The creator of 'Dungeon Keeper' and 'Fable' talks about his early game design experiences
Peter Molyneux is a heavyweight in the games industry, designing a range of titles that have introduced many game design techniques and mechanics that are now integral to the medium. His second title, Populus, was the first god game ever produced, and sold over four million copies. He has worked as designer and producer on many genre defining titles including the iconic Fable and Dungeon Keeper series.
In this short interview, Molyneux discusses how many important developments in video games often come about through chance occurrences. An example is how one of the defining mechanics in Populus – and indeed in most god games following it - is the ability to transform and manipulate the terrain and landscape of the world. Interestingly, it came about not through a considered design decision, but a work-around solution to a coding issue that Molyneux had in creating the game.
Molyneux also looks at how presenting the player with ethical and moral choices in the narrative of Fable became a mechanic to allow different narrative pathways within the game, and that these choices encourage the player to question the real-world implications of these choices.