There’s one overriding feeling you get from listening to Peter Molyneux speak about his games: he really does believe the hype. The Lionhead boss might have a reputation for exaggerating and boasting about the titles he designs, but in front of me stands a man whose enthusiasm is so palpable that it resonates around the room.
He’s also first to admit that Fable II, his previous allegedly world-changing game, had a great number of problems. “To be honest with you, there were really big design flaws,” he says, addressing 2010’s Develop Conference. Fable II was a game that, to Molyneux, threw too much into the mix, emerging cluttered and turgid as a result.
So the big theme is ‘back to basics’. Fable II came under some criticism from players for being too simple, so their inbuilt alarm bells may start ringing when they discover Fable III is streamlined even further. Most immediately noticeable is that there’s only a single item on the heads-up display. “We’ll be getting rid of that icon,” says Molyneux, pointing to it in the bottom left corner of the screen.
No HUD whatsoever, then. And no menus, either, once you’re into the game itself. All of Fable III’s character customisation takes place within the game world, in a place called The Sanctuary. It’s home to your helpful butler, voiced by John Cleese, and allows you to wander around kitting out and tweaking your character – without the need to scroll through endless options and juggle countless numbers. “This is a role-playing game,” Molyneux reminds us. “Where’s all the stats? We don’t need them, because they’re all inside the world.”
If there’s a concern, it’s that Lionhead will struggle to find a way for it to make sense. In the demonstration, The Sanctuary is presented to us without any explanation of how it fits into the wider story. It is of course likely to be integrated into the plot somehow. But for now, Molyneux simply hits a button, and suddenly we’re there, in the Sanctuary chamber, ready to tinker around with our guy or gal.
And that gender choice is one of significance, according to Molyneux. Elements of the narrative switch and alter depending on your chosen sex, while more care has been placed in the female character design this time around. “In Fable II, all our women did look like Russian shotputters,” Molyneux jokes. “In Fable III, I’m glad to say that they have curves and soft bits.”
Ensuring actions feel like they have real consequences is right near the top of a priority list that’s intended to ensure the series feels more dramatic than ever. Playing as the son or daughter of your character in Fable II, the game’s main Journey to Rule campaign follows your attempt to overthrow an evil ruler and eventually become king yourself – but in order to do this, you’re asked to make certain concessions.
It works like this. Characters in Fable III will ask, during your campaign for leadership, certain promises of you. If you agree to them, these people will expect you to carry out their wishes upon your grasp of power. Keep your side of the deal and you’ll be well liked. Go back on your word, and your subjects won’t be at all pleased.
The idea, of course, is to let players be who they want to be – even if that means creating a world that’s even more atrocious than it was under the previous king’s horrible reign. “Even though I know very few people will be a tyrannical king,” says Molyneux, “I still love the idea that you have the opportunity to have your kingdom even worse.”
But despite this depth of player choice, ‘accessibility’ remains the key word. “We want to sell loads more units,” declares Molyneux. The room laughs, but he’s basically serious. “As a designer, more and more, it matters that more people play your game,” he says. The key to that, in Lionhead’s minds, lies in streamlining and refinement. “Being honest, Fable II had some terribly messy things about it.”
So combat’s been tweaked again. It’s all a one-button system, ostensibly simplified but with added depth and flexibility, where spells can be charged for an infinite amount of time to deliver crushing blows. “You could hold it overnight and see what happens,” Molyneux says. “I love that feeling of power. Why should we cap these things?”
Not only that, but the more overt RPG elements have been hidden behind the scenes. Levelling up is still a key component, but rather than assigning skill points, you’re unlocking gates and choosing from treasure chests embedded in the game world. Each new level unlocks a gate on the road to the castle at which you’ll eventually arrive and become king. And between each gate there’s big boxes of goodies to choose from, which unlock various abilities – the ability to buy a house, for example, or to wield “a big bastard sword.”
“I love the visual metaphor of travelling along the road,” Molyneux gushes. “I love that we’re giving people the ability to choose their game features.”
Then there’s the breadcrum trail. That was, to say the least, a contentious issue in Fable II. To what extent is so much handholding acceptable? It’s a question with no definite answers, but Molyneux hopes Fable III hits a nice balance. When on the move, or engaged in a particular task, the trail fades out. But the longer you stay still, the more the game assumes you’re after a gentle nudge. At that point, the trail starts to fade back in until it’s glowing brightly, and pointing the way.
It’s all looking good. It’s all looking very much like a Fable game. That is to say, it’s looking like a traditional RPG for the masses: a vast and expansive fantasy world, but with the stats hidden away, the complexity removed. It also looks beautiful, and while there were a few noticeable texture pop-ups in this early build, some of the vistas – all in-game and explorable – are genuinely impressive. Combine that with a co-op mode catered towards shared experiences (you can marry your co-op buddy, for example. “Why don’t we have an intimate moment in Fable III?” suggests Molyneux. “Obviously it’s not as realistic as the real thing, but it’s a lot less messy.”), and there’s a game that’s certainly not without charm or potential.
Of course, whether that potential is realised remains key. Peter Molyneux has a reputation for over-hyping his games, and it’s not difficult to see where that came from: while Lionhead generally makes strong titles, they’ve rarely been the genre-redefining experiences we’ve been led to believe pre-release.
But Molyneux clearly adores Fable III. Glancing back through my notes, I noticed I’d scrawled down the word “love” in ten separate quotations. Sure, he’s trying to sell his game – but when a designer is clearly so enamoured with what his team has managed to create, it’s difficult to feel too sceptical about what’s in store.
Fable III is set for release on Xbox 360 and PC this October.
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