Godus co-creator Jack Attridge leaves 22Cans, opens up about Molyneux

Godus co-creator Jack Attridge has stepped away from the still-in-development Populous spiritual successor that he's been working on with Peter Molyneux.

"Friday was my last day," Attridge told the Guardian of his employment at developer 22Cans. "Me and Peter went on a big 10 mile walk and finally said our goodbyes."

While Attridge has left 22Cans, he spoke positively about Peter Molyneux and his time at the fledgling company. "For a good year it was just me and him designing crazy stuff together every day," he said. Attridge found this mentorship inspiring. So inspiring, in fact, that he gained the confidence to step away from Molyneux's troubled studio with the intention of starting his own company.

"Peter was really good at nurturing talent," says Attridge. "But after a time I realised I was much more of an advisor at 22Cans and I wanted to be able to steer my own ship."

Contrary to what many would assume, Attridge's departure was not in response to Molyneux's admission that he may never fulfill the promised features outlined in his original Kickstarter pitch, like multiplayer or honouring the prize at the end of his last experiment, Curiosity. "It was January that I said to Peter I was looking to leave 22Cans and go off to start my own thing," Attridge told the Guardian. "I was really worried that it might be perceived that I was leaving the studio because of that. It really is a shame because that felt like such a terrible time for us to part ways."

Attridge remained steadfast that Molyneux was a very supportive mentor, even when he learned his protege had plans to fly away. "I decided that it was time to go off and try my own thing and I explained my idea to Peter who was really supportive," Attridge reflected. "He was sympathetic and gave me loads of advice, he just did everything he could to help us. He signed a waiver so I could start my own company straight away, and he advised me on running a team and a business."

Regarding a lot of the bad press Molyneux's had recently, Attridge told a different side of the story. "Peter's a massively passionate guy and he can't contain himself when he gets excited about something," he said. "Because of iterative development, an idea can start in one form and take a long road by the time it's done. In spite of traditional PR practices, Peter can't help himself, he just loves getting out there from the beginning and talking about everything he's working on. You see his ideas before they're fully developed and sometimes they just don't come to pass."

Prior to Attridge's departure he shot a documentary on a GoPro covering the entirety of his three years at 22Cans. Ever since February Molyneux has shied away from interviews, but Attridge felt it was important to capture what the working environment was like once the studio had gone dark. Apparently this documentary will be released shortly for Godus backers.

"This documentary is my parting gift to Peter and to the team," said Attridge. "It cuts quite close to the bone; it's quite a revealing documentary. It was very emotional for Peter and I, sitting down and watching that together. I've handed that off to the team and we'll see what happens with it".

Attridge currently has a new game in development, but is cagey about showing it off at such an early stage. "I vowed that I'm not going to say anything about this new game until we can show it," Attridge told the Guardian, apparently learning from his mentor's mistakes. "We think we've got something magical on our hands," he added, suggesting that a little Molyneux has rubbed off on him after all.