Interview planning for "Living Epic" online course

[Roger Travis]

The only mystery is which of the several wonderful possibilities for an interview will be the one this time around!

This is the place to put the questions you'd like to ask a bard.

Update: Very cool news to share! On 2/26 (updated, postponed from 2/24) I'll be talking to Chris Pierson and Meghan Rodberg of the Turbine Inc. The Lord of the Rings Online team! Chris is the Loremaster of the game, and Meghan is the senior community manager. Feel free to pose specific questions about MMO's and about the transition from literature to game!

[Roger Travis]

So it's Peter Molyneux.

My candidate for first question: "In what way do you think of yourself in relation to the tradition of storytelling in the West?"

[Ben Kennedy]

Wonderful! I'm a big fan of the Dungeon Keeper games myself.

If I may pose a question:

"Do you design a game for an audience, or do you find an audience for your game?"
(Does the bard tell a tale to HIS audience, or does the bard tell HIS tale to an audience?)

I'm not exactly sure on the correct phrasing, but the question I'm asking is hopefully understandable.

[Matthew Teutsch]

The only game from Molyneaux, that I have played, is Black and White. However, I am really looking forward to getting my hands on Fable II, because of the things I have read about it.

When the gamer plays a game, like Fable II, Fallout III, or KOTOR, does the gamer take over as the storyteller, using the game developer's template as a foundation?

Also, what traditional text influence your work?

[Tanaquil]

My question, for what it's worth: "Have you ever done any other sort of creative narrative work (short stories, novels, filmmaking, whatever)? If so, what sets video game authoring apart from other creative enterprises, from a narrative point of view?" (Massage question as necessary so it will make sense!)

Sorry I can't be a bit more specific, but I haven't played Fable. Sounds interesting, though.

[Seadog]

Is he working towards the goal of truly handing the story over to the player?

Will Fable 3 or 4 (or another project) focus not on collection and guiding the character to places in the world that will further the GAME story but rather on true exploration and dynamic opportunities to let the player truly forge his/her OWN tale?

Based on games like The Movies, does he think that letting players record and re-watch (interactively?) game experiences (ala, the Halo3 theatre) adds to the payers sense of ownership to the story?

[Matthew Teutsch]

I love the question about The Movies. I really think we could add aquestion about sports games also. It's a different venue, but they allow for uploaded videos also.


Based on games like The Movies, does he think that letting players record and re-watch (interactively?) game experiences (ala, the Halo3 theatre) adds to the payers sense of ownership to the story?

[Roger Travis]

I'm excited about these questions that explore the relationship of Peter's role to the role of the player in performing the story, and I'm also excited to ask about The Movies, and how he sees that game fitting with his overall ideas about narrative in games!

[Kevin Ballestrini]

Well I finally got ning unblocked by my school's firewall, forgetting all about the interview. It is probably too late, but since recalling that I played Populous and Powermonger far more than a 9 year old (or however old I was) should, I was more curious about his earlier work and the unique perspective gained from participating in "god" games.

I guess the question would be something along the lines of, "What kind of challenges do you face as a designer creating a 'god' game ? How do you estimate what the player has the potential to do and how does that factor into the story telling aspect.?"

Quick edit since I just realized that he also had a hand in Syndicate. Another question out of pure curiosity, "Do you see a chance opening up to revisit the Syndicate sci-fi universe to create a new version of the game for this generation PCs/consoles?"

[Tony Bowes]

Wow, pop out for a couple of days and a bombshell arrives! Populous remains to this day one of the pinnacles of my gaming memory. Peter is my favourite game designer and I have a soft spot in my heart for all the Bullfrog games. As an AI junkie, Black and White promised so much with the combination of Moleneux design and prominent AI. I'd like to know:

"With the AI character development and attachment attempted in the Black and White series, how long (if ever) until AIs can reliably generate an interesting storyline?"

"In Fable and Fable II the reward for good deeds and bad deeds is a specific point value. What is the process for deciding on how many points a moral choice is worth? Are there certain types of choices or a specific choice that have had a significant disparity in values through this process?"
(hopefully this will lead into a discussion about setting a moral compass for a new generation of gamers and how Peter sees his role as a developer impacts on that.)

As with Kevin, I hope I'm not too late for the interview, but I'm heartened by the "several possibilities" that there may be more on the way. Excellent work!

Edit: Just read the blog that the interview is in the can

[Edward]

Here are some questions for a future interview:

1. What do you and other program designers (bards) consider your ethical responsibilities to those who play the games, and to society at large? Is this a point of conversation among designers at all? And if so, in what context and under what circumstances do these conversations take place?

2. How influenced are you by other art forms? It's clear that ancient literature (mythology) has a large impact on many games, but are you ever influenced by dance or modern art, for instance?

3. What from your personal history has ever made it into a game? For example, we know that Shakespeare had a bitter forced marriage to Anne Hathaway, and there's a passage in As You Like It where Touchstone* has a conversation with a character named William, finally convincing him not to marry the country girl named Audrey. It's an element directly from his life that worked its way into the play. Can you think of an example where you or another designer has ever used personal history disguised in game design?

*[The name Touchstone is a dirty joke punning on Shakespeare's own name, and thus is humorously autobiographical. He did this at least twice - Touch-stone (the young man) and Fall-staff (the old man, in need of viagara), both punning on Shake-speare.]

[Joe Osborn]

1. Why are you telling (or suggesting) stories using games, as opposed to some other medium? In particular, what aspects of the form make the telling more valuable than it would be as a book, film, or interpretive dance?

2. Do you see your role as someone who tells stories, or someone who gives story "ingredients" to a player? If the latter, how do you decide on the granularity of these ingredients, or the ease with which the player can access specific ingredients? To explain this idea of "access", Ikaruga lets the player go through the whole game as a pacifist without firing a single shot. Only very skilled players can accomplish this feat, but the game supports it and gives a token reward. It's a story element that's only accessible to a limited number of players.

3. How can one prevent player fatigue and the paradox of choice in branching gameplay (including narrative)? In other words, if the player has many choices, how do you balance the player's desire to try all the choices (and the desire to not waste content development effort) with the fatigue that comes of replaying the same segments (or the same game mechanics) repeatedly?

[David Colon]

Question #1:
Bioshock was a game that centered around a pretty clear philosophical critique of Randian objectivism. Do the games you design rely on a philosophical perspective? Which one(s)? How does this perspective influence the structure of your storytelling?

Question #2:
There are several moments in the Odyssey where Odysseus is reduced to tears upon hearing a bard's recitation. Clive Thompson wrote an article in Wired entitled "Can a Game Make You Cry?" that discussed emotions in video games. In your view, can a game make you cry? If so, what are such moments in your games or others' games? Please discuss why you think these moments are so emotional. Do you think the gaming genre makes it easier or more difficult to achieve emotional connections with gamers?

Question #3:
To what extent are video games "social constructs" that reflect contemporary social values? What values do you think your games reflect?