Peter Molyneux has announced his studio’s – 22Cans – first project, which is called Curiosity, and is the first of 22 experiments that 22Cans is launching,
Curiosity puts players in a room where the only other object is a black cube. The aim of the game is to break the cube down and find what it contains. It sounds simple enough, but Curiosity will revolve around social networking and interaction. There is only one cube, which every single player will be breaking down, as as time goes on fractures will appear on the cube which shows areas where players are breaking it down.
Before the cube is broken, stage 2 of the experiment will launch. 22Cans will make available some DLC, which will consist of different chisels. An iron chisel will cost 59p and will be 10 times as powerful as the basic chisel. There’s also the diamond chisel, which will cost £50,000 and only one will be available.
“It’s an insane amount of money. This is not a money-making exercise; it is a test about the psychology of monetisation.” said Molyneux.
Molyneux suggests that Curiosity is more a social experiment than a game. The diamond chisel could be bought by an individual or a group of players who want to have the greatest chance at breaking the cube. However, only one player will swing the final blow that breaks the cube and will discover what is contained within.
That player will then have to spread the news of their discovery, and the response will be measured by 22Cans, to see how quickly news of the discovery spreads.
The results from these 22 experiments will help shape the studio’s first full title, expected to release in 2014.
Source: New Scientist.
brillerment
Cheap way to make money if you ask me…
colmshan1990
Interesting.
Clearly a money-spinning exercise though.
Some daft group on some forum buried deep on the internet will buy the diamond chisel.
gazzagb
“The results from these 22 experiments will help shape the studio’s first full title”
Read: The money from these 22 experiments will help pay for the studio’s first full title.
samiro05
Oh my.. I had to reread it because I also first read exactly the same as you. We are right though and if someone does pay that sort of money for DLC then I will be amazed, disappointed and worried about what impacts that would have on future DLC across other studios/publishers.
gazzagb
It’s not that uncommon though for people to pay these amounts of money, some of the kickstarter games have rewards like this, except they fly you out to have lunch with the developers and stuff.
But paying 50k for a virtual diamond pick? No thanks.
rSp8
May I suggest that Molyneux removes his head from up his own ass. Despite what he seems to be thinking with this crap, I can assure him that the sun doesn’t shine from there.
brillerment
Agreed. Hear again and again how his next project will be groundbreaking, innovative, revolutionary… and what does he have to show for it? An on-rails shooter…
His mouth is writing cheques his studio can’t cash.
Gamoc
This comment cuts through the sugar coating I would’ve draped all over my comment, so I’m just going to endorse this one instead.
Molyneux has been getting more and more annoying with his idiocies lately and he’s genuinely start to annoy me.
bunimomike
Agreed. It’s as if he’s left the top off of the white spirits for years now. Not a hint of oxygen in whatever he’s breathing.
Izorpo
lately??!! how about all the way back to the first Fable
all the things he claimed you could supposedly do when it was in development but couldn’t do when it finally arrived (re grass growing over items you dropped in the field as the years passed by) then came Fable 2 and you still couldn’t and by the time Fable 3 came I just didn’t care
I have a tendency to block out anything he says as its all just crap, my brain seems to be able to program itself to release xanax and the mind just drifts away whenever he speaks
psychobudgie
Ever since he got married to Microsoft the guy has got gradually further and further up his own arse. His ‘it’s not on rails’ video last year and the ‘definitely on rails’ video at E3 this year also confirms that he’s descended into lying to cover his own arse which must be getting close to going up itself.
wirralsman
Are we allowed to bring our own chisels? And are other items of weaponry out of the question? Who is going to check that my chisel is an officially sanctioned chisel?
cc_star
Great idea, will be interesting to see how the low level DLC sells & if someone/group will come up with the funds for the big item.
The social side of it sounds fascinating too, will be interesting to see how the winner will prove they ‘won’ and how it spreads around the net.
Would be funny if the £50k DLC item only weakened cube sufficiently for the next person to come along who hadn’t purchased an improved chisel & they were the ones who struck the winning blow.
The whole premise has a touch of noby-noby boy about it, they way everyone separately works to a goal
teflon
Loving all the cynicism surrounding this. It really does sound like a genuine experiment to me, and I’d be very curious to see how it goes.
SavageOranges
Don’t get why everyone is so angry about the £50,000 DLC. Its not like its a £50,000 game, you’re not forced to pay for it. I think this is interesting anyway. Wonder if anyone will pay the £50,000.
cc_star
Internet init, people moan.
Geffdof23
Because he is trying to hide a money making scheme as some cool new game, but as with all of his games they never live up to his over the top hype. It seems more like an experiment in how stupid people are and if they will hand over their money to him.
teflon
The BEST kind of experiment.
McProley
I don’t like it one bit. I don’t wish to be a guinea pig for the entertainment of a clear eccentric.
That said, I’m quite curious to see how it turns out.
Dammit, I’m so confused!
brillerment
I can’t help but feel £50,000 would be far better spent on a decent Kickstarter title where you and everyone else get something worthwhile back. A far better cause in my opinion.