[OS X] GODUS (Populous reinvented) coming to Mac and iOS

Huacanacha · 08:31 PM

Hi all,

There's currently a Kickstarter project for GODUS, the reinvention of Populous which was the first (an in my opinion still greatest!) God game. It's being developed by Peter Molyneux and 22cans, and the good news is they are brining it to Mac as well as iOS devices!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/.../project-godus

I have many fond memories of red-eye sessions into the night so I thought I'd share my enthusiasm here.

It's worth checking out if you like god games or strategy games, or just like to see independent creative game studios succeed, especially as they are bringing the game to the platform of our choice! If you like what you see consider supporting them... they're getting close to their £450k target but still need some extra love in the last 2 days of the Kickstarter campaign to make it a reality (Kickstarter is all or nothing so if they fall short it's Armageddon time!).

Cheers,
Huacanacha

Meamsosmart · Dec 18, 2012, 10:16 PM

While i've never actually played Populous, i've always loved god games and I love Peter's work. This game seems like its going to be awesome, what they have set up already already seems pretty fun and considering that this is only after around 2-3 weeks of work the end result will be simply amazing. I've always loved to play games where you have a definite role in the world, but not complete control, where your worlds denizens make their own decisions to some extent and work without your presence to their fall or success, often dependent on your guidance.

brimble2010 · Dec 19, 2012, 03:59 AM

This post pushed me to join Kickstarter. £20 pledged!

garnerx · Dec 19, 2012, 04:47 AM

You've basically just agreed to pay £20 for an as-yet unwritten iPhone game that's going to cost 69p.

Peter Molyneux doesn't need Kickstarter money to get a game published - completely cynical abuse of the system by a very wealthy man who runs a full-time professional development studio.

I'll buy it when it's done for a price I consider to be fair.

SilentPanda · Dec 19, 2012, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garnerx

Peter Molyneux doesn't need Kickstarter money to get a game published - completely cynical abuse of the system by a very wealthy man who runs a full-time professional development studio.

How do you know he's wealthy? See this interview with him where he talks about that exact thing. He talks about it at 1:24.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boHTXxsXCY0

Yujenisis · Dec 19, 2012, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentPanda

How do you know he's wealthy? See this interview with him where he talks about that exact thing. He talks about it at 1:24.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boHTXxsXCY0

The guy sold two businesses he founded and ran to two very rich companies (EA and Microsoft), and unless he's awful with money he would have come away with a good chunk of the purchase price.

Molyneux is a far cry from the independent developers who typically turn to Kickstarter to make their dreams a reality.

His utilization of Kickstarter to fund a game is strange given his long, established resume of creating games. But is certainly no stranger or questionable than Amanda Palmer's use of the site to dubiously fund an album while she panhandles her fans to help pay for her lifestyle.

I loved Populous...but Molyneux is a difficult man to like. I'll wait to see more about the game before deciding if I'll buy it.

Huacanacha · Dec 19, 2012, 09:55 AM

This is more about supporting the vision. Yes the game hasn't been created yet, that's the point. It's a full PC/Mac game and if you've played the original Populous or Populous 2 you'll know there will be a ton of complexity and depth (so we hope!)... it's not an iOS game scaled up to a computer version.

I'm sure Molyneux is partly funding this himself, to the extent that he can, through his investment in 22cans... the point of using Kickstarter is to keep creative control of the project with the developer and not with a publisher who cares more about $'s, deadlines and DRM. This makes them accountable to their users rather than some corporate machine. I for one am more than happy to support this model of independent game development!

Dagless · Dec 20, 2012, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yujenisis

The guy sold two businesses he founded and ran to two very rich companies (EA and Microsoft), and unless he's awful with money he would have come away with a good chunk of the purchase price.

Molyneux is a far cry from the independent developers who typically turn to Kickstarter to make their dreams a reality.

His utilization of Kickstarter to fund a game is strange given his long, established resume of creating games. But is certainly no stranger or questionable than Amanda Palmer's use of the site to dubiously fund an album while she panhandles her fans to help pay for her lifestyle.

I loved Populous...but Molyneux is a difficult man to like. I'll wait to see more about the game before deciding if I'll buy it.

I kind of have to agree with this. But I can see why he's doing it - obviously he doesn't want to spend his own money, nobody would. And Kickstarter reduces that risk now. You can get money to fund your dream project and there is minimal financial risk for the people involved.

Could he afford to do it himself? Possibly. Could he take these ideas to any big publisher and call the shots? Definitely. But there's a lot to be said for complete freedom with a game studio.

Huacanacha · Dec 19, 2012, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brimble2010

This post pushed me to join Kickstarter. £20 pledged!

This is my first Kickstarter project too... I've checked it out in the past without taking the plunge, but I couldn't resist helping Populous be remade!

garnerx · Dec 19, 2012, 06:17 PM

While I'd love to play a new Populous that's somehow as good today as the original was back in 1989 or whenever, this isn't how great games get made.

Regarding Molyneux's personal wealth: so he says in the interview that he's not rich, but I doubt he's exactly impoverished. He employs a full time staff, for god(game)'s sake. He's one of a select few developers who's almost as famous as the games he's made. Regardless of whether or not he'd have to remortgage his house or sell a Bentley to fund it personally, he could easily get the green light for a big project like this from any number of publishers, and not necessarily just the Triple-A corporate monster types.

If he's genuinely going the "indie" route, indie developers don't have a 20-person team working on a single game.

Kickstarter is a begging bowl. It's completely undignified for a guy like him to be doing it. Plus, if it all goes wrong then he's under no obligation to refund your money or deliver any kind of product. He could just dissolve the company and go back to making more of those obscure little indie projects like Fable or Black & White.

Edit: I see he's hit the target now. Well, if the game ever comes out then I'll buy it on iOS for the price of a Snickers bar (assuming the Metacritic rating is any good)

Nova Sensei · Dec 19, 2012, 09:21 PM

Why does it seem like all the games i've dreamed of for years are current kickstarter projects (years away from release)..... ?

Dec 18, 2012, 07:59 PM	#1
Huacanacha macrumors newbie Join Date: Jul 2010	GODUS (Populous reinvented) coming to Mac and iOS Hi all, There's currently a Kickstarter project for GODUS, the reinvention of Populous which was the first (an in my opinion still greatest!) God game. It's being developed by Peter Molyneux and 22cans, and the good news is they are brining it to Mac as well as iOS devices! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/.../project-godus I have many fond memories of red-eye sessions into the night so I thought I'd share my enthusiasm here. It's worth checking out if you like god games or strategy games, or just like to see independent creative game studios succeed, especially as they are bringing the game to the platform of our choice! If you like what you see consider supporting them... they're getting close to their £450k target but still need some extra love in the last 2 days of the Kickstarter campaign to make it a reality (Kickstarter is all or nothing so if they fall short it's Armageddon time!). Cheers, Huacanacha Last edited by Huacanacha; Dec 18, 2012 at 08:31 PM.
	0

Dec 18, 2012, 10:16 PM	#2
Meamsosmart macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2012	I can't wait While i've never actually played Populous, i've always loved god games and I love Peter's work. This game seems like its going to be awesome, what they have set up already already seems pretty fun and considering that this is only after around 2-3 weeks of work the end result will be simply amazing. I've always loved to play games where you have a definite role in the world, but not complete control, where your worlds denizens make their own decisions to some extent and work without your presence to their fall or success, often dependent on your guidance.
	0

Dec 19, 2012, 03:59 AM	#3
brimble2010 macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012	I'm a believer This post pushed me to join Kickstarter. £20 pledged!
	0

Dec 19, 2012, 04:47 AM	#4
garnerx macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2012	Populous was great, but... You've basically just agreed to pay £20 for an as-yet unwritten iPhone game that's going to cost 69p. Peter Molyneux doesn't need Kickstarter money to get a game published - completely cynical abuse of the system by a very wealthy man who runs a full-time professional development studio. I'll buy it when it's done for a price I consider to be fair.
	0

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Dec 19, 2012, 09:55 AM	#7
Huacanacha Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Jul 2010	This is more about supporting the vision. Yes the game hasn't been created yet, that's the point. It's a full PC/Mac game and if you've played the original Populous or Populous 2 you'll know there will be a ton of complexity and depth (so we hope!)... it's not an iOS game scaled up to a computer version. I'm sure Molyneux is partly funding this himself, to the extent that he can, through his investment in 22cans... the point of using Kickstarter is to keep creative control of the project with the developer and not with a publisher who cares more about $'s, deadlines and DRM. This makes them accountable to their users rather than some corporate machine. I for one am more than happy to support this model of independent game development!
	0

Dec 19, 2012, 06:17 PM	#10
garnerx macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2012	While I'd love to play a new Populous that's somehow as good today as the original was back in 1989 or whenever, this isn't how great games get made. Regarding Molyneux's personal wealth: so he says in the interview that he's not rich, but I doubt he's exactly impoverished. He employs a full time staff, for god(game)'s sake. He's one of a select few developers who's almost as famous as the games he's made. Regardless of whether or not he'd have to remortgage his house or sell a Bentley to fund it personally, he could easily get the green light for a big project like this from any number of publishers, and not necessarily just the Triple-A corporate monster types. If he's genuinely going the "indie" route, indie developers don't have a 20-person team working on a single game. Kickstarter is a begging bowl. It's completely undignified for a guy like him to be doing it. Plus, if it all goes wrong then he's under no obligation to refund your money or deliver any kind of product. He could just dissolve the company and go back to making more of those obscure little indie projects like Fable or Black & White. Edit: I see he's hit the target now. Well, if the game ever comes out then I'll buy it on iOS for the price of a Snickers bar (assuming the Metacritic rating is any good)
	0

Dec 19, 2012, 09:21 PM	#11
Nova Sensei macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2012	Why does it seem like all the games i've dreamed of for years are current kickstarter projects (years away from release)..... ?
	0