Peter Molyneux Interview (Project Ego & BC)

[Bond]

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/360/360483p1.html


We would've like to have played B.C. but it's just not in a condition that lends itself to hands-on play just yet. However, this doesn't mean we have nothing to say about Intrepid's ambitious prehistoric action arcade title. Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios is providing professional guidance and assistance on this game, which explains why Molyneux himself was the giving the demonstration. One thing we can say about B.C. is that the visual elements and game design are things that could only be done on the Xbox. You've heard this before about your favorite Microsoft console, but wait'll you hear about what's going on in B.C.

Peter Molyneux's favorite word when it comes to describing his games is "simulation." The whole concept behind B.C. as well as the marvelous Project Ego is to create a living, active world that simply reacts to what you do with the main character. In the case of B.C., that living, breathing world is prehistoric and filled with cavemen, dinosaurs and all kinds of smaller critters. It's the ridiculous level of detail that's making us feel like B.C. is going to be such an accomplishment.

The smaller creatures in the lush highlands that serve as the opening area in B.C. includes little vegetable eating dinosaurs, birds and mice. Molyneux mentioned something about functional anthills but we were unable to find any to confirm their existence. The mice, however, were present and would scurry through the tall grasses that also happen to sway in the breeze. The smaller dinosaurs we saw were kangaroo-sized herbivores that spend quite a bit of time freaking out and running away from slightly larger predators. Sometimes you'll see one of those meat-eaters actually catch one of those scampering little veggie-eating dinos. The stampeding dinosaurs and the predators that try to kill them are just one example of how life is and will continue to go on and do its thing in B.C. until and unless you decide to interfere.

One particularly impressive example is when Molyneux took one of the caveman characters and ran him into an open field. On his way to the field, a giant pterodactyl swooped down looking like he was going to attack but pulled up at the last moment. The folks at Intrepid had to explain to us that the bird was swooping down looking to eat our little caveman because they like to eat anything that's smaller than them. He pulled up out of his dive because he realized our hero was too big to eat. This is how interactive the environment gets.

The control scheme itself is relatively simple. You can control any member of your tribe of cavepeople but, much like a typical real time strategy, you need to make sure the other members of the community are doing something that benefits the group as a whole. One woman was grinding grain into powder using stones as a pestle and mortar but only after she was given the stones and took the time to figure out how they work. An elder caveman was trying to teach a younger caveboy how to crack open a giant ostrich egg but only after the elder caveman was given the egg to investigate. A group of three cavepeople were grouped near a fire gesturing and behaving as if they were having a conversation, even though they were not. They're cavemen so they don't know how to speak just yet, but this is how they show the effort that they're trying. Eventually they will speak but only if you facilitate this by letting them hang out with each other. In all of the above examples the benefits are clear. Ground up grain and ostrich eggs are good for food, which every society needs. The benefits of communication are obvious since it leads to instruction and learning which makes everything easy.

The whole tribe development process seems complicated and convoluted until you learn to look at it in a different way. The cavemen trying to talk or the elder trying to learn how to crack an egg open are analogous to a status bar in an RTS game where you're waiting for a peon to finish building a barracks or castle or something. Rather than simply showing a green bar the grows, B.C. shows the people actually trying to figure out the problem that you've asked them to solve. Taking one caveman character, you tag the members of your tribe you want to control and then lead them to an area or object you want them to deal with. You aim your character at the object, hit the "go" button and they start trying to figure out what it is you want them to do with it. With the three gathered around the fire, they were all tagged, lead to the campfire and then commanded to "go." Since the fire was already burning (something you had obviously invented way before) they chose to explore the social implications of a campfire gathering. They wanted to start telling stories, perhaps scary, but didn't have any language to carry it out.

B.C. is still early in its development process but it stands to reason that however effective you've been as a leader for your tribe determines how quickly and how intelligently they approach the tasks you set before them. In the above example, wouldn't it be possible for the three cavepeople to learn how to cook while gathered around the campfire? These are the interesting and invigorating questions that Intrepid is dealing with right now in finalizing the depth of B.C.

If you couldn't tell, B.C. has instantly and convincingly joined Project Ego as one of the most interesting and ambitious titles scheduled for the Xbox. We have a feeling that your first glimpse at these first shots of B.C. will do a lot of convincing especially since they come directly from the demonstration that we saw.


Screen shots:
http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_01.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_02.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_03.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_04.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_05.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_06.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_07.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_08.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_09.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_10.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_11.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_12.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_13.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_14.jpg

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/BCE3_15.jpg

[Old Skool]

You got to love Peter Molyneux's games if only to look at them! WoW top screens Bond nice job!

[Bond]

*Shakes fist at TeamXbox getting the real life interview Bond didn't!*

Peter Molyneux Sit-Down: Day 1

http://teamxbox.com/article.php?id=376&t=f


During E3 last week we were invited to sit down with Peter Molyneux to discuss two of his current projects, Project Ego and B.C. Both games are sure fire jaw-droppers and we have long been anticipating each of these titles for some time now, but we had no idea just how amazing these games really were until we actually sat down and had Peter walk us through a bit of each game. Today we will look into Project Ego, followed up by B.C. on Day 2 of our sit down with Peter Molyneux.

The gaming media and gamers everywhere have been talking about Project Ego and B.C. for months, and many publications have already labeled these titles among the most detailed RPG’s in history. You better believe it! After talking with Peter and watching the game in action, we were almost speechless when Peter then asked if we had any questions. It was an awe inspiring event in that we found ourselves at a loss for words due to the pure depth of each game. We have since been able to gather our thoughts and bring you this detailed look behind the story of both Project Ego and B.C.

Before we got into the games themselves, Peter explained to us why he has spent so much time thinking about the development of his titles and why he has decided to put so many resources into making these games everything they are. Peter has always been a huge fan of RPG titles, but he said that he always found himself asking why he couldn’t do certain things that he naturally wanted to do. After a while, Peter had amassed a large number of problems he found with RPG titles of the past and with this in mind he set out to create games that will allow the gamers to do everything possible and give players the ability to do all those things Peter had always wanted to do while playing a great RPG. Peter has taken the RPG genre and shoved the conventional rules right out the window and in the process he has created two of the most elaborate gaming titles of all time.

Project Ego
Stemming from the great heroic stories that have fueled the RPG genre, Project Ego allows the player to totally immerse themselves in the game by giving them the opportunity to create a character that truly reflects their personality. Where most games put you in the role of the hero as created by the game, Project Ego’s character will evolve as you play and by how you play.

The game will start out with a basic character that you have complete control over. In a technique Peter calls “morphing,” the character will seamlessly develop according to how you play the game and the actions you choose to take. Throughout the game, the main character will age from around 15 to 45 years old, but you will be in charge of the paths the character takes during the game. For example, if you choose to become a fighter and are involved with a high number of battles, you may begin to notice scars or wrinkles that develop on your body. If you spend a great deal of time in the sun, your character will tan, and over time develop a darker skin tone. Working out and taking part in combat or athletic activities will help build your muscles and increase your overall body mass. This will boost your combat skills, but this will also make you heavier on your feet, so your stealth skills may not be as finely tuned.

Peter made sure that almost every feature of your character is controlled by you. You can determine your character’s clothes, physical features, and even your characters hair style. You character’s hair will actually grow during the game and you will be able to stop in barber shops and get your hair cut and styled to your own personal liking. You might choose to go bald, or have your hair long and flowing. You might feel like a clean cut look, or have a long burly beard. However you feel, you can make your character show those feelings and desires.

Peter also wanted to point out that he has always had a problem in that most RPG titles offer you a positive hero role. Peter expressed his desire to be able to be a bad guy sometimes as well.

"Sometimes people might be having a bad day, so they just want to take their frustrations out in a game. I wanted to make a game that would reflect this."

The bottom line here is that you make the rules, and those rules will determine the outcome of the game. If you want to be a noble hero that is adored by all you can choose to do so, but if you want to be a murderous thief who kills by night, so be it. You can also have two sides, or three, or four...it’s totally up to you. Your character’s personality will greatly affect the gameplay and not just the character himself. If you are known as a valiant fighter, the townspeople may cheer you as you walk through town, or they may sing songs of your defeats mocking your poor fighting skills.

"Things will happen in Project Ego that have never happened before in a role playing game."

Finally a game has been created that gives players almost complete freedom to take control of a totally customizable character that lives and evolves depending on your playing style and personal feelings. The game itself will change and adapt according to how you play and the paths you take. The people around you and the environments you meet up with will be affected by your actions. Almost every aspect of Project Ego is completely customized to you, which will enable each of us to experience our own take on the game. Project Ego is a giant leap forward in the gaming world, and gamers everywhere will certainly be sharing their heroic stories once they get the game for themselves, and you can bet that no two stories will be alike.

[Jonbo298]

Wow! That sounds pretty good. This is a stupid question but is Project Ego exclusive to the XBox. I'm pretty sure since I read somewhere that it uses the hard drive to hold all the data of you/world changing. (unless Im wrong, then correct me)

[Bond]

Originally posted by Jonbo298
Wow! That sounds pretty good. This is a stupid question but is Project Ego exclusive to the XBox. I'm pretty sure since I read somewhere that it uses the hard drive to hold all the data of you/world changing. (unless Im wrong, then correct me)
Yeah, it's 100% Xbox exclusive, so is BC for that matter. Here's day two:

Peter Molyneux Sit-Down: Day 2

http://www.teamxbox.com/article.php?id=378&t=f


Continuing on with Day 2 of our coverage of our meeting with Peter Molyneux, we move on to another project he has in store for us. Project Ego is the first step in Peter’s dream to create an ultra-realistic RPG game that replicates real life, and B.C. is the next step forward in simulation gaming. If you think Project Ego is a detailed game, B.C. will blow your mind. Peter is steadfast in his desire to develop a game that is like no other game we have ever seen.

"The goal here is to create the most sophisticated worlds possible."

B.C. is a game that takes place in prehistoric times as you take control over a primitive human clan. Survival is the name of the game, and there isn’t much else to be said for the story. But don’t take that lightly in any way, this game is detailed to the extreme and it is next to impossible for any two gamers to have the same experience while playing the game. By now you should be fairly familiar with Project Ego and the complexity of the gameplay, but with B.C. Peter wishes to go even further in his quest for realism. Two years in the making, B.C. looks to live up to Peter’s expectations and while the game was being shown to us, I had to excuse myself for the drool and wide-eyed expression I realized I had on my face.

While the game has its roots in the RPG world, Peter explains that B.C. is more of an action adventure title than a traditional RPG. The goal of the game is successfully maintaining the survival of your tribe, which means you will have to perform just about every task the tribe must complete in order to live on. This also means you will find yourself playing as various members of the tribe. While this is a single player title, you will take on many roles, and no single member is the sole hero. The hero here is you and how you are able to progress the tribe through the generations.

Survival in the harsh and dangerous world of B.C. will require a huge amount of teamwork. You will have to lead your tribe by teaching them new techniques and helping them build upon each others’ abilities and skills. Let’s say you take a member of the tribe and walk over to a bush. You might notice some berries on the bush that look mighty tasty, so you decide to pick one. After eating it you realize that it tastes pretty good and another member of the tribe notices you. They then decide to come over and mimic your actions. You have just learned to teach another member of your group a skill that can prove very valuable in the everyday survival of the group. Pretty simple? Think even deeper than that. You have now also helped teach another member of the group to teach others by their own example. Your simple action has set a chain of events in motion that will give you a better chance of survival. You may even notice that after time, groups of tribe members will set out to find food in such a way, and it all started with your decision to explore. Getting a better idea of just how detailed B.C. will actually be?

In a similar fashion, you will need to make sure that a lot of other necessary actions take place each day so that the entire tribe is able to provide for itself, defend itself, and even travel from place to place when needed. Peter showed us a few more aspects of the game that you will have to be able to establish, such as communication between each other. Without really having any meanings, Peter was able to gather a group of tribe members who began muttering sounds to each other. While there wasn’t an established verbal meaning that was understood at this point, the groundwork had been laid for the initial concept of communication. Everything in B.C. will have an affect on what happens later in the game as well as what happens in the present time. Not only does the action take place where you can see things, but it also takes place whether you see it or not. Flocks of birds will migrate according to the simulations running constantly throughout the game. If you don’t happen to take notice of the patterns they fly, they will still fly them, and these patterns will still affect the course of the game. A large predatorial dinosaur might decide to feast on a flock of smaller animals during such a migration, and maybe you will be able to take advantage of what might be left over for food. On the other hand, you might end up as a light snack for a large dinosaur if your group’s hunting skills aren’t advanced enough to remain unseen.

B.C. will definitely take everything you know about simulation gaming and throw it onto a whole new plane of existence. Everything in the game is meant to give you the perception of a real-life world that is filled with living, breathing inhabitants whose delicate interactions among each other determine the outcome of your overall gaming experience. We aren’t talking about predetermined events here either, we are talking about a complete simulation based on the events at hand, so the possible paths on which the game may take place are endless. The controls are quite simple, but the scheme the game is based on is anything but simple.

Graphically, the game looks amazing. Textures are gorgeous and models are right on target. No detail is too small to be overlooked. Even ants are simulated in the game, yes ants. You can actually stop and watch colonies of ants. Why? Who knows, but they are there and you can try to figure out their significance. Simply put, they are there because in reality they are there, so Peter made sure to include them. You will also notice that while crossing through streams, schools of fish will swim around. Good chance to work on your fishing skills. You might start off trying to snag them as they swim by, but you might want to go find some sticks and use some stones to carve some spears for more advanced fishing. While you are at it, don’t forget to tag some other members of the tribe to help you out. This is survival 101 times ten, so get ready because you will need to be prepared for this one.

[DeathsHand]

Hopefully the gameplay comes out nice on Project Ego... cuz if it does, looks like I'ma have to be gettin' me an XBox... Halo, Knights of the old Republic, project ego... and... some more... cuz I probably wouldn't get it until early 2003 at the earliest...

Then again, I used to say that I'd get NGC late 2002 at the earliest, and I've had one for a couple months now :D

[Jonbo298]

Originally posted by DeathsHand
Hopefully the gameplay comes out nice on Project Ego... cuz if it does, looks like I'ma have to be gettin' me an XBox... Halo, Knights of the old Republic, project ego... and... some more... cuz I probably wouldn't get it until early 2003 at the earliest...


Exactly. This new info has been persuading me more to get an XBox even though I am a Nintendo owner only. But I need a few (more?) big name titles before I decide to buy one IF I do. But I remember someone said not too long ago to stick with Nintendo since they need people like me. But back to topic. Im not a big RPG person, but this sounds like a good game(s)

[Perfect Stu]

Originally posted by Jonbo298
But I remember someone said not too long ago to stick with Nintendo since they need people like me.

:lol: !!!LMAO!!! :lol:

omg...that was me...and I was OBVIOUSLY joking...

tip of the day: never listen to me...I'm big, scary, and most important of all: INSANE

now run away! grrrrrr!

:lol:

[Jonbo298]

Originally posted by Perfect Stu


tip of the day: never listen to me...I'm big, scary, and most important of all: INSANE


:lol: I"m somewhat Insane too! If you have hever heard some of my "plans". If you ask my friends, they would say I'm insane, big, and not really scary. So 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[Bond]

Here are some new and old screen shots of Project Ego:

http://www.bigbluebox.com/images/game/2002e3_01.jpg

http://www.bigbluebox.com/images/game/2002e3_02.jpg

http://www.bigbluebox.com/images/game/2002e3_03.jpg

http://www.bigbluebox.com/images/game/2002e3_04.jpg

http://www.bigbluebox.com/images/game/2002e3_05.jpg

http://www.bigbluebox.com/images/game/2002e3_06.jpg

http://www.bigbluebox.com/images/game/2002e3_07.jpg

http://www.bigbluebox.com/images/game/2002e3_08.jpg

[bobcat]

The people who made PE are they the same ppl who made B&W.

Coz it sounds strikingly similar to B&W(hey this has gotta be my new trade mark).

"Strikingly Similar"............meh.........hehe heahahaahahahamwahahahahahahaah............:unsure:

Or am I just making this up? :confused:

[Bond]

Originally posted by bobcat
The people who made PE are they the same ppl who made B&W.

Coz it sounds strikingly similar to B&W(hey this has gotta be my new trade mark).

"Strikingly Similar"............meh.........hehe heahahaahahahamwahahahahahahaah............:unsure:

Or am I just making this up? :confused:
Lionhead made Black and White. Lionhead owns Big Blue Box (BBB), BBB is really making Project Ego. So... BBB is the developer and the publisher is to be announced. Hope that makes sense.

[bobcat]

Originally posted by Bond

Lionhead made Black and White. Lionhead owns Big Blue Box (BBB), BBB is really making Project Ego. So... BBB is the developer and the publisher is to be announced. Hope that makes sense. There was a strikingly similarity and it turns out that my assumption was correct :unsure:

[Angrist]

Those games are looking really really great! I have to admitt, I'd like to play those two games. Oh well, a friend has a Box, perhaps he wants to exchange our consoles for a few weeks. :)

And I don't think Cave-women would wear bra's back then... :sneaky:

[Bond]

Originally posted by bobcat
There was a strikingly similarity and it turns out that my assumption was correct :unsure:
No, Lionhead made Black and White, Big Blue Box is making Project Ego. They are two totally different games.

[Bond]

Here's the E3 trailer of Project Ego if you haven't seen it already, it's really good:

http://www.teamxbox.com/showmedia.php?mid=210