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Wednesday, 11 September 2024

So- we're not forgiving Peter Molyneux, right?

 

There was a time when saying the name 'Molyneux' was the same as uttering a slur. And not just a boring old normal slur- but the kind of slur that can actually get you kicked off of an online server- and trust me those are far and few between. And that was because the man whom it belonged, Peter, had developed a reputation for... well... building hype for his games by bragging about sweet nothings. Essentially Peter was as much a hype merchant as a studio director- selling to his audience the same way he might sell to investors- pitching the 'dream' of what he might achieve whilst in the background sanitising that dream into something much smaller and deliverable. Investors expect this, they aren't invested in the product itself but rather the returns it generates. Customers very much care about the product and feeling as though they've received their money's worth. Thus Peter became a foe. 

We could go all the way back to the days of the original Fable and the seed that would one day grow into a massive tree which didn't exist, or the much more recent project of 'Godus' which promised to make a member of the public a god within that world- before abandoning both him and the game within a year. Peter's legacy lives on as a string of lies to otherwise well regarded games. I actually played through the Fable games for the first time earlier this year, (I'd only played three before) and I have to say- they're mostly decent. Horribly aged, but fun enough romps to kill some time with. (I think people's whining about how dumbed down the combat was after the original game is hilariously overblown- that original game's combat was frank trash.) But none of these games really needed to be lied about to earn their reputation as classics. It was all for nothing.

And in the years since we've actually received another famous fibber who unintentionally found themselves walking the very same path as Peter. Hello Games' No Mans Sky had a whole feature list promised by it's founder that I think have only just all made it to the game as of the last couple of title updates- years after launch. But of course Hello Games managed to recover their reputation in grand fashion and have developed an excellent reputation as a Space game provider despite the fact that the combat is still total ass. Maybe that was the example that spoke to Peter- that told him there was a way back into the good wills of gamers. To become the renowned designer he was once considered. I'd personally say that ship has sailed- but who am I to tell a man what he can and can't be?

The first step in that journey of redemption? Self deprecation! That's right, Peter is already making fun of his mobile diatribes as a prolonged lapse in his own sanity in order to build up his glorious return to PC- a market literally designed to gobble up the kinds of games he wants to make. Which is sensible and modern in it's approach, but also wantonly in disregard of the fact that he didn't just sell his soul to the mobile market. Let it not be forgotten that Peter also tried to flog a painfully cringe NFT project but a few years back. 'Legacy' was another nowhere NFT project that pitched itself on the value of virtual land that no one wants whilst it collapsed after launch. Essentially an 'unwitting' scam that put a bunch of morons out of pocket. But hey- at least those wastes of human life are now funding Peter's next project. Which is a game?

'Masters of Albion' is the new game on the horizon and to quote the trailer itself- the twenty person team involved are dedicated towards making something "New, Unique and Different", which is... three soft synonyms in a row, for god's sake! Albion is very much the setting for this game and rather curiously Peter seems to be introducing this setting as familiar, indicating this is indeed the same Albion from Fable without explicitly stating that- despite the very apparent fact that he doesn't own the rights to Fable. And so the fidgety relationship with the truth starts, because it can never be simple with Peter, can it? His argument is that because 'Albion' is a historical name for England it cannot possible be owned by a single copyright, however his use of 'Albion' and framing of it construes an obvious relationship with a brand he does not own and his legalise half-truths are a very iffy ground to walk on.

Now to his credit- Peter is trying to make something a lot more in his wheelhouse this time around. 'Masters of Albion' is a 'god game' designed around building up a city and serving as the literal hand of god attempting to keep the city alive and profitable. Or maybe not- it seems to be up to your discretion. The hook here appears to be the ability to self design every aspect of the world you're working with, from the buildings that count as housing to the weapons that they wield. Of course, Spore offered the same experience years ago however the actual town building propositions of Spore were very limited to be sure. Not anymore limited than what 'Masters of Albion' is currently presenting though- but we're just in the teasing stages right now.

I don't see anything insanely transformative about 'Masters of Albion' that marks the decades since 'Black and White' and indicates any sense of refinement- but then I suppose this style of town builder has been somewhat dormant in those years. I feel like town building games have ceded their popularity to colony management games such as Rimworld- with the obvious provision that Rimworld presents a vastly individual-focused take on the god-game formula whereas something of Masters of Albion's leaning seems to focus more on micromanaging an entire community. I think the game looks rough and artistically uninspired from someone who once pioneered this genre- but it has more charm than anything else he's proposed over the past ten years. Which is something?

But let's be clear- it doesn't just relieve Peter Molyneux of everything he does because he's announced a game more in-line with his style- he is still a scam artist with a history of abandoning projects when they get too hard and long before they've reached anything resembling their 'potential'. We'd need something vastly more impressive than what Masters is currently posing before any consideration of reparations can be considered- and to be honest after playing through all the old Fable games and seeing how they hold up in the modern day- I don't think he has it in him. I don't think he ever had it in him. 

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