I think so, i cant wait until psychonauts come out. I'll be in the Caribbean catching drug Lords when it get released so I'm going to have to pre order it and have someone pick it up for me.

[Wormsie]

He's God.

[SoccerDude28]

Tim Schafer is the most creative guy in the industry today. Him and Will Write are The 2 best in my book.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I think 'genius' is WAAAY too good a word to describe him. He's certainly original, creative, and is full of imagination, but he is not a genius. I prefer Warren Spector and Peter Molynooo in terms of exciting new concepts and re-thinking ideas of play, but I wouldn't consider them 'geniuses' either. 'Brilliant', yes.

[Wormsie]

I think he's closer to geniusness than non-geniusness, so I picked "Yes."

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Well if you're gonna talk about 'near-genius' I'd still pick Warren Spector and Peter Mollynooo, on the basis that they both re-assess the constructs of what games can be and how they can be. Tim Schafer is brilliant at coming up with original and inventive themes, but I haven't heard of him going above and beyond that yet.

[gillyruless]

Not enough body of work to call him a genius. I think Sid Meier is the only one whom I'd call being close to a genius, but even his body of work is limited. No geniuses a a bunch of briliant people including TS.

[Fairygdmther]

I disagree, Trep. What is the superlative of "brilliant"? genius! I think that Warren Spector, Peter Molyneux, Will Wright, Sid Meier, Tim Schafer, and Shigeru Miyamoto are all geniuses. All these men have taken games to another level. They are all leaders with a vision. They have left a legacy for us mere mortals who play their games. I don't feel genius is too strong a word for that.

FGM

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Well if you're gonna talk about 'near-genius' I'd still pick Warren Spector and Peter Mollynooo, on the basis that they both re-assess the constructs of what games can be and how they can be. Tim Schafer is brilliant at coming up with original and inventive themes, but I haven't heard of him going above and beyond that yet.

I'd say that Warren spector is good based on his Ultima games and the original System Shock but I think Peter Molyneux is way overrated. Populous gamers were great but since then, I don't think he created any game that I'd personally consider great or genre breaking. Black and White was a big bore. Dungeon Kepper was ok but nothing special. I wan't say anythgina bout Fable becasue I haven't played it but the premise doesn't really interest me. Syndicate is another of his games that's praised a lot but I haven't played it. Over all his career is very inconsistent so i wouldn't put him up there with people like Spector and Sid Meier.

[Kolorabi]

Originally Posted by gillyruless

I think Peter Molyneux is way overrated. Populous gamers were great but since then, I don't think he created any game that I'd personally consider great or genre breaking. Black and White was a big bore. Dungeon Kepper was ok but nothing special. I wan't say anythgina bout Fable becasue I haven't played it but the premise doesn't really interest me. Syndicate is another of his games that's praised a lot but I haven't played it. Over all his career is very inconsistent so i wouldn't put him up there with people like Spector and Sid Meier.

Syndicate is great, and I think he also had a lot to do with Theme Park, which was really quite a special game when it came out.

It's been a long time since he's done anything really interesting, though. A lot of people are giving him the credit for Fable, which is not really fair to the people who came up with the concept and worked on it for several years before Lionhead and Peter Molyneux came into the picture (I'm talking about Simon and Dene Carter).

[Erkki]

One thing about Spector is confusing -- he seems to be given credit by the public for more than he has actually done. This miscrediting occasionally pops up at TTLG.com forums and I don't even remember any more in which games he actually did game design.

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by Erkki

One thing about Spector is confusing -- he seems to be given credit by the public for more than he has actually done. This miscrediting occasionally pops up at TTLG.com forums and I don't even remember any more in which games he actually did game design.

Erkki, you have a point. People often give Spector credit for creating games like Ultima Underworld and System Shock. I certainly thought he did those games. I just checked Mobygames and he wasn't the lead designer in those games at all. So never mind about what I said about Spector.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

So all this means that Spector and Mollynoooo are no more genius than Schafer, right? I mean, what IS a genius? And what qualifies someone to be a genius?

I mean, I have a vague idea, but I also know that 'genius' is not a title I toss around lightly.

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

So all this means that Spector and Mollynoooo are no more genius than Schafer, right? I mean, what IS a genius? And what qualifies someone to be a genius?

I mean, I have a vague idea, but I also know that 'genius' is not a title I toss around lightly.

Now you are making me ponder and I just so hate ponering. I'm too lazy to ponder.



I think we can say that Tim Schaffer is one of the best adventure game designers ever, right? Does that make him a genius? If he's a genius then you have to say people like Jane Jansen, and Roberta Williams (who almost single handedly invented the graphic adventure genre) are also geniuses. What about Ron Gilbert? Al Lowe? etc. etc. I think I'm with Trep on this one. For me to call anyone a genius, that person needs to be damn special.

[Erkki]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

I mean, what IS a genius?

A genius is someone who comes up with the original idea of making a game based on mexican flolklore, film noir and art deco that takes place in the underworld

But really I'm not sure whom/what I consider geniuses either, except myself of course, but I'm lazy so I don't count.

[ConcreteRancor]

Originally Posted by gillyruless

I'd say that Warren spector is good based on his Ultima games and the original System Shock but I think Peter Molyneux is way overrated. Populous gamers were great but since then, I don't think he created any game that I'd personally consider great or genre breaking. Black and White was a big bore. Dungeon Kepper was ok but nothing special. I wan't say anythgina bout Fable becasue I haven't played it but the premise doesn't really interest me. Syndicate is another of his games that's praised a lot but I haven't played it. Over all his career is very inconsistent so i wouldn't put him up there with people like Spector and Sid Meier.

Was Molyneux at all involved with Magic Carpet? That was a Bullfrog game, but did everything Bullfrog do involve Molyneux?

In any case, Magic Carpet kicked major ass. In terms of its innovation, it was the first game I can think of to have deformable terrain, and I don't believe any game has done deformable terrain on the same scale since. With the exception of Magic Carpet 2.

So if Molyneux WAS involved, that's pretty brilliant. Genius I may have to think about.

[SoccerDude28]

Originally Posted by gillyruless

I'd say that Warren spector is good based on his Ultima games and the original System Shock but I think Peter Molyneux is way overrated. Populous gamers were great but since then, I don't think he created any game that I'd personally consider great or genre breaking. Black and White was a big bore. Dungeon Kepper was ok but nothing special. I wan't say anythgina bout Fable becasue I haven't played it but the premise doesn't really interest me. Syndicate is another of his games that's praised a lot but I haven't played it. Over all his career is very inconsistent so i wouldn't put him up there with people like Spector and Sid Meier.

Both Syndicate and Dungeon Keeper are fine examples of what games should aspire to be. DK is one of my favorite games ever. Even B&W was a great game albeit very flawed. I personally didn't like Fable that much. I was very bored with the lack of story telling, and the repetitive gameplay. There were some neat ideas, but just like Spiderman 2, it was so repetitive and lacked personality, I really didn't care half way through.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Does a genius have to make a game or whatever that you yourself personally enjoyed? Is perfection a qualifier for 'genius'? What about geniuses that create/invent/discover something, and whatever it is isn't perfect but it is still open to improvement and modifications? Would that person still be a genius?

[BoyToy]

For me, a genius is someone who has an idea, that nobody else could have had.

[Fairygdmther]

Boy Toy - I agree - and Peter Molyneux did that. He may have bitten off more than he could chew, but he took the high road and with original ideas tried what no one else was doing. And how could anyone say Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of both Mario and Zelda, isn't a genius? And Will Wright with The Sims? Damn, he's coining money with those. And those followed the Sim City(s), along with Sid Meier at first, who then went on his own, with Civilizations, etc.

For me genius isn't just a measure of intelligence, but in this case, a brilliant idea that is taken to the max to lead in a different direction. It's having a vision of what something could be, if done in a new way. It's what makes them the creators of the future of gaming.

FGM