with the senitment, but I thought some of the counterpoints on this thread were almost as far off the mark in the other direction.
Saying "There's absolutely nothing weird about this concept, and anyone who says otherwise needs to have a good look at themselves" is not that much closer to the mark than "This is a paedophilia grooming simulator".
It is both innocent and mildly dodgy.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
It is an absolutely unsaleable concept in its current form, but I can also completely see why they did it.
The really interesting thing with Milo is when people start treating him like a real person. If you'd made him a talking dog, you would have had a much more saleable product, but I think you would also have undermined a lot of the power of the tech.
(I also think you would probably see through the smoke and mirrors more. Milo looks like a person, so you anthropomorphise quirks in his behaviour even more than you would otherwise.)
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Well perhaps a wizened old war veteran would be a better choice than a talking dog then
I agree about how the human choice changes player interaction, but at this early stage most people aren't getting to actually try the "game" out for themselves. We just get to see the demo movies and listen to/read interviews about it. If this never makes it to market, all the powerful interactions that it might have created will be lost. It feels to me a bit like the horse and the cart were the wrong way round.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Because they set about doing something without really knowing what they were doing it for?Perhaps, but I still applaud them for investing so much time and money in something so utterly experimental. And I'm sure the tech will emerge in something Lionhead do. It's basically the kind of interaction they've been promising since the 1st Fable. My wife in kids in Fable 4 could be a lot more compelling if they all act like Milo.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I agree with all of that, I just don't think they should have shown it to the world yet.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
My wife in kids in Fable 4 could be a lot more compelling if they all act like Milo.
Now that would be awesome! It would be brilliant if character interaction in Fable 4 was more robust other than just a choice of dancing or farting at them. (In general I find the voice recognition part of kinect the most interesting and most useful for "core" games).
It would be a hell of an achievement, even being able to actually say "yes, I'll do it" to accept a quest would be brilliant.
"No, keep the money, helping you good people is reward enough for me"
/heroic pose
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I honestly don't have the first clue about the EG forums as a whole, I'm purely a front page commentator kinda guy around here. I know where you're coming from, some of the communities I am involved in have in-jokes and running gags that would be horrendously offensive if taken out of context.
That said, I don't feel that this is on the level of dick and fart jokes, nor is it using humour to cope with a difficult or unpleasant subject (all of which I'm a big fan of.) It's a near-constant reinforcement of an incorrect, damaging stereotype and it needs to highlighted as being wrong.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Yeah, probably not. I'm not sure that Molyneux is genetically capable of keeping quiet about something he's excited about though.
Given the amount of derision he seems to attract from all quarters (for the crime of not having released anything quite as genre defining as the many genre defining classics he made 20 years ago), I wouldn't be at all surprised if he put it out just wind people up.
And it is very close to the stuff he's promised before and been roundly criticised (again) for not delivering. I think if he'd tried to keep shtum he would probably have exploded.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
(50 years ago? How old is Molyneux...)
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
...& call it semen.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Seriously? That's crazy..
Comment below viewing threshold Show
The problem is that we live in a society where a man can't say "Oh, I love children" without "paedophile" popping into a lot of people's heads.
@Bigjonno... If they are not talking about their own children, then it does seem creepy, though it seems more creepy if a male says that. A women can generally say they love children (in the general sense and not necessarily about their own) and it doesnt seem weird. That is just how it is.
I dont see why they cannot add context to the game, but to me this says that there is nothing more than a tech demo and it doesnt have much of a game in it. Considering the confusion at MS about it being a game or not, then that would suggest that is the case.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
That's spot on, people do see it as creepy and it's really sad and wrong. I'm studying education at the moment and I recently took a class in which there were three guys, including the lecturer, and about 15-20 women. One of the topics covered was gender, which was one that I was not looking forward to, due to a couple of people in the class who were rather ignorant and very opinionated (up to and including the massively facepalm-inducing "But only black people were slaves" comment when we were doing race.) We were discussing gender stereotyping and the usual suspects were insisting that men never suffered as a result of gender stereotyping. It took me a while to think of a response that wouldn't get shot down with "You're a man, of course you'd say that," but when I said "Men can't say that they like kids without people thinking of paedophiles" I shut up the whole room.
I learned a lot from that class; it was a really diverse group of people, which is always good when discussing social issues, but I'd like to think that that statement was my contribution. I'm a father, I'm studying to further my career in education, after three years of primary school experience and I'm pretty outspoken when it comes to equal rights. Paedophilia is pretty much the one crime I'd support the death sentence for. This assumption that men who like children, no matter what the context, are paedophiles is probably my biggest pet hate.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
The paedophile connotations that are being made more than anything demonstrate the Anglo-Saxon world's cramped attitude towards sexuality in general.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
[link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyEypQ4cUow
]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyEypQ4cUow
[/link]
Sorted!
Comment below viewing threshold Show
See, you were making bundles of sense until that moment... You'd support the death sentence for Paedophilia, but not child murder or even murder of an adult?
Personally i think all three are jail with no chance of parole, but why people think sex with a child is worse than killing them i'll never understand...
Comment below viewing threshold Show
I won't go into detail to avoid turning this thread into a debate on the death penalty. The quick version is that I can understand murder being a crime that a perfectly normal person would commit and never do again, as a crime of passion, for example. On the other hand I can't see how anyone who was a paedophile (and I'm talking single figures here, not an eighteen year old sleeping with their fifteen year old partner) could be anything other than a constant danger to the children around them.
To be honest, I'm not a fan of the death penalty at all, I think the margin of error in our legal system is too wide for such drastic action.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
What? No - you're just raising a signal with two groups of people:
1) Idiots who think everyone is a potential paedophile
2) People who make trolling jokes at group 1) above.
At the end of the day, it's a game (well, a tech demo) with a boy in it.
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Comment below viewing threshold Show
Charlie Brooker talked last year about how creepy it is and Peter's response was: ''it says more about Brooker then it does himself''
Now he admits it's ''contentious''.
Make your fucking mind up peter.