If any of you have been tuned in to gaming publications recently, you most likely have heard about Peter Molyneux's recent Kickstarter campaign to fund Godus, a re imagining of the God game genre by combining his experience in developing Populus, Dungeon Keeper as well as Black and White. The game is the flagship project of Molyneux's recent indie venture, 22Cans. What you might also know is that his Kickstarter campaign is on the verge of missing its mark.I find that to be incredibly sad, for a lot of reasons. So what I'm here to say is that you should support Godus if you're able. It's the right thing to do.
The most prevalent point that one can muster is that Godus certainly looks like a innovative, creative and compelling game, filled with gameplay that has been cultivated from years of experience in the genre. The plan is well laid out, and the team is ready to go on the project. But to me, the game itself is lowest on the list of reasons as to why this project deserves your support. From where I'm standing, this campaign is important to the industry itself.
Think of the current state of much of the games industry. Year after year the release cycle is full of committee designed, market researched and overall bland examples of mediocrity. Sure, there are some gems that rise out of this process, but how much creativity do you think is stifled thanks to a game concept having no historically documented bottom line?
What Godus represents is far more than just the game that it is. What it represents is an individual who is truly passionate about the experience involved in gaming, and who is bypassing the publishers to bring that passion straight to you. Peter Molyneux gave up his favourable job within the triple A games industry, so that he could make the games that he was passionate about. Say what you will about Peter Molyneux, but never fault his passion. He is one of the old guard, one of the names in gaming that is here simply because they love video games. If this project fails, how many other game developers are going to want to take the same risk? Very few, I'd be willing to wager.
We need to show the industry that we support projects of passion, that we believe in developers willing to take risks and try that which hasn't been tried before. An industry without passion is one that stagnates, never pushing the boundaries further than they are already set. We need to show developers that if they are working for us, we're behind them.
I really believe that these projects of passion is a movement that the industry desperately needs, but it is going to take your support. With only a few days left, it will take a collective movement of gamers willing to stand behind the passionate gamemakers in the industry. So support Godus, it's the right thing to do.
