Peter Molyneux Receives Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

[fitbabits]

Official Press Release:

The French Government has bestowed on Peter Molyneux the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (The Knighthood in the Order of Arts and Letters). He was presented with his medallion by Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, the French Minister for Culture. The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Culture in Paris on Tuesday 12th March.

The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is an Order of France and its purpose is the recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields. However, recipients do not have to be French citizens. So luminaries from the international worlds of film, literature, art and entertainment have been similarly honoured since the order was established in 1957.

Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres said “I am particularly glad to salute today a veritable visionary, who shows for every creation of his own how video games have their place in this stateroom”.

Upon receiving his medallion Peter Molyneux said, “I am extremely proud to have received this honour and would like to thank the French Ministry of Culture for this recognition. I would also like to say that I see this as a credit for everyone at Lionhead Studios, all our games are a team effort. I am just the figurehead. It is fantastic to see video games honoured in this way. “
Congratulations.

[TrackZero]

And now the Peter haters come out in droves....

My 2 cents, I love the guys work.

[51|RandoM]

Peter Molyneux has had some visionary ideas when it comes to videogames.

...and all of them were in Populous

[Citizen Philip]

Can't say I've been fond of his latest work, but the combined body of his works and effort have certainly added a great deal to game development. It's pleasing to see a government that appreciates 'the art' that needs to go into a game and properly recognize it with this particular accolade.

Congratulations!

[kid cabelgo]

Hooray for superfluous "u"s!

[fitbabits]

Hooray for superfluous "u"s!
They're only superfluous to people who are too lazy to include them in the first place. :)

[Mdot23]

Sweet, I wish I was knighted.

[Johan]

Congrats to him.

I hope you spelled it all correctly, as the French would have your head if you didn't...

[Loganrapp]

Peter Molyneux is the George Lucas of games, in a way.

Not in that his ego is the side of Texas - I haven't read enough of the man personally, but I think he still loves the game design process and not just the result of money (besides, he's not making nine figures off this).

However, when you let Lucas go on his own, you get The Phantom Menace (which is a horrible title, by the way). Lucas is a great producer, he is. He's a big-picture kind of guy, and Molyneux is as well. What I hope both these people understand (and one is far more likely to do this than the other), is that they need a good Spielberg, a details kind of guy. Someone who knows how to make things just work.

If Molyneux lets himself pull back to a more producer role and find himself a good details-man, I think we'll see some truly completed products coming out off his assembly line.

[kid cabelgo]

They're only superfluous to people who are too lazy to include them in the first place. :)


Well colour me lazy! ;)

[fitbabits]

Well colour me lazy! ;)
Okay... LAZY.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Peter Molyneux is the George Lucas of games, in a way.

Not in that his ego is the side of Texas - I haven't read enough of the man personally, but I think he still loves the game design process and not just the result of money (besides, he's not making nine figures off this).

However, when you let Lucas go on his own, you get The Phantom Menace (which is a horrible title, by the way). Lucas is a great producer, he is. He's a big-picture kind of guy, and Molyneux is as well. What I hope both these people understand (and one is far more likely to do this than the other), is that they need a good Spielberg, a details kind of guy. Someone who knows how to make things just work.

If Molyneux lets himself pull back to a more producer role and find himself a good details-man, I think we'll see some truly completed products coming out off his assembly line.
I like how you think. Molyneux had great ideas for Black and White, but forgot to build the rest of the game.

[Amalor]

Molyneux's only fault is he dreams bigger than what the currant scope of the digital canvas can convey. Without people like him we would all be playing more tired rehashes. I hope one day his vision for Fable can be fully realized.

-Cheers
-Amalor

[TheFlyingOrc]

Molyneux's only fault is he dreams bigger than what the currant scope of the digital canvas can convey. Without people like him we would all be playing more tired rehashes. I hope one day his vision for Fable can be fully realized.

-Cheers
-Amalor

Really? How, exactly, has he expanded the games industry? If his ideas led to finished products, or made other developers create new product, he would be helping the industry. He's the living embodiment of hype.

Now, Will Wright is more like what you're talking about.

[Nerv]

Really? How, exactly, has he expanded the games industry? If his ideas led to finished products, or made other developers create new product, he would be helping the industry. He's the living embodiment of hype.

Populous.
Syndicate.
Theme Park.

[WastelandDan]

France must have a surplus of available knighthoods if they can afford to give one to a man who has promised so much and delivered so little.

[Serapth]

Populous.
Syndicate.
Theme Park.

... plus
Dungeon Keeper
Magic Carpet
Black and White
Fable
The Movies


Some of them didnt reach the lofty heights he aimed for, but all were solid and many tried something new.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Populous.
Syndicate.
Theme Park.

Fine - how has he done so since 1995?

[TheFlyingOrc]

... plus
Dungeon Keeper
Magic Carpet
Black and White
Fable
The Movies


Some of them didnt reach the lofty heights he aimed for, but all were solid and many tried something new.

I enjoy Dungeon Keeper - I'm just protesting that he has done very little that has had rippling effects throughout the industry - inspring others to new projects.

[KingGorilla]

And now the Peter haters come out in droves....

My 2 cents, I love the guys work.
I wholeheartedly concur.

[ZekeG4]

I was looking at the list (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_dans_l%27Ordre_des_Arts_et_des_Lettres) and you got some wierd people choosing this thing:
Leonardo DiCaprio?
Jude Law?
Bruce Willis?
Celine Dion?

on the other hand you have:
Kazuo Ishiguro
Miyamoto
and Clint Eastwood.

Now you've got an awesome trivia question! What do these people have in common?

Also, according to wikipedia:
According to French government guidelines citizens of France must be at least thirty years old, respect French civil law, and must have, “significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance.”

Mmm...

[Serapth]

I enjoy Dungeon Keeper - I'm just protesting that he has done very little that has had rippling effects throughout the industry - inspring others to new projects.

Dude, he invented a bloody genre! ( The god game ).

How many developers get to invent a genre?!!?

[KingGorilla]

I have said it before, and it bears repeating. When Molyneux only reaches half of his goals in a game, it is usually twice as good as anything anyone else could make.

[x999x]

In other news, "Email" has been removed from the French dictionary.

[Boris]

Yeah, props where props are due. Molyneaux has created some of the great games of all time (most of the young'uns around here probably never had the chance to play Populous or Syndicate - poor schlubs).

I've dissed the bro for some of his recent work but he deserves a mountain of respect compared to the dozens of half-assed designers that spend more time rehashing than designing anything original.

[Citizen Philip]

Dude, he invented a bloody genre! ( The god game ).

How many developers get to invent a genre?!!?


uhh.. Will Wright made the simulation genre (city builder).. and I suppose Sid Meier is a founding father of 4x strategy?

Those guys at ID, ie. Carmack for the FPS

[Xerxes]

Way to go Peter.

[Deadend]

In other news, "Email" has been removed from the French dictionary.
In other other news, my "pants" have been removed from my body.

[Serapth]

uhh.. Will Wright made the simulation genre (city builder).. and I suppose Sid Meier is a founding father of 4x strategy?

Those guys at ID, ie. Carmack for the FPS


And wouldnt you say Will Wright is a premier designer?

iD, I give them alot of credit, but they didnt invent the FPS. The technology used in Wolf3D was used much earlier in a game called Alternate Reality. Also, they dont lay claim to the first true 3D game either, as that honor goes to Looking Glass for Ultima Underworld. Aswell, the first 6DoF game was Descent. I do give credit to it for pioneering death match however.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Dude, he invented a bloody genre! ( The god game ).

How many developers get to invent a genre?!!?

The god game is just a simulation/strategy game with an extra coat of paint. Who you ARE as the protagonist doesn't define the genre, what you DO defines a genre, and i would argue that the god game is, for all intents and purposes, a simulation.

[x999x]

In other other news, my "pants" have been removed from my body.

WTB Shorts PST -Tipping well

[Virtuoso]

I enjoy Dungeon Keeper - I'm just protesting that he has done very little that has had rippling effects throughout the industry - inspring others to new projects.

How about all the sim games that have come to light because of him?

It can be argued that the idea of "sandbox" gameplay, whether in the macroscopic view of Black and White or Themepark or the more individual Fable owes something to Molyneux in the long run. We have to admit that his innovation has definitely inspired others, while perhaps not in wanna-be remakes of his games or even games in the same genre, but rather in the industry as a whole.

Also, from what it seems, although gamers may deride him, the industry as a whole definitely respects him to the utmost degree.

[Amalor]

Really? How, exactly, has he expanded the games industry? If his ideas led to finished products, or made other developers create new product, he would be helping the industry. He's the living embodiment of hype.

Now, Will Wright is more like what you're talking about.

You make an excellent point about Will Wright, he is just the type of developer I am referring to. I however view Molymeux to be the progenitor of the "God" game genre which has been often imitated. You are correct about his track record of ideas to final products though and that was my point, he simply thinks too big for what is possible right now but without that what do we have to aim for in the future?

-Cheers
-Amalor

[Zeal]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I actually thought Fable was an amazingly entertaining game. Then again, I went in having 0 expectations.

[Steele Johnson]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I actually thought Fable was an amazingly entertaining game. Then again, I went in having 0 expectations.

I also really enjoyed Fable. I liked it so much that I played it through twice, and I rarely do that.

On the other hand, some of his games are just micro-management-based RTS's in disguise. And the disguise being a hyped-up concept that ends up being such a small part of the game.

Congrats nonetheless. I'm sure he'll be making some great games years to come.

[saneman]

Congrats to Peter indeed.

I guess I'm in the minority, but I actually thought Fable was an amazingly entertaining game. Then again, I went in having 0 expectations.

I went in with not so much expectations as anticipation. Initially I was kind of disappointed, but over time and with the later release of The Lost Chapters, Fable is easily one of my favourite games on Xbox. My main problem with it is that the world feels so small - or at least I want it to be larger. The game itself, the setting, the humour, I just wanted more of it. Fable 2 is absolutely one of the reasons I'll be getting an Xbox 360.

[MacD]

LoganRapp...I see it entirely the other way: Peter IS the details man: when he was programming his own games (back in the days of Populous, Syndicate et al), his work was golden, as he not only came up with the concepts but had to program them in as well, thereby coming across limitations quickly and being able to turn those limitations into actual good play mechanics. It was when he went producer and only did the high level design work that his games went a bit off track.

As for you, TheFlyingOrc, I really hate what you do: first you say he hasn't done shit dto grow the industry, and when pointed out how he most definitely has, you find another percieved fault. Which, by the way, is wrong again based on critical and commercial success of even his later work.
Yet the fact remains that no matter his latter work, Molyneux has been seminal in the gamesdesign field and is mentioned in the same breath as Carmack, Wright and Specter.
Fact is, he's more deserving of the honour than damn near anyone who posts on these boards, and a hell of a lot more deserving than you. Bloody find-a-fault-every-time-your-previous-fault-gets-shot-down hater.
-edit-
And by $Diety...that definition just blows balls: by that definition, there is no genre, as an FPS is just a murder simulator, an RTS a large scale troop movement simulator. Rez is a musically blobby/LSD simulation. Bloody idiot...of course all games (hell, one could argue all computer programs period!) are simulations! And that's entirely beside the point.
-edit2-
Bloody keyboard...'s never been the same after I snorted coffee onto it after reading a userfriendly strip :(