In a Gamelab talk that should provide a lot of interest to Train2Game students, Peter Molyneux has revealed what inspirations lie behind some of his games, and some of them are a little…odd.

For example, Train2Game students may find it strange to hear that Black & White was inspired by a time when Molyneux had a pet hamster at the age of 12.

“I spent the first three months of my hamster’s life teaching it tricks,” he told the Gamelab.

“Now, sadly, hamsters aren’t clever animals. So eventually I ignored him. One day I came back and, after ignoring the hamster for a month, I found it in its cage and realised it had been dead for two weeks.”

“It was the shame of letting this cute creature die that inspired me,” Funnily enough, Black And White is a game where neglecting your character has consequences.

Molyneux also revealed that the inspiration for Dungeon Keeper came from watching Bond film ‘You Only Live Twice’

In this film, James Bond single-handedly takes out an entire base from an evil villain by pressing one button. I thought this was incredibly unfair. What about the bad guys?” he said

“They’ve spent years building this entire base and it is completely wiped out when James Bond presses a single button?! We never know about what happens to the bad guy,”

“I decided to embrace the dark side, so Dungeon Keeper is all about being evil.” He added.

His main point is sure to be useful to the Train2Game Game Designers.

“Nurture your ideas. Care for them. Don’t criticise them. Think about the reasons why they excite you. I obsess about the reason why my ideas excite me,” Molyneux told Gamelab

“And be prepared before you tell other people about them. As soon as you present your idea you’ll have to answer to the negativity. Start with the people who will believe in your idea. Eventually, you’ll need to be prepared to change your mind as well.”

Useful advice for Train2Game students if there ever was any.

Peter Molyneux often offers advice to up and coming developers, and as reported by the Train2Game bog, he believes they should be getting more support. And as also previously mentioned on the Train2Game blog, he’s offered advice on how to get into the game industry.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Molyneux’s inspiration and advice? Have you had game ideas in odd situations?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Develop]