DISPATCHES CHRISTMAS

This is my first time writing in, as I found myself somewhat inspired by your (excellent) feature/interview with Peter Molyneux in issue 416.

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In search of that old magic

Having grown up with Dungeon Keeper, Theme Hospital and Black & White, and absolutely adoring Fable II a little later, I can’t help but find myself rooting for Masters Of Albion, and by extension its creator (who, if nothing else, has always struck me as sincere). I recognise that this may be due to a little misplaced nostalgia on my part, but I can’t shake the little voice in my head, quietly nudging: “But what if it’s good”?

This got me thinking about the idea that, if something ends well, we are more likely to forgive missteps and the odd transgression along the way. As Brian Cox, playing screenwriting legend Robert McKee, says in Adaptation, “You can have flaws, problems, but wow them in the end”. Though he was discussing screenwriting in this context, it got me thinking about the topic in a larger sense. Or at least the stories we tell each other, and ourselves.

Our brains are hardwired to try to fit the complicated madness of perception and existence into clear-cut, digestible narratives. We're storytellers. We can’t help it. It’s what kept us alive as a species and allows us to remain (relatively) sane on a day-to-day basis. As such, when we tell stories, collectively we seem to have settled upon beginning/middle/end, a three-act structure, the hero's journey, etc. Perhaps because, for want of a more eloquent way of putting it, it just feels right. It’s how our brains work. It’s how we’re built.

And so, when I consider the prospect of Masters Of Albion being Molyneux’s ‘final’ game, despite myself, I can’t help hoping for a redemption arc, a swansong.