perhaps we just weren’t yet ready for never had a taste for the lure of For all the escapism involved I want to their ideas. Because they have made the disemboweled teenagers. But in gaming sometimes face what a rifle bullet first of something that’s so outdated, I want gore. I want the mess because it through the skull really does look like, so now, that their groundbreaking reminds me of what’s really going on. I can be sick and glad and move on to What does one say about Rainmakers? contribution is often overlooked. the next episode. These are the people that have so I like to be occasionally reminded profoundly affected their realm of work But that makes them no less important hacking at a mostly unarmored, and - Beretta with their ideas, innovations and and special. And it is for this reason The frequently nearly-naked, human body products that they are nearly Escapist brings to you this week’s issue, would result in horrific wounds. We, In response to “Be Men, Not synonymous with it. Personal “Rainmakers.” These are the stories of myself and the game’s own developers, Destroyers” from The Escapist computing? Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. five great names in the interactive need to be reminded on occasion that Forum: I managed to play through the Immunology/microbiology? Louis entertainment realm, stories you should underlying the pursuit of perfected first half of SCMRPG and found it rather Pasteur. Civil Rights? Rosa Parks and know. Our writers share with you stories violence is death. It’s not a spiritual ... enjoyable, er, informative. I believe Martin Luther King, Jr.. Physics? Albert and histories of Ralph Baer, Joe Ybarra, evolution or philosophical abstract, it’s that the game does a great job at Einstein. Really, all of them speak for Gunpei Yokoi, Steve Pavlina and Peter perfecting the conversion of some providing human motivations to the themselves. Molyneux. Enjoy! cheeky leathervixen into a steaming pile killers’ actions, and I think that by playing of sundered anatomy. them, we even get a better image. Some And yet, there are many unsung heroes Cheers, of the gameplay mechanics were for those fields that are small or young I love Soul Calibur, but whipping a 25lbs extremely annoying though such as or so highbrow that the masses are not razor-edged slab of steel into someone avoiding hall monitors to go plant the aware of them, or simply do not doesn’t make them bounce. Same with bombs in the cafeteria. I also feel that the understand. And within each industry, shooters. violence continued on for too long, and I there are several more Rainmakers had trouble finding a trigger to end it. whose achievements are known only to I haven’t killed anyone in real life, and those … well, in The Know. despite the occasional vitrolic diatribe When I got to the second part of the driven by some new political shennigan I game, I just turned the game off Why? have no real drive to do so. But every so immediately as from the first few In response to “Be Men, Not often I need to be back in touch with what minutes of playing in it, I felt it lost all Destroyers” from The Escapist Because they are still busily working, the violence really creates, to be forced to value worth playing. Forum: I find I have a need I have a heads down over their work, in the face that I’m tearing at the canvas of hard time defending. I like gore in my trenches. Because they have been taken humanity’s own image with my brutally - Slybok games. I’m not a slaughter flick fan, from the world all too soon. Because quick reticule and snap head-shots. In response to “Creative Hari-Kari” from developers. However, in these Unlike books, games allow (require) you from The Escapist Forum: So, on the cases, the legal agreement that you to define the means of interaction, which issue of protecting your game, I know a lot must agree to when submitting your opens up lots of new venues for of publishers don’t accept unsolicited game game states clearly that 1) they could be invention. Books, legally, are fairly proposals, because if elements from the working on a similar game, and 2) there simple. You have copyright protection, given proposal work their way into other is no real protection for the game and that’s about it. Of course, it’d also games from that publisher, it would be a developer. Submitting a design is just pretty difficult to disguise one book as lawsuit waiting to happen. Is there a similar telling someone your idea, and there is another... By the time you’ve done that, fear of misconstrued infringement with no kind of agreement or protection you might as well have written the book (relatively) solicited proposals? And, if so, (aside from copyright protection) for from scratch. In games, I would say it’s do you think that this is enough protection doing that. easier to plagarize game mechanics. for a freelance developer? Tracking down the geneology of ideas or It’s not a lot of protection for a freelance interactions is a pretty daunting task. Your article demonstrates that there are developer. The problem is, I can The controversies over the modern publishers who are reluctant to deal with understand why publishers are so shy of Graphical User Interface which involved developers who take extra steps to NDAs and such. In many cases it’s just Xerox PARC/Apple/Microsoft/etc. would protect their games, but are there best to avoid legal issues altogether than be one example of the kind of conflict an publishers out there (no need to name to get into a fight which involves exposed idea can create. names) who’ll screw over developers lawyers. One bad lawsuit at the wrong who don’t take steps to protect their time could probably sink a publisher. - Blake work? You say it’s more like book publishing than invention; did you I think there are a lot of similarities uncover any trends about what between book writing and game design. segments of the industry are more like By nature both are big, long-term, which model? creative endevors. Though the medium is very different, the role of a publisher - Bongo Bill is pretty similar (albeit with a few extra hurdles). I also think manuscripts are Author’s Reply: I do think there is that like unfinished game designs. There are same amount of fear of semi-solicited some interesting manuscripts out there, game proposals. A few publishers do but finding them amidst the drivel is a actively seek game design documents daunting task. White are best associated with his style Peter Molyneux: Since the acquisition, and creative passions. I’ve been able to focus far more on game design. I’ve always had two roles at It’s unanimous within critical circles that Lionhead - one as the head of the Molyneux has been an influential innovator company and the other as head of when it comes to game design. It’s also design. While we were independent, been lobbed that, at his worst, quite a there was a huge amount of work number of his games have turned out to needed to run a company of 200 people. be failed, though interesting, experiments. Now [that] we’re a part of Microsoft, there is a huge team of people in In April 2006, Microsoft purchased Redmond helping me to do that. This has Lionhead Studios. Molyneux founded enabled me to focus much more on Fable Lionhead in 1997, after leaving another 2 and our other super secret game. game development firm he founded, Bullfrog Productions. Despite its being TE: Early in your career, starting with absorbed by the Microsoft collective, he Populous, the concept of the “god game” still remains with the company. became synonymous with you. This label has been also ascribed to your most Over the 2006 holiday season, the “god recent titles - like Black & White - and To say Peter Molyneux is a moral game of god games” took a moment to reflect with your overall game design sensibility. developer is to be interpreted literally. with The Escapist on the approaching Though there have always been games The idea of incorporating morality - the 25-year mark of his career. Blessed be made by others that featured “god-like” choices one makes between “good” and the gamer with the power to be divine, game play, why is it that your games get “bad” behavior and the results of such so giveth Molyneux. that label the most? Or, do you think it’s personal actions - into gameplay has not valid? fascinated him throughout his career. The Escapist: Since Microsoft’s While his work spans various genres acquisition of Lionhead, what have your PM: My games Populous, Powermonger, (either as designer, programmer or day-to-day duties been? Are you still Theme Park, Black & White and The producer), he is most known for his “god actively involved in game design? Movies are obviously strongly god games,” of which Populous and Black & games. Other games such as Syndicate, Magic Carpet and Fable are not. So I’ve done more god games than any other over the Left Behind PC game, which PM: I think it’s easier to create a story genre. But it is kind of my dream to makes any controversy that Populous had and character around fixed morals in the bring elements of god games to games - over its “savior” character - back in its case of story-based games.