Molyneux’s Curiosity features £50,000 in-game purchase

Former 'Lionhead' boss Peter Molyneux has revealed the nature of his latest project with new studio 22Cans … and it's going to be expensive

Former 'Lionhead' boss Peter Molyneux has revealed the nature of his latest project with new studio 22Cans … and it's going to be expensive.

Curiosity invites players to break open the cube by chipping away at its surface. People from all around the world will be working on the same curious cube, in the same virtual white-wash room, trying to discover its top-secret contents.

Everyone's taps will affect the cube but only one player will see what is hidden inside. Players can increase their odds by purchasing a limited number of chisels ranging from the bargain 59p model which has 10 times the power of tapping alone, to an extortionate one-of-a-kind £50,000 Diamond Chisel.

The Diamond Chisel is an overpriced DLC tool but will award its (presumably rich and slightly naive) owner 100,000 times the power of anybody simply tapping the cube.

Talking to New Scientist, Molyneux was happy to admit that £50,000 is 'an insane amount of money' but he says that 'Curiosity' is not a game but an experiment and he is fascinated to see if one person or a syndicate will actually buy the over-priced chisel.

It remains to be seen if curiosity can tempt somebody to splash out on the Diamond Chisel to help them retrieve the cube's 'truly amazing, absolutely unique' prize.

Molyneux says it's a test of the 'psychology of monetisation' and not a money making exercise that will allow 22Cans to track how news of the cube's contents will spread globally through social media.

'Curiosity' is the first of a series of 22 experiments which will shape the studio's first real game, which is aiming for a 2014 release.

In the meantime the bizarre cube-chipping experience can be played on a PC or mobile device when it is released in 6 weeks time.

Image courtesy of Indiegamemag.com.

Words: Aaron Brown