Fake Molyneux game design challenge may include real Molyneux appearance

In an industry increasingly powered not only by the moral but fiscal support of its fans, the idea of a fake Peter Molyneux Twitter account inspiring a game developerment meet-up shouldn't be that surprising. But you may be surprised to hear that the real Peter Molyneux, former head of Lionhead Studios and Microsoft's European Game Studios, is considering attending the Brighton, England portion of the international event later this month.

MolyJam2012 is set to kick off on March 31 both in Brighton and the San Francisco area. The event is described as the 1st annual international @petermolydeux game jam. So far more than 50 people have signed up for the Bay Area event and a half-dozen or so for the Brighton meet-up.

The author of the @petermolydeux Peter Molyneux send-up Twitter account made a name for himself with his absurdist game design tweets that gently poked fun at Molyneux's sometimes fanciful approach to interviews. But then something funny happened: People started to like the fake Molyneux's ideas.

They liked them so much that a grassroots movement started to push them closer to reality. Then this game jam sprung up.

"Everyone in the world is invited to save the industry," @petermolydeux tweeted earlier today, noting that the event runs from March 31 to April Fool's Day.

The idea behind the game jam, it seems, is for participating developers to pick some of fake Molyneux's ideas and turn them into quick little games. The man behind @petermolydeux tells Vox Games that he and a handful of organizers, including Anna Kipnis, Brandon Sheffield, Patrick Klepek, Chris Remo, Jake Rodkin and Joe Kowalski, are working out the details including whether the challenge will include a set list of games or be open to any.

Edward Parris, the organizer for the Brighton meet-up and a web engineer at NixonMcInnes, tells Vox Games he decided to create a Brighton event so folks in the area would have a place to gather to work on the projects.

"Having quite a few game studios and digital companies in the area (Relentless, ex-Black Rock folks and Unity3D), I thought it would be great to organise an outpost of the game jam and get in on the action," Parris wrote in an email. "I didn't just want to be coding on my own and knew that other people would be up for it.

"I think the reason this event is so attractive is that it provide somewhat of a challenge to game developers, they are not the run of the mill bro shooters or match 3 puzzle games."

While @petermolydeux tells Vox Games that he won't be able to attend the event, Peter Molyneux has already signed up to follow along online and, a source close to the matter tells us, is also considering going to the Brighton meeting.

And now the question is: Will a fake Peter Molyneux game made by a real Peter Molyneux have the recipe not just for success but innovation?