Peter Molyneux: Video Games Lecture 2009

Peter Molyneux, the pioneering games developer behind Populous and Fable has spoken about the “sense of wonder” games can bring as he delivered BAFTA’s prestigious annual video games lecture.

Urging those working in the field to embrace their creativity he said: “The best innovations come from challenging the foundation stones of conventional wisdom.”

During his lecture, delivered , in association with GAME, on Wednesday 21 October 2009, Molyneux spoke about his career inspiration and the great games of the past 20 years that have both influenced his work and moved the industry forward.

Watch Molyneux’s lecture below:

Molyneux has been at the forefront of the games industry for over two decades and is behind such classic titles as Populous, Black & White, and the BAFTA-winning Fable series.

A champion of the medium Molyneux urged the industry to address consumers’ appetite for truly original experiences through games. And suggesting expanding beyond the core gaming audience of 4 million people, by asking: “is there a way we can create entertainment which appeals to a broader audience?”.

Molyneaux hailed the fact that as an industry “we take unbelievably complex technology, animation, art, ai, balancing mechanics, 3D engines [and] bring them in together and present them in an insanely simple format” for others to enjoy. Highlighting that by harnessing these strengths we could reach even more people in future.

He said: “Ask yourself ‘Why are we doing this? Why are we doing it this way? Who are we trying to really appeal to? Because I believe that computer entertainment is a truly wonderful thing and people want to feel that sense of wonder that’s out there.”