My brain wasn't processing what was coming out of my mouth
My brain wasn't processing what was coming out of my mouth
Interview - posted by DarkUnderlord on Sun 3 May 2009, 06:24:26
Tags: Peter MolyneuxGamaSutra interviewed hype-master extraordinaire, Peter Molyfaux, Head of Lionhead Studios and maker of Fable. This is what he had to say about the philosophy of his games:
Christian Nutt: You guys are famous for prototyping. And when I talk to people who either still work at Lionhead or are veterans, they talk a lot about the extensive prototyping -- bits and pieces of it show up in your games later. One thing that Iwata said is that he'll see something in a prototype that they're working on, then it might get yanked out of the game and never ship in that final game, and then he'll see it two years later in another game.
Peter Molyneux: Yeah, well it's very interesting how it works. Prototypes, a lot of them are inspired by designers and some of them by me, but some of them are inspired by anybody that's got a bit of free time, like at the end of a project. Anybody can kick of one of these experiments.
And we call them "experiments" and not prototypes because "prototypes" makes it sound like it's being built just for a product. But they are experiments. Some of the experiments are just completely out there. You would think, "How could that ever fit in anything?" I feel really happy with that because you never know when you're going to see some little glimpse.
There's one particular experiment I'm going to show, which has got a fantastic feel to it. It has this amazing feel. It kind of feels like it's a room. And in this room, it kind of feels like there should be an old person in this room.
I'm spoiling it a little bit. I instinctively know that we're going to use something from that, but I don't know what in. This is going to be my first real [GDC] talk, you know. I'm not PR-ing a product. This is a real reveal of how Lionhead works and how the experimental process works.
[...]
CN: But it's interesting to talk about process, right? Like last time we spoke, we talked about your script writing and your process with the actors and scriptwriters and that. I think that kind of stuff, for our audience, is exactly what's useful. On the other hand, inspiration is something that you can't talk about concretely. It comes to you.
PM: Well, there are two ways inspiration comes... One is, I look outside this window now, and I can almost see two or three game ideas that you could latch onto, and I think that's part of the process of being a designer.
Hey I have this great idea I just got from looking out my window. It feels like there should be this developer and he's... in this room and there's a chainsaw and he self-mutilates... oh gosh I'm spoiling it. Be advised that the interviewer does suffer from "Oh God, how I want to suck your fat developer cock" syndrome. They also talk about fondling dog's bottoms.
Christian Nutt: You guys are famous for prototyping. And when I talk to people who either still work at Lionhead or are veterans, they talk a lot about the extensive prototyping -- bits and pieces of it show up in your games later. One thing that Iwata said is that he'll see something in a prototype that they're working on, then it might get yanked out of the game and never ship in that final game, and then he'll see it two years later in another game.
Peter Molyneux: Yeah, well it's very interesting how it works. Prototypes, a lot of them are inspired by designers and some of them by me, but some of them are inspired by anybody that's got a bit of free time, like at the end of a project. Anybody can kick of one of these experiments.
And we call them "experiments" and not prototypes because "prototypes" makes it sound like it's being built just for a product. But they are experiments. Some of the experiments are just completely out there. You would think, "How could that ever fit in anything?" I feel really happy with that because you never know when you're going to see some little glimpse.
There's one particular experiment I'm going to show, which has got a fantastic feel to it. It has this amazing feel. It kind of feels like it's a room. And in this room, it kind of feels like there should be an old person in this room.
I'm spoiling it a little bit. I instinctively know that we're going to use something from that, but I don't know what in. This is going to be my first real [GDC] talk, you know. I'm not PR-ing a product. This is a real reveal of how Lionhead works and how the experimental process works.
[...]
CN: But it's interesting to talk about process, right? Like last time we spoke, we talked about your script writing and your process with the actors and scriptwriters and that. I think that kind of stuff, for our audience, is exactly what's useful. On the other hand, inspiration is something that you can't talk about concretely. It comes to you.
PM: Well, there are two ways inspiration comes... One is, I look outside this window now, and I can almost see two or three game ideas that you could latch onto, and I think that's part of the process of being a designer.
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