There's much more to Milo, says Molyneux

By Ellie Gibson Published 25 February, 2010

Natal mascot is part of a "bigger story".

Peter Molyneux has hinted that he has much bigger plans for Project Natal, stating that virtual character Milo is only part of the picture.

Speaking to Inc Gamers about the E3 demo of Milo & Kate he said, "It made people look around and say, 'How could you make a game out of a character like Milo?' And I think that question is still out there; I'm just not allowed to answer it.

"I might hint... Milo is a character in a bigger and more dramatic story that we're telling."

Molyneux made similar noises later on in the interview, saying, "The frustrating thing is that I am veiled. Three and a half minute experience at E3, featuring Milo, which is a character - a single character - and it was exhibiting some of the technologies that we could do with Natal.

"I didn't say anything more than that, and whether that was the whole game or not, and I think you'll just have to wait and see how that fits into a much, much, much bigger and much more dramatic picture."

Milo made his public debut at E3 in 2009 and was met with much comment and criticism. From the likes of Charlie Brooker, for example, who suggested no one over the age of 30 will be able to play Milo & Kate without "looking and feeling like a paedophile". So what does Molyneux have to say to that?

"Well, I think it says more about Charlie Brooker than it does about Milo," he said.

Expect more from Milo at this year's E3 and possibly even at the Game Developers Conference, which kicks off next month - we'll be there to write things down about it if so.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Altmayer #1 2 years ago

    Charlie Brooker FTW

  • metalangel #2 2 years ago

    Milo will actually tell you how long it took you to get bored and go off to play a proper game with bald space marines who eat pain for breakfast and wash it down with their enemies' blood, or jumping a supercar through an exploding orphanage while hot bitches expose their breasts and start oiling them. With a proper controller. EDIT: you play the games with the controller, the bitches don't oil their boobs with them. Obviously.
    Edited by metalangel at 25/02/10 @ 09:01

  • telboy007 #3 2 years ago

    This guy is never allowed to say anything, still... the Milo thing did seem quite entertaining. Obviously the first thing many people will do is draw a cock and scan it in so Milo can then hold it back up to you. It'll be funny, and it'll never stop being funny.

  • kinky_mong #4 2 years ago

    "Well, I think it says more about Charlie Brooker than it does about Milo," he said.

    Oooh, get you Peter! At least Charlie Brooker is capable of creating something entertaining about computer games rather than an over-rated mess of a "game".

  • VicViper #5 2 years ago

    Hmm either Molynenux has mega burned charlie brooker or Charlie brooker is correct and Molynenux is going for a market niche that never needed help...

  • TeaFiend #6 2 years ago

    "Achievement Unlocked- Touched a Child 25g"

  • kangarootoo #7 2 years ago

    "How could you make a game out of a character like Milo?' And I think that question is still out there; I'm just not allowed to answer it"

    Hoooow convenient.

    /strokes chin

  • kangarootoo #8 2 years ago

    "and it was exhibiting some of the technologies that we could do with Natal."

    And plenty that you couldn't do. And the bizarre thing was that you even said so directly afterwards. Its one thing to mock up things you expect to be able to do eventually, its another to mock up things which you are pretending you can do but know you can't, but to actually include loads of stuff that in the following interviews you SAID was'nt possible.... why on earth would you even do that? Puzzling is only half saying it.

  • kangarootoo #9 2 years ago

    Whilst I am burping my thoughts onto the page in a stacato stream...

    Charlie brooker was just saying what most of the planet that viewed the Milo demo were thinking. And his core question hit the ajil on the head... "Why a little boy?".

    Of ALL the things you could have been interacting with, why that? It is as if they were TRYING to alienate a huge portion of their audience. Truly, truly, unusual decision.

  • Distributor #10 2 years ago

    Why is PM even allowed to speak? They would be far better off with just some generic PR-person doing the talking.

  • jag10 #11 2 years ago

    The new paper clip?

  • paul_haine #12 2 years ago

    "Of ALL the things you could have been interacting with, why that? It is as if they were TRYING to alienate a huge portion of their audience. Truly, truly, unusual decision."

    So what else? A young girl? A dog? A man? A woman? A robot?

  • FireMonkey #13 2 years ago

    "Of ALL the things you could have been interacting with, why that? It is as if they were TRYING to alienate a huge portion of their audience. Truly, truly, unusual decision."

    Why is that unusual? I have a son and I interact with him?

    Anyway this sounds like it's going to be part something bigger, which I wouldn't be surprised if it allows interaction with a whole heap of different characters.

    I bet something like Heavy Rain would be f**king awesome with this level of interaction.

  • jonbwfc #14 2 years ago

    @paul_haine"So what else? A young girl? A dog? A man? A woman? A robot?"
    A monkey. In a top hat. That would rock.

  • othelaatko #15 2 years ago

    @jonbwfc: . . .or a personal Jesus. Reach out and touch faith.

  • raion #16 2 years ago

    Why am I thinking of "Child Protective Services - The Game"?
    Interact with the kid and investigare a possible case of abuse or neglect.

    ... haunting.

  • Yaz #17 2 years ago

    @FireMonkey who wrote "I bet something like Heavy Rain would be f**king awesome with this level of interaction"

    Agreed, I was thinking the same thing.

  • mrdavid #18 2 years ago

    Milo: The Game - Milo is your son, who you constantly promise the world to and always fail to deliver. So you abandon him to become a games developer.
    Edited by mrdavid at 25/02/10 @ 12:23

  • Icyclectic #19 2 years ago

    "I might hint... Milo is a character in a bigger and more dramatic story that we're telling."

    Am I the only one who thinks he's referring to Fable 3? Instead of putting Milo & Kate in a separate game, integrate them as characters in Fable...
    Edited by Icyclectic at 25/02/10 @ 12:31

  • jellyhead #20 2 years ago

    If they are in Fable 3 and i can stick a cursed sword through their heads then i'm all for it otherwise i really couldn't care less about Milo or Natal.

    Quick question about Natal. How do you stop punching Milo?

  • FiReTiGeR2K #21 2 years ago

    PETERMOLAPHILE

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #22 2 years ago

    When I first saw the demo I thought that it looked like the 'nice' begining to thriller/horror. I expected the next thing to happen whilst having fun in the garden was that the sky suddenly becomes dark and cloudy, then the wind starts to pick up and strange sounds could be heard in the distance. You shout to Milo and his sister to get back to the house where you then proceded to barricade yourselves in.

    That would be awesome. :)

  • altitude2k #23 2 years ago

    "Well, I think it says more about Charlie Brooker than it does about Milo," he said.

    PM can be a bit of a tool sometimes, but I do like this statement.

  • darleysam #24 2 years ago

    Damnit, I love MolynEUx (seriously, is it that hard to learn how to spell the guy's name?) and I love Brooker..

    DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE
    Edited by darleysam at 25/02/10 @ 13:27

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #25 2 years ago

    There was an interesting TV series on at Christmas called 'The History of Now' that talked about cultural changes in the last 10 years, and touched on how young people are being separated from adult society. They're increasingly sexualised by the media on one hand, and on the other any adult that wants anything to do with them (teacher, scoutmaster, even relatives) are tarred as being paedophiles.

    There's nothing wrong with playing with children, it's good for them, and I say that as a father. It's suprising how having children of your own changes your attiudes.

    I await Milo & Kate with interest.

  • kangarootoo #26 2 years ago

    @paul_haine

    Well, yes. Any of them, except the young girl for the same reasons.


    @FireMonkey

    It is an unusual choice because they must have known the response it was going to get. Of course you interact with your son, nothing unusual about that, but this isn't real life and the same rules don't apply (whether we think they should or not).

    I'm not saying that in my own opinion it is weird (though I think it is, frankly). I am saying that they could have chosen any number of avatars, with exactly the same positive results, and none of the negative "that is a bit weird" responses. They MUST have known that was going to happen, so why choose a young boy as the avatar? What advantage did that bring that the other options could not, and that was so important it worth all the flak?
    Edited by kangarootoo at 25/02/10 @ 14:32

  • godlovesugly05 #27 2 years ago

    From the consolevania lads:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha9sPBm9SZE

  • davisorle #28 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 20:44:35 16-04-2012

  • metalangel #29 2 years ago

    I for one keep thinking about Peterphile's previous "revolutions" in interaction: Black & White's creature (smack or stroke it, it just ignores you and fucks off to shit in the food storage and throw villagers into the sea before starving to death because it kept throwing away the food you were giving it) and Fable (blow off without following through 50 times to convince the entire town of your greatness and to receive several offers of marriage. Thumbs up!) and expecting a similarly crushing disappointment. Seriously, fuck off with this shit and go back to making proper games like Syndicate and Magic Carpet.

  • FireMonkey #30 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo - I don't see why they 'must have known', if the general public immediately think that there is something lewd or disturbing when interacting with a child then I pity the general population.

    The reason for using a child was explained in an interview with Peter. It was a human so that you could feel a connection and a child so that they could use the child like brain to simplify the responses (i.e "Hey, Milo! What are you having for dinner tonight?", "Umm... Oh look! A Butterfly!" - could be excepted from a child, but not an adult).

  • jellyhead #31 2 years ago

    "Im curious. All of you trashtalking the whole "Milo Character/Experience" you are seriously not interested in a project like that?"
    no, i'm really not all that interested at all. I find it curious but i find Milo creepy to be honest and i'm not that convinced that waving my arms around and gurning at a webcam is how i want to play a game. I'll try it sure but i'm unconvinced that anything will come of it for another few years.

    Sometimes i just want to sit on my bum with a pad and play a game to relax.

  • tancredo #32 2 years ago

    I am surprised that many people/players are all excited about the interaction of "Heavy Rain", raving about the posibilities of the story of "Alan Wake", and the only things that come to their minds when discussing Milo tech demo is pedophile jokes.

    There are many more possibilities attached to this technology. Its proper use could make Heavy Rain look like a puppet show.

  • kangarootoo #33 2 years ago

    @FireMonkey

    "if the general public immediately think that there is something lewd or disturbing when interacting with a child then I pity the general population"

    Whether we pity the population or not is besides the point. The only point I am making is that I believe the response could (should) have been predicted. Seriously, any amount of focus testing would have revealed the potential for people to go "WTF".


    "It was a human so that you could feel a connection and a child so that they could use the child like brain to simplify the responses"

    That just sounds like the sort of thing that people say after the fact to defend a decision. Any number of other avatars could have created a sense of connection (and clearly the use of a 9 year old boy missed that particular target with many people). And as for a child's brain generating simple responses... its not a real thing, it can behave any way they want it to.


    I don't know, I'm being a bit devil's advocate on this one I admit. I just can't help feeling that what was created in that Milo demo was way off what the target audience would respond to. I can understand parents reacting to it differently (lets be honest, parents are notoriously incapable of objectivity when it comes to anything related to kids - I know plenty of them and plan to be one myself one day, and I don't doubt for a second that I'll lose my mind in the same way :) ) to 14-24 year olds, and maybe MS are trying to aim at the parent market or something.

    I just think that (whatever your opinion of the gaming world at large) the Milo demo did more bad than good. For every person that thought "wow, interactive control using your body and voice recognition" there were 5 people thinking "why do you have me asking a pre-pubescent child about their homework?"
    Edited by kangarootoo at 25/02/10 @ 17:31

  • AlvySinger #34 2 years ago

    Could potentially be even more awkward than when I first got my Wii and a copy of Endless Ocean, well before the console was as ubiquitous as toothpaste.

    The wife came home with a friend and they found me on the sofa absent-mindedly waving the Wiimote around.
    "What are you doing?" the baffled friend ask.
    "I'm befriending a penguin," I tersely replied.
    "How do you do that?"
    "... by stroking him with the controller."

    Awkward, very awkward.

  • jjolley #35 2 years ago

    I think much of the criticism of Milo stems from the demo itself seeming rather creepy. After all, what was shown at least to me as someone not seeing the visual aspects was a rather terse dialogue tree with limited voice recognition. I suspect that people are put off by the demo's content also, having to discuss homework and such? Rather unusual.

    Heavy rain may not be for everyone, but it's demonstrated a wider range of interactivity. The dialogue is read out which is handy.

    We'll have to see I suppose, but don't be suprised at any backlash regarding that demo, it was a rushed affair.

  • FireMonkey #36 2 years ago

    @Kangarootoo - "I believe the response could (should) have been predicted"
    I have to disagree sorry. I think it's crazy to assume that as it has a kid in it that people would react like that. Anyway, I'm gonna drop that now and just agree to disagree on that point. 8)

    One other point is that it is 'just' (at present anyway) a tech demo. For all we know the final product 'may' actually be aimed at younger children who may not be used to using a controller yet. In that sort of environment Milo would actually be more like an older friend and then he is the perfect avatar. In my opinion it'd be much better for a young child to play with Milo than to play with a bikini clad barbarian!

    <I wish I could type!>
    Edited by FireMonkey at 25/02/10 @ 20:42

  • Bander #37 2 years ago

    "So what else? A young girl? A dog? A man? A woman? A robot?"

    How about this?

    N.U.D.E.@ Natural Ultimate Digital Experiment, Xbox 2003.

    Or failing that, maybe a fish with a human face.
    Edited by Bander at 26/02/10 @ 00:34

  • earobus #38 2 years ago

    fable 3.5

  • kangarootoo #39 2 years ago

    @FireMonkey

    "I think it's crazy to assume that as it has a kid in it that people would react like that"

    Well given that WAS in fact the response from many quarters, its not that crazy to assume is it? Its not like we are trying to predict the future here. The actual result is on record. Anyway, I'm not saying the reaction was due to the merre presence of a child. It was the whole package, complete with PM's usual narration, that gave it a slight air of 'weird'.


    "Anyway, I'm gonna drop that now and just agree to disagree on that point"

    Fair enough. We have both laboured our points enough :)


    "In my opinion it'd be much better for a young child to play with Milo than to play with a bikini clad barbarian!"

    Agreed. Like I said, maybe I am missing who the target audience is for this.

  • tancredo #40 2 years ago

    An adaptation of a Dean Koontz book, or similar mix of fast paced terror/suspense, with Natal interaction, would be amazing.

  • Bander #41 2 years ago

    "In my opinion it'd be much better for a young child to play with Milo than to play with a bikini clad barbarian!"

    Oops, I missed this. A few ATEI shows ago Sega were promoting their Dinosaur King arcade game aimed at kids with a woman dressed in skimpy furry attire. She seemed to be quite popular with the few children that attended, who didn't appear to find it weird at all when she helped them to play the games. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/a_ateireport2006

  • FireMonkey #42 2 years ago

    @Bander - LOL! Wasn't expecting that.

  • RedSparrows #43 2 years ago

    I didn't get the paedophilia vibe at all. But then, I'm not relentlessly and unimaginatively cynical. Are you a paedo for talking to a friend's young son?

  • Kamata #44 2 years ago

    Aside Molyneaux's exceptional enthusiasm,why does the gaming community pay any attention to what he says these days? Everything he's said upto now (thinking about Fable 1 & 2) have been completely overhyped and overrated in every context. Personally i dont pay hardly any attention to his ambitous claims these days. The one thing that can be said, lionhead produce good looking titles, but they just seem to fall short and get stale rather quickly each time.
    Edited by Kamata at 28/02/10 @ 01:13

  • seanthejackal #45 2 years ago

    Milo looks ill

  • trip919 #46 2 years ago

    Peter says something and my automatic response is.

    Yeah, yeah, yeah,YEAH, yeAh yEAh, YeAH, yEaH