Michael Bluth
03-16-2003, 09:36 PM
Peter Molyneux is pretty straightforward concerning his expectations for Big Blue Box’s all- encompassing RPG ‘Fable’. He expects it to be nothing less than the greatest Role Playing Game ever. While this sounds nice, we gamers are used to grand talk and lofty promises from developers that fail to deliver. However, Peter Molyneux isn’t just any game developer, he’s widely considered to be one of the greatest. So when he says Fable will be the best RPG ever, gamers have no reason to expect anything less.
In fact, Fable already looks like a great game just waiting to be released, and is just under a year from ever seeing store shelves. Originally announced under the working title of ‘Project Ego’, this game has been all the buzz in the gaming community for the past two years, and for good reason – it looks to redefine its genre. Fable’s premise has been a dream of Molyneux’s for the past 20 years, and finally the hardware is here to see his dream realized. The developers of the game, Big Blue Box, is a sub-studio of Lionhead Studios – Molyneux’s own developing house that is responsible for the recent hit PC game ‘Black & White’. These guys have learned from the best and are crafting his masterpiece with tender, loving care.
For a game that promises one of the deepest gameplay experiences ever, Fable’s story is actually very simple. At the innocent age of 15, the hero (you) is sent out on an errand by his parents. He returns to find his parents missing and his dog rather violently removed from life. Thus, he sets out on a mission: to avenge the death of Rover (not actually the dog’s name, thank goodness) and find his missing parents. Naturally this will involve saving the world in various aspects along the way. Yet the story is not what gives this game depth, its how you go about accomplishing this end that defines the gameplay.
It’s very important to realize that Albion, the world your character lives in, is a living, breathing world. Anything you do in the game will affect the land and the people who live in it. If you carve your initials in a tree, they’ll be there years later (provided the tree still exists). If you kill somebody’s brother, you’ll probably find that they won’t be the first to welcome you into their home. It’s a very unique system that makes you think one level beyond taking a given course of action.
As you progress through the game, you will age as any normal human would. How you age will be dependant on how you play the game. Stick to the shadows and you’ll be pale, bask in the sunlight and you’ll develop a fine tan. Be physically active and you’ll become ripped, linger in the local pubs and you’ll develop a beer gut. Get a cut and neglect to bandage it and soon enough you’ll have a scar. Everything down to your stress level affects how you will age – players experiencing a lot of stress will develop wrinkles and bags under their eyes. The aging system adds to the gameplay infinitely, but has been tuned by BBB so that it will never be counter-productive. For example, aging is balanced so that you won’t die of old-age before you finish the game.
You have full control over your physical appearance in the game. The possibilities of your character’s physicality are so complex, in fact, that BBB has been forced to limit the playable character to a male. Players can cut their hair, buy new clothes (even women’s fashions), or get tattoos. Your appearance is important, as it generally affect how you will be perceived by non-playable characters (NPC) in the game. If you’re pail, dressed all in black and have creepy facial tattoos (think Mike Tyson), then you’ll find that people won’t warm up to you very easily. However, if you’re tan, physically fit and dressed fancily, you’ll find that NPCs will imitate your style. In fact, players who choose the righteous path and dress to match their choice will find that their character gains Hero status in towns and villages and will be followed by eager young lads that want to be just like you (It is unclear at this time if your character can acquire a shoe deal).
Your character’s personality will even effect how he draws his weapon; physically weak players will grunt as they unsheathe a sword while a robust, heroic character will pull it out painlessly (executing a few fancy twists along the way – all for good measure). It’s all very interesting when you give it some thought, and will certainly make for a unique experience.
As you traverse the land on your quest, you’ll be tempted with the normal slew of side-quests along with a few unique ones that are completely optional (and in some cases, not even suggested). One unique concept is that you’ll be able to find yourself a wife, settle down for a bit and rear some children in your own image. While something like this seems like it would slow the game down, you’ll find that you’ll constantly be barraged by NPCs that would like to see you save the world in the near-future. You can’t ignore them forever, and eventually you’ll be almost forced to continue your quest. Along the way you’ll also encounter other aspiring heroes that are out to save the world in much the same manner you are. Part of the game is based on the competition with these other characters who take on the same side quests as you. Your rank in relation to these other heroes-to-be can be tracked through numerous guilds and looks to heighten the sense of urgency and importance of your mission.
While very little is known about the combat system of Fable, we do know that it will be a departure from the combat systems of typical RPGs. Fable’s system will be more focused on first-person combat in which you’ll hit action buttons to swing your weapon and attack your enemy. Enemies that, I might add, will be very smart. They’ll hide in tall grass, surround your character and worst-of-all, they’ll learn from mistakes – theirs and yours. There’ll be no easy victory for your character. As for the weapons of the game, almost anything goes. You’ll be able to use chairs, stones, even rubber chickens. Creativity, it seems, will be key to defeating your adversaries. More along the lines of RPGs, you’ll have magic available to you (to a certain extent), and as with anything else, your use of it will affect your aging process and appearance as using magic will draw from your life force. Players looking for Final Fantasy-esque magic use may find themselves completing the game old, wrinkly and aided by a walker.
While it seems that most of BBB’s attention has been focused on Fable’s gameplay (never a bad thing), it has shown equal dedication to the visuals of the title. If it were released now it would stand as one of the most visually stunning games on the Xbox – and it’s only in its Alpha stage. The draw distance is unreal (you can see distant mountain ranges surrounding the cities), and the world itself is meticulously designed. An example that speaks for itself: each individual raindrop will be reflected in pools of water, and will react differently depending on the surface that it lands on. In two words: Mind boggling.
And innovation does not stop at gameplay and stunning visuals. A new camera system is being employed in Fable, and BBB promises that it will be unlike anything we gamers have ever experienced. They’re also toying with the idea of allowing you to save your character to a memory card and take it to a friend’s Xbox, at which point your character would become a living, breathing part of this new environment; yet another concept that is simply beyond belief.
Big Blue Box even puts a creative spin on the release date of the game, Dene Carter (lead programmer) reports that Fable will see store shelves “six weeks after we’re done writing it,” which looks to be in the Winter Quarter of 2003-04. They estimate that a gamer that adheres strictly to the story will complete the game in 20 hours – and miss the entire purpose of the game. The story is present more as a method of holding things together, and is not completely representative of the gameplay experience to be had here. The developers hope that gamers will not feel rushed and will spend hundreds of hours playing their game - which they say is a drop in the bucket of the time you could spend playing. If Fable delivers on all fronts, I’ll be hard-pressed to find a better way to spend a few hundred hours, and I bet you will be too. Keep checking GWX for more details on Fable as its release draws nearer, as we’ll keep you fully posted on the latest developments concerning Peter Molyneux’s masterpiece.
In fact, Fable already looks like a great game just waiting to be released, and is just under a year from ever seeing store shelves. Originally announced under the working title of ‘Project Ego’, this game has been all the buzz in the gaming community for the past two years, and for good reason – it looks to redefine its genre. Fable’s premise has been a dream of Molyneux’s for the past 20 years, and finally the hardware is here to see his dream realized. The developers of the game, Big Blue Box, is a sub-studio of Lionhead Studios – Molyneux’s own developing house that is responsible for the recent hit PC game ‘Black & White’. These guys have learned from the best and are crafting his masterpiece with tender, loving care.
For a game that promises one of the deepest gameplay experiences ever, Fable’s story is actually very simple. At the innocent age of 15, the hero (you) is sent out on an errand by his parents. He returns to find his parents missing and his dog rather violently removed from life. Thus, he sets out on a mission: to avenge the death of Rover (not actually the dog’s name, thank goodness) and find his missing parents. Naturally this will involve saving the world in various aspects along the way. Yet the story is not what gives this game depth, its how you go about accomplishing this end that defines the gameplay.
It’s very important to realize that Albion, the world your character lives in, is a living, breathing world. Anything you do in the game will affect the land and the people who live in it. If you carve your initials in a tree, they’ll be there years later (provided the tree still exists). If you kill somebody’s brother, you’ll probably find that they won’t be the first to welcome you into their home. It’s a very unique system that makes you think one level beyond taking a given course of action.
As you progress through the game, you will age as any normal human would. How you age will be dependant on how you play the game. Stick to the shadows and you’ll be pale, bask in the sunlight and you’ll develop a fine tan. Be physically active and you’ll become ripped, linger in the local pubs and you’ll develop a beer gut. Get a cut and neglect to bandage it and soon enough you’ll have a scar. Everything down to your stress level affects how you will age – players experiencing a lot of stress will develop wrinkles and bags under their eyes. The aging system adds to the gameplay infinitely, but has been tuned by BBB so that it will never be counter-productive. For example, aging is balanced so that you won’t die of old-age before you finish the game.
You have full control over your physical appearance in the game. The possibilities of your character’s physicality are so complex, in fact, that BBB has been forced to limit the playable character to a male. Players can cut their hair, buy new clothes (even women’s fashions), or get tattoos. Your appearance is important, as it generally affect how you will be perceived by non-playable characters (NPC) in the game. If you’re pail, dressed all in black and have creepy facial tattoos (think Mike Tyson), then you’ll find that people won’t warm up to you very easily. However, if you’re tan, physically fit and dressed fancily, you’ll find that NPCs will imitate your style. In fact, players who choose the righteous path and dress to match their choice will find that their character gains Hero status in towns and villages and will be followed by eager young lads that want to be just like you (It is unclear at this time if your character can acquire a shoe deal).
Your character’s personality will even effect how he draws his weapon; physically weak players will grunt as they unsheathe a sword while a robust, heroic character will pull it out painlessly (executing a few fancy twists along the way – all for good measure). It’s all very interesting when you give it some thought, and will certainly make for a unique experience.
As you traverse the land on your quest, you’ll be tempted with the normal slew of side-quests along with a few unique ones that are completely optional (and in some cases, not even suggested). One unique concept is that you’ll be able to find yourself a wife, settle down for a bit and rear some children in your own image. While something like this seems like it would slow the game down, you’ll find that you’ll constantly be barraged by NPCs that would like to see you save the world in the near-future. You can’t ignore them forever, and eventually you’ll be almost forced to continue your quest. Along the way you’ll also encounter other aspiring heroes that are out to save the world in much the same manner you are. Part of the game is based on the competition with these other characters who take on the same side quests as you. Your rank in relation to these other heroes-to-be can be tracked through numerous guilds and looks to heighten the sense of urgency and importance of your mission.
While very little is known about the combat system of Fable, we do know that it will be a departure from the combat systems of typical RPGs. Fable’s system will be more focused on first-person combat in which you’ll hit action buttons to swing your weapon and attack your enemy. Enemies that, I might add, will be very smart. They’ll hide in tall grass, surround your character and worst-of-all, they’ll learn from mistakes – theirs and yours. There’ll be no easy victory for your character. As for the weapons of the game, almost anything goes. You’ll be able to use chairs, stones, even rubber chickens. Creativity, it seems, will be key to defeating your adversaries. More along the lines of RPGs, you’ll have magic available to you (to a certain extent), and as with anything else, your use of it will affect your aging process and appearance as using magic will draw from your life force. Players looking for Final Fantasy-esque magic use may find themselves completing the game old, wrinkly and aided by a walker.
While it seems that most of BBB’s attention has been focused on Fable’s gameplay (never a bad thing), it has shown equal dedication to the visuals of the title. If it were released now it would stand as one of the most visually stunning games on the Xbox – and it’s only in its Alpha stage. The draw distance is unreal (you can see distant mountain ranges surrounding the cities), and the world itself is meticulously designed. An example that speaks for itself: each individual raindrop will be reflected in pools of water, and will react differently depending on the surface that it lands on. In two words: Mind boggling.
And innovation does not stop at gameplay and stunning visuals. A new camera system is being employed in Fable, and BBB promises that it will be unlike anything we gamers have ever experienced. They’re also toying with the idea of allowing you to save your character to a memory card and take it to a friend’s Xbox, at which point your character would become a living, breathing part of this new environment; yet another concept that is simply beyond belief.
Big Blue Box even puts a creative spin on the release date of the game, Dene Carter (lead programmer) reports that Fable will see store shelves “six weeks after we’re done writing it,” which looks to be in the Winter Quarter of 2003-04. They estimate that a gamer that adheres strictly to the story will complete the game in 20 hours – and miss the entire purpose of the game. The story is present more as a method of holding things together, and is not completely representative of the gameplay experience to be had here. The developers hope that gamers will not feel rushed and will spend hundreds of hours playing their game - which they say is a drop in the bucket of the time you could spend playing. If Fable delivers on all fronts, I’ll be hard-pressed to find a better way to spend a few hundred hours, and I bet you will be too. Keep checking GWX for more details on Fable as its release draws nearer, as we’ll keep you fully posted on the latest developments concerning Peter Molyneux’s masterpiece.