Fable 2 discussed

There are 2 game designers whose names, when mentioned, make me sit up and pay attention. One is American McGee. The other is the amazingly inventive Peter Molyneux.

My fondness for Molyneux's games is largely as a result of Fable, released towards the end of 2005. I have a very low tolerance for RPGs but I absolutely adored Fable, a stylised, action RPG-lite (with a healthy sense of humour) which chopped out a lot of tedious wandering in search of quests.

What was especially fun about Fable was its take on morality. Your actions, from kicking a chicken, to helping a sick child, to buying a brothel, impacted on how good or evil your character became, with your appearance reflecting this morality shift. Good = bright blue eyes, a halo and butterflies following you, while people cheer or fall in love when you approach them. Bad = balding, pale, growing horns, with people fleeing in horror whenever you are near.

Plus, events in the game also affected your appearance. You aged, picked up scars from battle, and would bulk up dramatically if you chose to up your strength when spending experience.

Peter Molyneux was recently interviewed by Gamespot about the Fable sequel (currently just for XBox360, but hopefully also to be released for PC). You can read the full interview here.

However, here are some highlights, which reveal Molyneux intends to push the concept of an interactive changing world, and character, even further:

The first time you encounter the camp, you might think that any decision you make on how to interact with it is insignificant, but according to Molyneux, the effects of even your seemingly trivial actions will be felt for decades. If you choose to trade with the camp, for example, you might find that it has developed into a small settlement when you're in the area again 10 years later. After another decade, that small settlement might grow into a village, and ultimately it could become a thriving town or city. If you decided to loot the camp and kill its inhabitants, on the other hand, the land it occupied would be reclaimed by nature, and 10 years later you'd never even know it was there. Molyneux calls this technology "dynamic regions," and it's one of several features in the game that he seems genuinely excited to talk about...

On the subject of family, Molyneux's goal is to introduce unconditional love to video games by giving you the ability to have children with whichever character from the world you decide to marry. After meeting the woman or man of your dreams (you can play as a woman, remember), you can marry them and then, if you're so inclined, you can opt to have protected or unprotected sex with them. If you choose the latter, we've heard nothing that leads us to believe that your hero will be at risk from infection, but there is a chance that you might become a parent nine months later. Your offspring's appearance will be determined by your spouse's characteristics and by your own at the time of conception, and regardless of what path you choose to take through the game, that child will love you unconditionally. If you've opted to play as a woman, it'll be you that gets pregnant, of course, but that's a preview topic for another day.

Molyneux said that one of the most magical moments of his career was when he recently saw the Fable 2 family features in action. Returning home from a lengthy quest, Molyneux found that his baby son had grown up in his absence and, as he approached the house, the boy swung the doors open and ran toward him with his arms outstretched. Molyneux also stated that your child's development will be determined to some extent by your own actions, almost as if he or she is trying to imitate you or gain your approval. So, if you play as an evil guy covered in tattoos, you might find that your son gets himself some ink the first chance he gets.

To some of you that may sound very ambitious. To others it may sounds like Molyneux is making Fable 2 too Sims-ish. I, however, am extremely excited. I got bored with The Sims 2 very quickly because of all the everyday actions management (showering, eating, using the toilet etc. etc.). Now Fable 2 promises the fun side of The Sims (Woo-hoo!) in an action fantasy setting.



Check out the stunning teaser trailer, which shows the game has shifted from the standard Medieval fantasy setting to something more 17-18th Century... Pistols at dawn, everyone!