Happy Accidents

Peter Molyneux, one of the video game industry’s most celebrated designers and the creative force behind hits such as “Fable,” “Populous” and “Dungeon Keeper,” credits much of his 22-year career to a happy accident involving baked beans.

It happened shortly after he graduated from university. Molyneux already had tried his hand at game design and business without much success, and was searching for a way to make ends meet. When the father of his then-girlfriend suggested he start a company that exported baked beans to the Middle East, he went for it.

He soon discovered the region didn’t have much of an appetite for baked beans. “It was a very hand-to-mouth existence,” said Molyneux, now the creative director of both Lionhead Studios and Microsoft Game Studios Europe. “I was eating more baked beans than I was actually selling.”

And then the accident: Commodore, creator of the popular Commodore 64 console, confused his floundering bean business, Taurus, with a software company called Torus. Commodore called up Molyneux and invited him to their head office, where they rolled out the red carpet and told him how eager they were to work with his company.

Bewildered, Molyneux played along. He smiled, said he was looking forward to their partnership, and ran out of the building before anyone realized the mistake. Commodore sent Molyneux several of its brand new Amiga machines the next week. He winged his way through the database program that Commodore was expecting from Torus and went on to use his new machines to start designing video games in earnest. The misunderstanding ultimately was cleared up, and the only fallout was Molyneux’s vow to never again touch baked beans.

That bizarre start to his career is perhaps why the modest Molyneux remains a bit mystified by his success. “I’m just a guy with some dumb ideas, really,” he said.

Creator of Xbox Blockbuster ‘Fable’ Blames Success on Baked Beans, Happy Accidents