Questions for Molyneux

Hello my smart readers, I'm interviewing Peter Molyneux next week. What are some of the things you'd want to know? It's always tough to think of questions he hasn't already been asked a thousand times, like "where did you get the idea for x game"; so if you have some interesting questions you've been mulling over, let me know!

Comments

[Mike]

Here's my question...

Despite wonderful previews and amazing press coverage, both Black & White and Fable were heavily criticized both by the public and by the game media for being too boring and not meeting the goals of open-endedness that were promised. Could you comment on the fact that your most recent major releases seem to be a case of biting off more than you can chew? Do you think the gaming press reacted fairly after you promised certain features in your games and then had to cut back due to developmental restrictions?

You're also one of the first developers to publicly apologize for a game gone wrong. As lead designer, did you feel it was your fault that Fable didn't come out as planned? If not, why apologize for what could have been money problems or publisher pressures?

Finally,

Will The Movies ever see the light of day?

[skyknyt]

Not to make all the questions to Molyneux pointed or anything, I mean, I've spent house and hours and hours of my life playing his games. Populous and Powermonger are two of the best games ever made in my opinion. However! It seems to me that lately Molyneux has been more concept driven than gameplay driven - which seems like a stark contrast with his earlier work. This brings up an important question... Why has he turned his focus to high concept titles rather than refining gameplay fundamentals?

Does he make a distinction between concept and gameplay, or allow gameplay to arise from the implementation of a concept?

Now that I think about it, I'm curious as to which method he used when developing Syndicate. Did he say "Let's envision a future where companies are run like the mafia and have gangland style turf wars?" or "Let's use a cyberpunk style future to emphasize real time squad-based tactical combat?"

[bowler]

"So Peter, are you French, or British?" ;)

[DaveKap]

"Do you have any advice for aspiring game developers who wish to be the next Peter Molyneux?"

"How much coding do you personally do on your games?"

"How did you get to be where you are today?"

I could talk with Peter all day. :)

[jane]

bowler: hahaha

[jiggery_pokery]

Did you regard yourself as a particular game fan before advances in technology made video games possible? If so, which games and designers particularly influenced you?

Are there any designers of non-video games or other public figures whose talents you would like to be able to use in game development somehow?