You Won't Fool Me Again, Peter Molyneux

Peter Molyneux made some great games. Then he made some good games. Later on, he made some really mediocre games. The one common thread with these games was how he would always overpromise and underdeliver. Molyneux would discuss how his games would let you plant a tree and years later come back to a forest, let you buy virtual real estate to become real-life rich(which stunk of being like NFTs), and so forth. I did love some of his games despite their flaws with the, "Fable," series and the two, "Black and White," games holding a special place in my heart. That said, Molyneux is a big dreamer who refuses to acknowledge that sometimes we've gotta wake up to some degree. Perhaps Molyneux has realized something, as he has announced his studio's upcoming game, "Masters of Albion," is his last.

"It's the culmination of my life's work," Molyneux has declared, adding his new game will, "...reimagine the god game for today." This is because, as you play, "Master's of Albion," you will grow a town and as RPS discusses, "There are a couple of ways to play. Firstly, you can be a floating god hand - casting spells, plonking down buildings, lobbing boulders, and godhandling the townsfolk Black & White-style. Secondly, you can possess NPCs to run around in their shoes, fight buglins of various kinds, craft gear, and raid dungeons. There’s a day-night cycle, with waves of monsters emerging after dark to assault your settlements." That sounds fun enough if it actually works and doesn't get bogged down in Molyneux's predilection for outlandish promises. He has declared, "It’s a totally unique game that we hope will delight players, a game that brings God Games into the modern gaming landscape and puts the genre firmly back on the map.” I want to believe you, Peter, but so often you've let us down with the guarantee of a game that will amaze, and instead it is merely decently fun or a huge misfire. Perhaps Molyneux can finally redeem himself, but I'm not going to plan on, "Masters of Albion," delivering on all or even most of its promises.

The, "Fable," Franchise (Maybe) Ain't Dead Yet

I really liked the first three, "Fable," video-games. Created by Lionhead Studios and spearheaded by a man who is half respected game developer and half walking punchline--Peter Molyneux--the games had Molyneux's usual grand promises before turning out to be solidly fun if not ground-shaking revolutions (seriously, he always had crazy promises about his games). Ever since he founded 22cans, Molyneux hasn't been involved in any of the other Fable works (a miserable Kinect spin-off and some teased games that ended up canceled along with...a collectible card game). The franchise seemed dead and buried to me despite the occasional tease or promise that something was coming from 2018 to now. Based on some new teasers, perhaps there is concrete proof of a new, "Fable," game. Yah?

Molyneux, for his flaws, gives his games a unique vibe and personality--like other big creators including Hideo Kojima. Will a big, "Fables," game without his involvement feel the same or just have a generic fantasy world vibe? Between teases of this and a possible, "Psychonauts 3," Microsoft clearly has some projects coming down the pipeline. Here's hoping if they are intended for Gamepass they will be good--just look at one huge recent misfire ("Redfall," was terrible) and a hit clearly would be nice.

Oh No, Peter Molyneux is Getting Into NFTs and That Kind of Makes Perfect Sense

This is weird. On Saturday I randomly had the thought, "I wonder what Peter Molyneux is up to? I hope he's happy and not doing anything stupid like he has in the past." By that thought, I was referring to how he would often overpromise wild things with his games and horrifically underdeliver. Then, on Sunday I saw his current game studio is making a game that involves NFTs--the definition of an overpromise that delivers basically nothing and continues to confuse me. Yes, Peter Molyneux's next game is a blockchain-based business simulator and goodness no that sounds awful. I wish those who take part in this the best and that they don't get fleeced by this NFT madness, but we shall see.

They're Going to Bring Back, "Fable," of all Things

"Fable," was a game series on various Xbox consoles. There were three entries of the main series and some spin-offs. It was made by the now-defunct developer and publisher Lionhead games who created some cool-but-flawed titled. Lionhead was known for much of its existence as being headed by Peter Molyneux. Molyneux was infamous for having amazing ideas that led to big promises and games that always failed to deliver on his claims. As a result, series like, "Fable," were full of neat concepts but could be kind of messy. This makes it interesting that a different studio is going to be bringing back, "Fable," in some form.

As far as I know, Molyneux is not involved in this new, "Fable." This makes me wonder if it'll have the same surreal charm or lack that vibe of, "Kinda broken but still fun," almost all Molyneux's games had. It still looks plenty quirky like the old, "Fable," games at least, but if you remove the heart of a series like, "Fable," with Molyneux being that metaphorical heart, is it really the same kind of series? I suppose we will see when the next, "Fable," game comes out in the future on Xbox Series X, which still strikes me as a such a bizarre name for the new console. Anyways, "Fable," is back. Kind of.

The End of An Era: Lionhead Studios (Most Likely) Shutting Down

I saw some saddening news today, discussing how the game, "Fable Legends," had been cancelled and the developer behind it, Lionhead studios, was most likely to be closed. Lionhead was a studio that made some of my favorite--if heavily flawed--games such as the, "Black and White," series, games in the, "Fable," Universe, and other titles.

For a long time headed by the infamous Peter Molyneux, he left Lionhead to form his own struggling game company, 22 Cans, and to this day it feels like Lionhead never really created its own identity after he departed. Perhaps that was the crux of the issue, and now Lionhead never will be able to make its own name, Molyneux-free, it appears. I offer my sympathies to the employees who will be impacted by this and wish everyone the best.