GCG Feature: 'Alterity in the Work of Peter Molyneux'

In the latest feature for Gamasutra sister educational site Game Career Guide, Gameology contributor Chico Queiroz discusses how the work of Molyneux conveys themes of Manichaeism - a duality of and conflict between light and darkness, as well as other instances of otherness, and how this discourse develops throughout his career. In this excerpt, Queiroz explains how Black & White, perhaps Molyneux's most obvious attempt to create game play from this duality, works in comparison to his earlier titles: "The game’s title is an analogy to the good / evil behaviours that the player can adopt; a choice between a loved, benign deity and a feared, malign one – each one endorsed by moral advisors resembling, like in Populous opening screen, simplistic representations of god and devil. The choice is not only reflected by the environment elements such as the followers’ village, but also by the development of an animal-looking creature which functions as a pet within the game, learning how to behave from the moral choices of the player and how he punishes or rewards the creature’s actions. There is a tension on how Black & White is both similar and different to Molyneux’s early games, not only in terms of gameplay, but also the universe it is set on. This tension, indicating both a continuation and a disruption within his discourse, is also noticeable on how the game deals with alterity issues, compared to its predecessors. As opposed to Populous and Dungeon Keeper, Black & White gives the player the right to choose between a good or evil path, also allowing him to transit between the two during game progression. It is important to notice that this mobility, and also the presence of the moral advisors, makes the values of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ no longer exclusive to either the player’s or game-controlled characters, being rather the result of their choices. The villagers / followers have also a greater autonomy compared to the ones in Populous – they now have individual levels of happiness, and their belief must be sustained by the actions of the god-player. This ‘dialogue’ is extended to members of different tribes, who should be co-opted to the player’s theological system (what still can be seen as an imposition, but is not as violent as the extinction proposed by Populous)." You can now read the full Game Career Guide feature to learn more about 'otherness' in the games of Peter Molyneux (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites).