Molyneux's social experiment game; Curiosity & $77,800 DLC

[Jacks:SmirkingRevenge]

you heard right.

Peter Molyneux claims he is embarking on a mission to understand human behavior.
this mission will entail 22 different experiments that he calls "games" starting with the launch of Curiosity.

Gameplay-wise, Curiosity is based on a single black cube placed in the middle of a bare room. Players will be asked to chip away at the cube, fracturing it. Fractures inflicted by other players will appear in tandem with those you inflict, with everyone working together to reveal the grand mystery at the heart of the cube.

Here's the catch: only the player who lands the last fracture before the cube cracks open will get to see what's inside. The number of fractures required to reach this point is known only to Molyneux, but is apparently huge. To up your chances of being the one to see the contents of the cube, you'll be able to purchase an iron chisel 10 times stronger than your normal one for 90 cents (59 pence) or a diamond chisel 100,000 times stronger than said basic chisel for the princely sum of $77,838 (£50,000). While iron chisels will be readily available, only one diamond chisel will be up for sale.

"It's an insane amount of money," says Molyneux. The aim of the diamond chisel is experimental: Can curiosity alone drive one player or a syndicate to spend that much money? "This is not a money-making exercise; it is a test about the psychology of monetization," he added."

yup.
just under 80 thousand dollars for the single, most powerful item in the "game" in order to vastly increase your chances of landing the final blow.

but again, the claim is that this is all a grand experiment of some sort.
and definitely not a "money-making exercise"

check it out: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...ers-77-800-DLC

[Zxanphorian]

The diamond chisel is probably there to recoup the lost funds in setting up this whole 'game.'

Still, it would be deliciously ironic if the final blow was from a standard chisel.

[ambershee]

I intend to set up a script to do it for me, then not share the results.

[DarkED]

I think Molyneux should refund the person who bought the Diamond chisel after the experiment has ended.

[Manticore]

Originally Posted by Zxanphorian

The diamond chisel is probably there to recoup the lost funds in setting up this whole 'game.'

Still, it would be deliciously ironic if the final blow was from a standard chisel.

Some cheater will probably hack the game and get the goods without the use of chisels.

[shadow_dragon]

Hasn't this "grand experiment" been done at country faires and fun faires a million times before in one way or another?

It's just a guess how many sweets are in the jar lottery! It's so stupid... ffs

There's nothing that could possibly be of any interest in that cube to be worth the effort and the only thing it could rationally be to justify the "it's not a money making exercise" statement is money... which is dull, uninteresting and leans back towards it being nothing more than a lottery.

[Capt.Toilet]

I think it is trying to prove that people are stupid and will buy DLC no matter how worthless it might be.

[ambershee]

Originally Posted by shadow_dragon

It's just a guess how many sweets are in the jar lottery!

Without the sweets.

[TWD]

It's a stupid idea and anyone who pays for this crap is a looser who's life is so boring and pathetic that they are willing to blow a fortune on what is an obvious scam.

[N1ghtmare]

This entire thing is riding on the idea that there will be something interesting inside the cube and not some piece of crap, or a trollface sprite.

[xMurphyx]

It doesn't matter what's inside though. The game is called Curiosity, not Hidden Treasure.

[Firefly]

It will probably contain a dead cat.

[Autopsy]

Oh, EA put out another game?

[Balton]

I miss the Molyneux of the Bullfrog days, that guy made games.

[Firefly]

Originally Posted by Balton

I miss the Molyneux of the Bullfrog days, that guy made games.

indeed. Bulldog have made some nice ones.

• Fusion (1988)
• Populous (1989)
• Flood (1990)
• Powermonger (1990)
• Populous II (1991)
• Syndicate (1993)
• Magic Carpet (1994)
• Theme Park (1994)
• Syndicate: American Revolt (1994)
• Tube (1994)
• Hi-Octane (1995)
• Magic Carpet 2 (1995)
• Genewars (1996)
• Syndicate Wars (1996)
• Dungeon Keeper (1997)
• Theme Hospital (1997)
• Populous: The Beginning (1998)
• Theme Aquarium (1998)
• Dungeon Keeper 2 (1999)
• Theme Park World (SimTheme Park in the US) (1999)
• Theme Park Inc (SimCoaster in the US) (2001)

[shadow_dragon]

I guess after black&white and spore he's probably worked out that developing a game is a waste of time if people will just believe what you say and buy the game regardless of how ****e it is.

[Jacks:SmirkingRevenge]

Originally Posted by N1ghtmare

This entire thing is riding on the idea that there will be something interesting inside the cube

exactly.
I mean, unless the contents of the cube are worth an excess of 80 thousand dollars, it can't possibly live up to the hype.

Originally Posted by TWD

It's a stupid idea and anyone who pays for this crap is a looser who's life is so boring and pathetic that they are willing to blow a fortune on what is an obvious scam.

it is a stupid idea, yes.
but the way Molyneux talks about it, it's like he actually expects a group or corporation of some sort to pool their money for the diamond pick. he doubts that any one person would buy it, but that some kind of public partnership would develop where a team of people go in for the pick. which (hopefully) implies that the "prize" is something valuable enough to be shared by numerous people.