E3 2012: Social-media-focused experimental game from Molyneux studio 22 Cans to launch in a few weeks; players will have the option to purchase in-game items, the most expensive of which will be priced at roughly $77,000.

LOS ANGELES--Former Lionhead studio head Peter Molyneux has unveiled the first project under his new label, 22 Cans.

Molyneux is experimenting with social media’and really rich people.

Speaking with New Scientist magazine, Molyneux revealed he is working on a series of social gaming experiments in an attempt to explore the "psychology of social-media users." According to the report, Molyneux will use the results of these experiments to help him craft a game that he plans to release in two years' time.

The first of these experimental games--which is set to be released in a few weeks--is called Curiosity. The game sees players enter a virtual room containing a single black cube; players must tap at the cube to try to fracture it layer by layer. However, fractures will appear simultaneously as other players join the game online and begin tapping at the same cube.

According to Molyneux, the cube will eventually fall open after an undisclosed number of taps. What lies inside Molyneux described as "truly amazing" and "absolutely unique." The catch is that only the player who executes the final tap will get to see what's inside. 22 Cans will rely on social media for the word to spread.

During the game's duration, players will be able to purchase in-game items to help them in their quest to be the one who breaks the cube; these items will take the shape of a limited number of chisels that will amplify the strength of each tap. They will range from an iron chisel costing around 0.91 cents (with a tapping strength 10 times as powerful), all the way up to a diamond chisel costing roughly $77,000 (with a tapping strength 100,000 times as powerful).

"It's an insane amount of money," Molyneux told the magazine. "[But] this is not a money-making exercise; it is a test about the psychology of monetisation."

In March this year, Molyneux left the Microsoft-owned Lionhead Studios to open up 22 Cans.

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