Video Games without all the boring bits

SCHAFER AND MOLYNEUX SITTING IN A TREE...

19/2/2015

If you've played the first part of the Kickstarter-funded Broken Age you'll know it's shaping up to be a nice little point-and-click adventure. You'll probably also know that it finishes right before the story starts getting really interesting, and the dual narrative structure properly starts paying off.

Despite raising an impressive $3.45 million, back in 2012, the completed game has missed its original estimated launch window by almost two years. Somehow developer Double Fine - while not entirely avoiding criticism - nonetheless star-jumped away from the wholesale, and very personal, press and public battering that Peter Molyneux has received over the past couple of weeks.

However, Tim Schafer - Double Fine's handsome bossman - has now gone on record to send his support and kisses to Molyneux, citing his treatment at the hand of the "the internet and the games press" as "rough", "unfortunate", and "unfair".

We continue to be conflicted over the Molyneux nonsense. On the one hand, we get why he has annoyed people so much - not least, the games media, which has been forced to repeatedly regurgitate his apparently hollow, pre-chewed, hyperbole. It feels like there's a collective outpouring of frustration directed at the man. We also get the anger of Godus's backers - and their powerlessness in the face of the perceived situation.

On the other hand... y'know. Humanity anyone?

Anyhow. Whatever. Boring now. Here's Schafer's latest Broken Age update, with some Molyneux-love at the end.

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4 Comments

Mr Smith

19/2/2015 01:51:01 am

Schafer's KS was the darling which brought the influx of people to crowdfunding. It certainly brought the platform to people's attention. That fact he and those who followed have struggled, highlights that the system (and the culture of increasing expectations and entitlement it fosters) is broken. I mean that literally - crowdfunding as a concept is flawed on the genetic level.

I think everyone is starting to realise - crowdfunding is a Faustian Pact. It's not like appeasing or bending to the needs of a single commissioning publisher, which should ultimately have your back, it's bending to the rage and cries of a thousand or more tiny investors.

Even Keiji Inafune's MN9 has hit difficulties.

Monsieur Milk

19/2/2015 03:00:41 am

I don't believe the system is broken, it's just in its infancy, these are just teething pains. There have been successes, and amazing ones at that. Wasteland 2, Shadowrun Returns, and the upcoming Pillars Of Eternity looks to be on track.

I believe the difference between Molyneux and Schafer is that Schafer gave constant updates on the game via the documentary and backer updates, while Molyneux gave the impression from various examples of a lack of care for the project, whether it was ignoring the winner of Curiosity, to announcing new games while Godus was floundering. With the updates Tim gave you could see solutions to his setbacks, time or money, there was a goal for a complete game, along the lines of the one promised. Peter on the other hand gave little hope in comparison and kept moving the goal posts for the features, getting rid of Linux, making mobile a priority, etc... People wanted hope, and were not left with much...

FEoD link

19/2/2015 05:01:17 am

I had a dream last night where what's really been going on the whole time is a Better Call Saul meets the Equalizer mash-up called "Talk to Molyneux" where Peter plays a Winston Wolf-type trouble-shooter who is called in to deal with everyone in the games industry's mess-ups.
Unfortunately his only solution to every situation is to take the blame himself, making him seem like a massively incompetent lying buffoon.
Mind you some folk get to be Mayor of London with those qualifications...

Gaijintendo

19/2/2015 05:06:38 am

I feel like Peter should have his own column.

SCHAFER AND MOLYNEUX SITTING IN A TREE...

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