PETER MOLYNEAUX TALKS FABLE 2 AT GDC ‘07

Sorry about the delay in getting today’s news up, but I’ve spent the better part of the day cleaning the pigsty that I call home, and even now the pigs are still looking at me as if to say I’ve got a long way to go. I think anytime you have to spend a day cleaning just so you’ll be able to do some spring cleaning in a few weeks, you know you have a serious mess on your hands.

Anyway, if you’ve been playing along with the home version of our game, you know that I have a love/hate relationship with Peter Molyneaux. To put it plainly, I love the man’s creative vision and innovation, but I absolutely hate the grandiose promises he makes that make the end result of said creative vision feel lackluster and unfinished in the end. Still, he somehow manages to hook me on his ideas time after time despite my previous experiences. While Molyneaux has purposefully scaled his promises back following the debacle that was Fable, he still can really sell what he’s working on with the best of them.

You want a case in point? Well, I have one for you. Below are four videos of the Fable 2 demonstration Molyneaux gave at the Game Developer’s Conference this year, and I’ve got to admit that the concept of the dog is already breaking down my resistance to buying into Molyneaux’s vision of Fable for a second time. If this dog works as he says it will – and given his history, I have some doubts about that, then I could easily see myself spending hours just goofing around with the thing while completely ignoring whatever challenge I’m supposed to be accomplishing. Just ask me about my mighty break-dancing, crowd pleasing Tiger creature from the original Black & White some time and you’ll know what I mean.

Now, in all honesty, Fable wasn’t a bad game – it was just a bad game when compared to what we were told it’s going to be. I think most people who didn’t listen to any of the pre-game hype – or waited for the release of The Lost Chapters, were probably pretty pleased with the project. I want to stay optimistic about Fable 2, but I also don’t want to feel like Peter’s bitch again either. That’s the thing – I love the fact that there is someone in charge of a major studio that is willing to take risks to give us something unique, I just wish that it wasn’t me handing the cash over sight-unseen every damn time. Unfortunately, like I said earlier, I just know the promise of the dog is going to make me grab this one at release too.

Fable 2 is being designed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It’s currently slated to be released exclusively for the Xbox 360 at an as-of-yet unspecified date. Now then, you watch the videos, I’ll go back to cleaning. Enjoy.

• Peter Molyneaux – Wikipedia
• Lionhead Studios – official site
• Microsoft Game Studios – Official site
• Fable 2 – Official site
• Fable 2 – Xbox.com product page
• Peter Molyneaux at GDC ’07 – Bowerstone – YouTube
• Peter Molyneaux at GDC ’07 – Dog: part 1 – YouTube
• Peter Molyneaux at GDC ’07 – Dog: part 2 – YouTube
• Peter Molyneaux at GDC ’07 – Dog: part 3 – YouTube

LIONHEAD STUDIOS TALKS FABLE 2

Lionhead Studios has parted the veil of secrecy surrounding Fable 2 and posted a detail filled update on how the game is progressing via their community page, the Lionhead Times. According to the article, there are currently more than 70 people working on the title and at present, the game is on schedule with regular builds being delivered to Microsoft as needed.

The story has been fleshed out, motion capture for the in game animations has begun and the programming team is working hard on bringing it all together? What more could you ask? Well, how about a look at just where Fable 2 will be taking players;

“As you’re probably aware Fable 2 is set roughly 500 years after the original Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters ended. This allows for some vital changes in the world of Albion, the characters and setting, but also to build further upon the heritage and back story. Eventually you get a story that is not only longer than the story from the original game but also one that’s a little bit more mature! No, we’re not going down the route of GTA (violence-grandeur) but with the current plan some people might be shocked by what we have in stock for Fable 2 players. Story-wise this is a slightly different approach but you’ll like it, it has some rather cool twists to it. And I’m not talking about someone who rescues you at first and then betrays you, we’ve seen that a zillion times before, including in the original game.” -Sam Vantilburgh, Lionhead Studios

I’m taking the progression of the game and the silence from Peter Molyneaux as a good sign and am keeping my fingers crossed that this makes up for the whole fiasco with the original Fable. While I’m doing that, why not check out the Lionhead Times at this link.

KIKIZO GAMES INTERVIEWS PETER MOLYNEAUX

If you know me, you know I have a mixed opinion of Peter Molyneaux. I certainly believe the man is a visionary game designer and that he honestly wants to push the boundaries of gaming to their absolute limits. On the other hand, the man has never really known when to keep his mouth shut and has overhyped his games and promised so many features that it’s nearly impossible to ever live up to them. Black & White and Fable, and all the broken promises clearly come to mind anytime I hear his name.

Anyway, Kikizo Games had a chance to talk to PM one on one, and came away with some tantalizing hints about Lionhead Studios upcoming sequel to Fable while finally managing to keep his word and not promise the world. It’s a great read, and touches on both where Lionhead is going now that they’re under the Microsoft Games umbrella and the difficulties being faced by independent studios in the industry.

Perhaps most interesting are the small hints about possible features we’ll be seeing in Fable 2 – the one which I found the most interesting is when asked about if he’d ever consider making Fable a MMOG, Molyneaux had the following to say;

“I can’t really answer the question in detail, but you know, personally, I’m more fascinated in what Live means to you and your friends. I think that’s a really exciting thing. I think of MMO games as being a way to make new friends, and what fascinates me as a designer, at what I found when I was playing on the 360 with the friends list, I really found that there was a very interesting bond that happened when you played the same game together, and I found that fascinating. So it’s a bit of a mysterious answer, but, you know… I can’t really give any examples.” -Peter Molyneaux

Now this is just a guess on my part, but looking at the above comment and seeing how the E3 teaser showed TWO heroes killing a creature as a team, I’m thinking we’re going to be looking at some type of co-op mode in Fable 2 via Xbox Live. Again, there’s nothing official behind that, that’s just how I’m calling what I’ve seen and read. Check out the full interview with Peter Molyneaux at Kikizo Games here and be amazed.

IGN INTERVIEW: PETER MOLYNEAUX ON FABLE 2

IGN has a short interview with Peter Molyneaux, head of Lionhead Studios and the creative mind behind the upcoming Xbox 360 title Fable 2. Now, as many of you may know, Molyneaux has made a habit of making claims during the development process that his games just flat-out didn’t live up to, and that has led to many angry gamers. Well, it seems Peter finally gets it, as he made the following statement and then stuck to it throughout the interview “”I learned my lesson in terms of the press not to blow my mouth off every time I think of an idea.” – Peter Molyneaux Let’s see how long Peter can stick to that. Can you tell I’ve been burned by a few of his games in the past? – Click here to check out the article.