Molyneux struggles to get ideas across

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 22 July, 2010

Finds it "insanely hard".

Project Milo creator Peter Molyneux has admitted he finds it "insanely hard" to convince others of the validity of his new game ideas before they're realised.

The Lionhead boss told Eurogamer in an interview published elsewhere on the site that getting people to buy into his ideas is "a massive problem".

Molyneux has two games in the works: Xbox 360 and PC role-playing game Fable III, due out in October, and Kinect game Project Milo, which is currently without a release date.

Relationship sim Project Milo has endured a troubling time since it was unveiled at E3 2009.

Last week at the TEDGlobal Conference in Oxford Molyneux said Microsoft had no plans to release Milo & Kate, according to a BBC report.

A fortnight previous, Microsoft mouthpiece Aaron Greenberg said "right now it's not a game" before changing his mind, after which Molyneux waded in and said Greenberg's original comment was based on out-of-date information.

This week Greenberg told Eurogamer that there's still a chance that Project Milo will be released – but not this year.

"Where there's still a huge problem - a massive problem I have - not so much with Fable because Fable's a proven franchise now, but with this other thing we're working on, and anything new I come up with, it's getting people to see what you're trying to do, what you're trying to invent or create, before it's actually done," Molyneux told Eurogamer.

"That is insanely hard to do."

"The best analogy is if I had invented the bicycle. Let's say you've never seen a bicycle before, but you were funding me. I say, 'I've taken all your money and I've invented this thing. You sit on this saddle and you balance on two wheels and you go 16 miles an hour, and it's going to be the most universal mode of transport around the world'. You would look at me as if I was crazy.

"Even if you saw the bicycle, you'd still say, 'No way am I going to go on one of those.' It's not until you sit and ride the bicycle that you realise this idea is going to work. So often with big ideas, whether they're parts of a game, like in Fable III, or whether they're entire games, it's hard to get people to see the pictures in your head."

There's loads more from the ever-enthusiastic Molyneux over at our Develop interview.

Picture of Wesley.

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.

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Comments (26) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #1 2 years ago

    i was wondering where pete had gone, haven't heard from him in quite a while, especially on eurogamer!

  • randompanda #2 2 years ago

    How comes this warrants an entire article, posted at the same time as the interview on your OWN SITE?

  • Xardan #3 2 years ago

    This is no surprise in the games industry what with the amount of competition. It is also why truly original games are few and far between.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/10 @ 11:52

  • ZuluHero #4 2 years ago

    I don't think this exclusive to you Pete - I think you might be surprised to find out that most of us struggle to articulate our ideas to people :)

  • Shikasama #5 2 years ago

    You take a quote from an interview that specifically stated it wanted nothing to do with Milo and Kate, ask a question that had no mention of Milo and kate, then take his answer and put it into a (pointless) article ABOUT MILO AND KATE.

    This has got to be some google search fuckery because recently there has been absolutely no logical justification for a large percentage of crap that has been put on here. I know we all said in thr customer survey that we wanted a better news service but this is so far from what we were asking for its untrue. Fucking pathetic.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/10 @ 12:06

  • superstu1337 #6 2 years ago

    Molyblog Entry #34566

  • randompanda #7 2 years ago

    Genuinely disappointed that of all the quotable stuff in that interview, EG didn't bother using the analogy of him inventing the bicycle.

    "MOLYNEUX INVENTED BICYCLE" would be a fantastic headline.

  • b00n #8 2 years ago

    I like Molyneux. At least he has a vision, he has passion, he tries out new stuff and he's genuinely creative and forward thinking. Gamers should encourage people like him, not slam him. Or I guess most of us want Generic Space Shooter 4 with increased pixel count?

  • mingster #9 2 years ago

    Well Eurogamer give him enough coverage.
    He speaks at every Dev and games conference going.
    He's always got something to say about some new 'tech demo' he's working on.
    I would say he gets way more air time than most developers.
    If your still struggling Pete then maybe it's time to hire a PA.

  • reelbigkris #10 2 years ago

    Getting anyone to invest in a new product of any medium whether its a physical invention, a tv series, a game or even food is allways going to be dificult. People cant just waste thier money on new items because they might not see a return.

    Independent publishing with smaller budget digital titles is how we have been experimenting with new mechanics... Take Portal, a university prototype made on the cheap and then hired by valve to develop it as a functioning title with a larger budget.

    I think development studios need to set up a small part of thier production time working on digital titles that are able to offer a cheaper experience while pushing the boundaries of video games... Tim Schaffer is doing it with a couple of small downloadable titles.

  • flaming.carrot #11 2 years ago

    @boon

    I don't think people dislike Peter, it's just he sometimes makes grand statements about world changing ideas when in reality it's just computer games. I still think Populous and Powermonger were awesome games though.

  • dsmx #12 2 years ago

    We should encourage devs totry new things yes but they should stop promising stuff they have no hope of achieving. Molyneux should know this by now as he keeps promising the earth and not delivering.

  • XanderFish #13 2 years ago

    If you don't like the article, don't read it and then sod off, I'm getting tired of sifting through all the moaning comments to find the couple of insightful ones. Better yet why not group together and create your own gaming website as you seem to think you'd be able to. At least then I could have a good chuckle at it failing miserably.

  • Peter_LIAR_Molyneux #14 2 years ago

    "getting people to buy into his ideas is "a massive problem".

    Thats what happens when you cry "wolf" for so long. People are finally coming around to see you for what you are Peter. Also, having a longer nose than Pinnochio doesn't help either.

  • metalangel #15 2 years ago

    Molyneux's problem here is he labours under the misapprehension that he does genuinely incredible, innovative things.

    What amazing innovative things were there in Fable 2? I can't think of any, not even the dog was a new idea (the guidebot in Descent 3 did that years ago) and for god's sake don't say having to eat celery and tofu to avoid beocming fat is an 'innovation' in gaming. Not least of all because, as I wrote that, I remembered you had to eat healthy in GTA: San Andreas or exercise lest you become a big fat chubber.

  • alcides #16 2 years ago

    I just hope there's no riding involved.

  • Distributor #17 2 years ago

    @metalangel, Indeed. Peter thinks he is a genius when he is not. Problem number one.
    Problem number two, his output isnt the best. Its usually just the normal hype with little or no substance.
    *sigh*

  • Miths #18 2 years ago

    "Project Milo creator Peter Molyneux has admitted he finds it "insanely hard" to convince others of the validity of his new game ideas before they're realised."

    And here I thought the problem was that he never actually manages to realize most of all those lofty ideas?

  • EraSerX #19 2 years ago

    maybe those ideas just aren't very good...

  • smelly #20 2 years ago

    I cant wait until tomorrow where EG will reveal something else about peter.

  • xenoss #21 2 years ago

    I used to be a fan Molyneux's. Until when Fable 2 was first announced, and the big innovation that would supposedly change gaming forever, turned out to be the inclusion of a dog. That was the big thing about Fable 2. You get a dog. At that point, I knew we were heading towards different paths.

    Now he fails to interest me. Yet EG hangs on his every word. Don't get me wrong, EG is still the site that has the most integrity out there in my eyes (I know that's not saying much, considering the competition), but Molyneux sure has a lot of things to say that matter very little to the end user.

  • NewbieZilla #22 2 years ago

    I wonder if Molyneux has started writing his "I'm sorry Fable 3 sucked". It is good to be prepared. He should.

  • SEVQA #23 2 years ago

    b00n "At least he has a vision, he has passion, he tries out new stuff and he's genuinely creative and forward thinking. "

    So why the hell is he working for microsoft.

  • Vordred #24 2 years ago

    i wish he would stop messing about with all these silly idea's and go buy the Dungeon Keeper rights from EA and make DK3

  • Caimbeul #25 2 years ago

    Populous, Theme Park and Dungeon Keeper. Not played a single one of his games since then. They jus dont appeal.

  • Tad59 #26 2 years ago

    Another words: I'm having problems making up stories about my latest project so i can let you down once it's released.