Molyneux plans to 'change the world'

Speaking to industry magazine Develop, Peter Molyneux has explained why he left Microsoft last month and has opened up on what he plans to do next. Working for the software giant was like working "in a creative padded cell," he said, as nothing he did carried any real risks "creatively and physically."

Chair-adjustment personnel: pushing men to the edge.

His new venture, 22cans, "will change the world," Molyneux told the magazine. He explained that he "had this unbelievable desire to make something special" but that the environment at Microsoft was too "safe" and "nice" and that he was being "suffocated creatively."

Recounting the moment he realized all this, Molyneux said, "One day I was at the studio sitting on my chair, in the zone, my eyes closed, my headphones on, blaring music in, trying to think of ideas for Fable: The Journey."

"Suddenly I felt my chair move. I looked around. Standing there was the Microsoft chair-adjustment personnel, this nice woman who comes over once a month, fiddling with my seat settings to make sure it was posturepedically correct. I thought: this is insane."

The last game he "really truly actually worked on" was Black & White, Molyneux said. While he "did some things" on the first two Fable games, he wasn't able to give those games his full attention. Now he "can obsess about one thing" to which he "will dedicate" all his energy.

Another item he opened up on was Milo, the Kinect demo unveiled to much confusion at E3 in 2009, before rumours began to circulate about the project being canned in 2010. "The world…wasn't quite ready for Milo," Molyneux said. "What was so hard for some people to imagine is what Milo would look like on the shelves, sitting alongside these murderous shooter games," he said, before admitting it took him "a long time to get over" the cancellation of the project.

Finally, he suggested that 22cans' first project might be some time in the making. "We have the seed funding to allow for a considerable amount of time to experiment," Molyneux said. When that game does come it will be "truly multiplayer" and will be "accessible and amazing for everyone." His aim is to create something gamers can "dip into and dip out of over the course of a very long time." Inspiration is being drawn from the likes of Minecraft and World of Warcraft, he said.

For more details on Molyneux's plans for 22cans, check out the full interview here.