Fable II

The story of you...by Peter Molyneux
5/16/2008 10:47 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 2

Peter Molyneux is smiling.

The audience in front of the famed game designer is perhaps less cheery. Some 15 or so game writers slump in rather comfortable faux-leather chairs. They seem to be suffering from the rigors of a week in which every game company on Earth, and quite possibly a few from the distant planet Zebnar V, has chosen to hold a "gamer's day" preview event.

Molyneux holds the grin for a while. "You've heard me blathering on about Fable II for a couple of years," he says.

"Finally, I can show you the game."

It has been an interesting thrill ride for Molyneux. He is perhaps the best quote in the game industry, a man who simply loves to discuss his passion. For the original Fable, Molyneux talked up a blue storm, telling game fans all about the ideas he had for the action role-playing game. Molyneux spoke of a world that was as dynamic as its protagonist; if the hero planted a seed at the game's start, it would grow to be a huge tree by the game's end.

Fans ate it up, and were disappointed when some of Molyneux's more fanciful ideas simply didn't make it into the game. There was a backlash; Molyneux had said too much too often. He needed a firmer hand. He needed the guiding hands of many, many public relations flacks to tell him what he could and could not say about Fable's sequel.

So it came to pass that news of Fable II was doled out in bite-sized portions, one feature at a time. First, Molyneux announced he was going to make the game's players feel love, introducing them to a canine companion. Every hero will get one in Fable II and Molyneux suggested only the blackest soul would be able to disregard the idea of a badly wounded mutt hobbling (perhaps even traveling great distances) to stand at its master's side. Later, he announced a one-button combat scheme whereby all sword-based attacks in Fable II will be mapped to the Xbox 360 controller's X button, magic to the B button, and guns/bows to the Y button. After that came the idea of gambling mini-games playable on Xbox 360 Live, the winnings for which would transfer over to Fable II itself.

Now, however, the gloves have come off. With the game nearing completion, Molyneux has been given free rein to talk about Fable II's story and to show its gameplay.

It all begins with poop.

"I like poking fun at game conventions," Molyneux says as the opening cut scene for Fable II freezes on a close-up shot of bird feces plummeting from the heavens. Previously, the scene had been set with a little sparrow flying majestically toward and through the fictional world of Albion. The bird poop lands on the young protagonist's head. This is Molyneux's way of introducing the player to helplessness. The first mission, a simple quest to purchase a magic box, will have to be accomplished without the use of special powers or abilities.

This time around, Molyneux has made sure he fit in his acorn and the mighty oak -- after a fashion, that is. Events that happen early in the game will have far-reaching consequences in the world of Fable II. Albion can be shaped by the simplest of things; one introductory quest has players fetching arrest warrants. What the player does with these warrants reflects not only on the protagonist, but also the world, Molyneux says. Hand them to the sheriff, and Albion's slums will, in the fullness of time, be transformed into a bustling trade district free from felonious behavior. Hand those same warrants to less virtuous individuals and the sheriff loses his job. With no bite whatsoever taken from crime, the slums will deteriorate even further.