[Mr. Vega]

The son of a ***** finally got what he deserved.

For those who don't know about the Godus fiasco, read here and here about what happens when the great self-hype machine of video games does a Kickstarter.

[Bobboau]

heard the last name and thought Stefan Molyneux, thought this was going to be a very much different thread.

[Spoon]

Man, what a scam that turned out to be.

[Lorric]

That RPS interview won't load for me.

I looked at this though:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/13/peter-molyneux-game-designer-interview-godus

It's not something I know what to think of really. I've read the posts here when Godus has come up, but I haven't been following it or anything. I hope he ultimately manages to deliver what the people paid for.

[Phantom Hoover]

Peter Molyneux has always been a dreamer. As a student at England’s Southampton Solent University in the early ’80s, he hatched a scheme to make a fortune by driving up to Scotland, buying a bunch of salmon, and then returning to sell it to local restaurants at a fantastic profit. It was only on the way home, after spending his savings, that he realized he had forgotten about refrigeration, leaving him broke and his car smelling of spoiled fish.

[Mongoose]

I'm not sure that counts as "dreamer" so much as "blithering idiot."

[Dragon]

Sure, he was a dreamer. Likely still is. However, it pays off to wake up once in a while.

[Mr. Vega]

The RPS site has been on and off today. Here's an archived version of the interview.

And here's an in depth article about just how much a scam Godus turned into.

[Luis Dias]

The way that interview starts tells me everything I need to know about how despicable Rock Paper Shotgun is. Burn that site masquerading as a journalistic news source. Burn it to the ground.

I mean , it's not easy for anyone to get me to sympathize with Peter Molyneux but they somehow managed it. Incredible. Achievement unlocked I guess. Also, very strong words there, Vega.

[Mr. Vega]

A pity the first question overshadowed the rest of the interview, because what critics almost always say whenever every time Molyneux screws up is "oh, he just dreamed too big." This is not the standard developer can't anticipate schedule creep/cost overruns stuff that happens when you make a game. This is not in the same universe as that. This is what Molyneux does. Everytime, he makes extravagant claims and promises he never intends to keep. It was amusing when it was a few rich investors he was scamming, but now that it's backers money that's been wasted (and will doubtfully ever be refunded) people are starting to realize that maybe he's more dishonest than improbably naive. It appears Walker was incensed by Molyneux's behavoir prior to talking to him. If any game developer ever deserved to be put through that interview, it's Peter Molyneux.

"I don't think I've ever knowingly lied."

[karajorma]

I saw the Guardian interview this morning and I came here to post it. I love how he's now done three "final" interviews.

The saddest thing is that Peter Molyneux shouldn't need to hype his games. The guy behind Populous, Dungeon Keeper and Syndicate should let those games talk for themselves.

[Mr. Vega]

I saw the Guardian interview this morning and I came here to post it. I love how he's now done three "final" interviews.

The saddest thing is that Peter Molyneux shouldn't need to hype his games. The guy behind Populous, Dungeon Keeper and Syndicate should let those games talk for themselves.

Unfortunately, those aren't the games most people think of when they hear Molyneux's name anymore.

[The E]

The way that interview starts tells me everything I need to know about how despicable Rock Paper Shotgun is. Burn that site masquerading as a journalistic news source. Burn it to the ground.

Yes, why does this Walker guy think he has any right to not give Molyneux the same softball questions that he has been getting for years! How dare he open the interview with a line of questioning about the personal integrity of someone whose integrity is in question? Yes, let's burn RPS to the ground, because we don't need people who are confrontational in games journalism!

[Phantom Hoover]

There's a difference between hardball interviewing and this, which is essentially phoning up a dev and having an argument with them.

[karajorma]

Thing is, I've never really gotten the feeling the PM is a liar, and that is pretty much the first question they ask. He's always struck me more as the sort of person who actually believes the stuff he says but then forgets about it later when more grounded people tell him it's too hard, too expensive or just plain impossible to do. That's quite different from going out there with the intention to deceive.

So for RPS to lead with that question is kind of a bad start.

[Flipside]

The thing is, I've owned Godus for a long time, and it is not a good game, I'll say that at the start.

This interview, however, seems way too combative from the start. Molyneux is far from the first developer to come up with a game design and then hit the brick wall of ability, though he's experienced enough to know better, this is a particular risk with Kickstarted games where people get to see the design stuff that never normally makes the light of day. But there are far larger companies that don't just overstate their ambition but really do lie about content and yet seem to get away with it, why suddenly decide to hit the 'home truths' button with a small developer near retirement?

One thing I have noticed on Kickstart is that the donators see themselves like a finance company providing money for developing a game, and therefore adopt a proprietary role with regards to the game, some companies, however, view them more as 'pre-purchases' and will provide very little feedback to the backers during the development (one of the biggest complaint about Godus).

Take games like War for the Overworld, weekly updates, regular patches, constant feedback from the developers, and it's turning into a fine game with a mostly supportive community because they feel like they are standing in front of an open door, and I think that is the way Kickstarts need to be approached.

Edit : Changed 'open source' to 'Kickstarted' in the second paragraph, used the wrong phrase.

[Spoon]

Reading through the actual interview, that interviewer is being a complete ass.
Sure, this whole godus thing has turned into a bloody fiasco, almost a downright scam. But the way this guy conducted the interview just seemed more like he wanted to rip molyneux a new asshole.

[Phantom Hoover]

Yeah, especially when it gets into the ridiculous aside about "oh Peter I remember the good times, when you made good games and we were happy". He seems to think it's his job to get into a personal spat with Molyneux, rather than act like a ****ing professional.

^{guess what, it's actually about journalistic standards in game media}

[Mr. Vega]

Thing is, I've never really gotten the feeling the PM is a liar, and that is pretty much the first question they ask. He's always struck me more as the sort of person who actually believes the stuff he says but then forgets about it later when more grounded people tell him it's too hard, too expensive or just plain impossible to do. That's quite different from going out there with the intention to deceive.

So for RPS to lead with that question is kind of a bad start.

He has done this so many times I am forced to conclude that either he is a cloud cookoolander with ADHD to such an extent that he makes Osaka from Azumanga Daioh look grounded, or he is a pathological liar who puts on that act as part of the con.

[Phantom Hoover]

I think you can make a good case that he really is a pathological liar; i.e. he is compelled to lie even when it's clearly self-destructive. I don't think he's really a sociopathic con-man, because he'd be more competent if he was. He just can't stop himself from promising things he knows he can't deliver, and he can't accept responsibility for doing so.