Molyneux: We Didn’t Have Time To Make Fable III Great

As usual before each new game by Peter Molyneux, it is that time of the year when he admits that last year’s masterpiece was actually rubbish and promises to fix all its flaws – in addition to world hunger – in upcoming games.

“I thought the idea of leveling outside the GUI, but leveling in the environment and the world was actually quite a good one, but I'm not sure...,” he said in his latest interview.

“The real dream of that leveling process was that, as you went through each gate, there would be these tough choices for the player. Which chest should I open? This one or that one? The feeling that you're going through the game at your own pace, but having to make these tough choices, was never actually realized.”

Molyneux then explained that the development studio’s inner process was to blame for preventing him from achieving his artistic vision. “The process,” he explained. “The way that we designed, and the way that we crafted -- meant that the game came together very late. That is one of the things that we're changing; that is just such an old school way of working.”

The late blooming of the game’s design left the team with little time to balance and refine it, and “that meant that what could have been a great mechanic turned out to be a good idea.”

“I don't think that good ideas are a reason to do something; I think it has to feed into the overall experience to be a great idea. I liked the idea of not pressing the pause key and going to some abstracted GUI; I think that worked reasonably well,”Molyneux pondered before admitting that they “didn't have the time to craft that into what that dream was.”

But this is all going to change from now on. “It's because of those things that, now, when we approach development, it's very different, because we want to know precisely how long the experience we're crafting is up front, rather than waiting to the end, so that we have a clear idea how each of these mechanics is used, how they're meted out, how they're exploited, and how they're really used to amplify the whole drama of what that is.”

NPD: Digital Gamers Buy More Games Than Core Gamers

NPD group’s latest report revealed that “digital gamers” are more inclined to buy new games than “core gamers”.

The report defines “digital gamers” as those who play games on a variety of devices primarily via digital distribution, while core gamers are defined as those who buy their console games on physical media.

According to the report, digital gamers buy 5.9 games on average every three months, compared to core gamers who buy 5.4 games on average over the same period. However, core gamers still take the lead in the number of hours played per week as they clock an average of 18 hours per week, compared to digital gamers’ 16 hours.

“The name of the game in 2011 seems to be choice,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “Gamers are increasingly branching out to methods of play other than those that the industry has traditionally expected them to use. Fueled by the growth of smartphones and new tablet devices, mobile gaming continues to accelerate, and what a game is and what it means to be a gamer is evolving, reflecting the rapid nature of change within the industry.”

Star Wars Galaxies To Wither Away In December

Electronic Arts announced that Star Wars Galaxies – the first Star Wars MMO – will go offline permanently in December, just around the time The Old Republic launches.

SOE president John Smedley revealed that the company’s contract with LucasArts was set to expire in 2012 anyway, but both parties agreed to the December 2011 termination day as it “feels like it's the right time for the game to end.”

Smedley stressed that subscriber numbers “have stayed pretty steady for a long time now,” and the decision to end the game was not caused by a decline in subscriptions. He also stressed that no jobs would be lost in the process as all staff will be transferred to “an undisclosed new project in Austin.”

In the meanwhile, a series of “galaxy-ending in-game events” will take place until the final blowout take place in December. More information on those events is available on the official announcement page.

Developer Ridicules Take-Two’s USD40 Mobile Games Plan

Appy Entertainment brand director Paul O'Connor refuted Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick’s claims that mobile games could be sold for $40 like console games if they offered similar experience.

“Price points aren't lower on iPhone because of five minute games - our latest game, Trucks & Skulls Nitro, clocks in at six hours-plus for $0.99, and our metrics indicate players return to Trucks several times a week, with average sessions longer than five minutes,” he said.

“Prices on iOS games are compressed to free or $1 because this platform is at the centre of the most competitive entertainment software market in history. Surviving here it requires a new kind of thinking that, frankly, most of the console industry has been unwilling (or unable) to achieve.”

“Display size is a consideration in game development, sure, but drawing a direct relationship between screen size and depth of play is like saying 'movies can only be robust and entertaining when viewed on an IMAX screen.' A larger screen can make an image more engaging but if your game isn't designed to take full advantage of this new, connected (and unique) touch-driven platform, then all a larger screen is going to do is amplify the shortcomings of your game.”

Job Listing Reveals Google’s Plan To Build A Gaming Division

A Google job listing indicates that the company is building a gaming division.

The job description of the product manager, games describes it as “a rare opportunity to grow a brand-new business - Games at Google!”

“We are looking for a strategic, technical and game-loving Product Manager to drive Google's gaming strategy,” the job listing continues. “You will design strategies for game distribution and discovery, player identity, game mechanics, and more. In addition to designing a great user experience and building out key partnerships, you will be significantly influencing Google's social platform as you work directly with a critical set of early adopters, game developers. Interesting and impactful decisions involving social gaming, privacy, virality, business, and technical APIs await you and the strong, passionate team of gamers you will work with.”

From the job description we can deduce that Google is planning to build a social gaming platform, but it isn’t clear yet whether they plan to create their own games or follow Facebook’s model of relying on third party games.

Take-Two CEO: We Will Charge USD40 For Mobile Games

A lot of developers and publishers have voiced their concern that cheap mobile games might force down the prices of console games, but Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick seems to be the first one to expect mobile games price to rise to match that of console games.

When asked by Forbes if he’d charge $20, $30 or $40 ofr a tablet game, Zelnick answered: “I don't see why not.”

“Tablets are ubiquitous,” he added. “And tablets are a great game platform. And it's the right sized screen. And you use the tablet to have an engaging experience. So if all of that's true, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to sell a robust product for the same price point. The reason the price point is currently lower for an iPhone app is it is used for five minutes, and not for a hundred hours.”

“My take is that small screens will be used for a quick but interactive entertainment experience. Mid and large screens can be a robust and engaging entertainment experience. That's how my kids play games. When they're at home, they don't really play games on their desktops or tablets. They play games on the projection TV.”

Valve Is Likely To Support Wii U

Valve boss and cofounder Gabe Newell said that the improved CPU and GPU performance of the recently unveiled Wii U makes it a viable platform for the studio’s FPS games.

“Wii U seems to be a lot more powerful than the previous generation,” he said. “It sort of fits better into the scalability in terms of graphics performance and CPU performance, so I think it'll be a lot easier for us to fit it into our scalability model.”

Gabe’s comment resonates with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s earlier statement that Nintendo hopes that Wii U’s improved performance would attract First Person Shooter developers.

Gabe Newell refused to confirm that Valve is working on any Wii U game.

Note: To the best of our knowledge, credit for the toon accompanying this post goes to Steven Ford (CTTR Champion).