03/16/2001
One of the most highly
anticipated games in recent history, Peter Molyneux's Black &
White, the game where you play a god and lead your worshippers to
dominance over the world - all while raising a pet - has gone gold.
In this press release,
publisher Electronic Arts also appended an open letter from Molyneux,
addressing fans of the game:
AN OPEN LETTER FROM
PETER MOLYNEUX, CREATOR
Black
& White has gone gold - everyone at Lionhead has been
longing to see those words and it is with profound sense of relief
that I am writing them. Black & White has been the most epic
project I have ever worked on and it feels as though these past few
months have been the longest of my life. Everyone here at Lionhead is
very proud of what we have accomplished. I would like to pay tribute
to each and every one of them for their creativity and hard work in
making what started out as a two page description, become the stunning
experience that is Black & White. I should also like to thank the
press for their continued interest and enthusiasm for the game. Most
importantly I would also like to say thanks to all the fans, it is has
been their support that made the hard times worthwhile - I hope that
we have repaid that support with a truly great gaming experience.
Yours faithfully,
Peter Molyneux
LIONHEAD STUDIOS
More about Black & White:
The Land of Eden is a perfect
world.
Not merely a green and pleasant land, but a
lush countryside blanketed in outstanding features of natural beauty.
In comparison, the perfect rose garden blooming in a rainbow of colour
would seem like
Well, like black and white, really.
Perhaps because their world is an idyllic land of
harmony, the inhabitants of Eden are a contented bunch. Villages
dotted about the landscape are populated with tribes of people happily
going about their daily chores. Curiously, many of these tribes
actually parallel some we may already be familiar with: Aztecs,
Japanese, Tibetan, Egyptian, Greek - these are just some of the
civilisations to be found in Eden. And each inhabitant treats his
fellow Edean with decency, honour and respect. Inter-tribal disputes
are unknown. Everything is just perfect. Until a monumental event
occurs which changes everything.
YOU arrive...
Of course, gods (of which you are one) cant
really be blamed for their attitude towards mortals. Just as a human
child will look down on a bustling colony of ants with fascination, so
gods regard mere mortals with simple curiosity.
Say, for instance, a child spies a group of ants
struggling to carry a section of fruit back to their nest. He might
pluck up the fruit and deliver it to their door, saving hours of toil
for the workers. Shortly afterwards, and for no reason in particular,
he brings his foot down squarely on a cluster of the same ants,
deliberately causing dozens of deaths. To the childs mind, the
concepts of kindness and cruelty, good and evil do not even enter his
reasoning. He has simply been playing with pets.
In a similar way, any god who arrives in Eden will
be fascinated by its inhabitants. One god may be kindly towards the
villagers, providing miracles to protect children and heal the sick.
Another god may amuse himself by wreaking havoc amongst the villagers,
sending lightning storms and marauding creatures to decimate their
numbers.
However, there is one thing any god needs from his
subjects. A gods power is fuelled entirely by his followers
worship their strength of belief. When villagers worship, a gods
strength grows. If they do not, he becomes powerless. Worship provides
the cosmic energy necessary for gods own miracles.
In the beginning, the gods who arrived in Eden
believed they were alone. They were masters of all they surveyed. It
was something of a rude awakening to discover that this was far from
the truth. Being a proud and arrogant elite, the resulting squabbles
were inevitable. These soon escalated into heated conflicts. As a
result, the hapless villagers who had once lived perfect lives in
peace and harmony found they had become pawns as the gods settled
their differences. Whenever trouble flared up, they were summoned and
required to perform elaborate rituals of worship. These rituals
provided the prayer power needed to fuel the miracles which the gods
would use to establish their dominance over all rivals.
If the gods regarded the human population as our
earth-child regarded a colony of ants, the creatures were the
equivalent of a childs faithful dog. Created from the beasts of
Eden, and under the influence of their gods miracles, a cow, a lion
or perhaps an ape would undergo awesome changes. They kept on growing.
Until they were of a size which was truly gargantuan. These
magnificent creatures towered over the landscape...
The gods fed and trained their creatures with tender
loving care, teaching them how to behave according to their own
inclinations. Some of these Titans would wreak almighty havoc as they
stomped across the countryside, feasting on local populace. Others
would come to the aid of Edeans, helping with constructions, seeing
off marauding creatures and generally guarding over them.
Inevitably these Titans were drawn into the
struggles between gods, as a loyal dog might protect its own master. A
curious phenomenon emerged. These huge creatures did not rely on
worship to provide power for their miracles. The energy needed was
produced internally.
These creatures would become the most powerful
weapons in the gods own personal conflicts. It was clear that these
creatures would hold the key to success.
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