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Molyneux: I need to prove I deserve BAFTA

Joining ranks of movie greats "just insane".

This year's recipient of the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship, Peter Molyneux, has told Eurogamer TV that the honour means: "Now prove you deserve this award; prove you really are good at what you do."

Speaking to us exclusively after the award was announced, the Lionhead Studios boss said this recognition of his career "drives [him] on" and, as a games designer, he remains "incredibly motivated".

Molyneux will formally receive the Fellowship at this evening's GAME British Academy Video Games Awards in London, following in the footsteps of last year's recipient, Nintendo great Shigeru Miyamoto, and legends of cinema including Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock.

"I can't even begin to compare myself to Alfred Hitchcock and all that stuff," he said. "It's just insane to even think about it."

The Fellowship caps a glittering month for Molyneux, having also received a lifetime achievement award at GDC 2011.

"Although every award you get is a wonderful sensation – and I'll say now, it's not just for me it's the whole of the people I've worked with – there is something magical about receiving a BAFTA mask, because it's part of our culture and has been part of our culture since I was a kid."

Molyneux revealed that the first person he told about the Fellowship was his wife. "She immediately said, 'Do I get to go to the ceremony now?' and went off and started ordering stuff. And then I told my mum, and then my son.

"But there were these very strict rules about not telling anyone. And telling my mother – I'm sure she won't mind me saying this – is there's the bridge circle that would know within five minutes and before you know it, it would be on some website somewhere. So I had to keep it to that, but it was a wonderful thing to say to people."

For more on Molyneux and the BAFTAs, check out the latest episode of Eurogamer Asks, below.

EGTV Asks: Does gaming need the BAFTAs?

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