Cologne, Germany holds the annual European show, GamesCom, and this year the surprises are bigger and better than in years past. For one, Sony announced a $100 price cut for PS3 along with its new PS3 slim model. Second, Lionhead Creative Director Peter Molyneux revealed his studio is in the works not only with Milo and Kate of Project Natal E3 fame, but with Fable III. (Check the video here.)
It's good to be the king...
Unlike a most designers trained by PR folks to hold back information and stick with the cue cards, Molyneux dives right into the details of his new game, due exlcusively on Xbox 360 in 2010. Fable III is connected to Fable II in that the game will analyze your indescretions and those will play a part of how you are perceived in Fable III.
The third in Molyneux’s action-RPG series, Fable III puts you in the shoes of a son or daughter of your character from Fable II. Only now yuo are positioned to inherit the role of king of Albion, and the world has changed dramatically. It’s industrialized, there is more crime, and you are a politician who must figure out how to make things work, while essentially trying to please everyone.
“We’ve spent a lot of time at Lionhead thinking about how we can innovate the gameplay and progress the world of the Fable games for its third chapter, and we’re confident that players won’t second-guess what we have planned for Fable III,” said Molyneux. “Though I can’t give too much away right now, players should expect to have to make much tougher choices with far wider consequences than ever before in Albion—and with many more interactive adventure elements.”
Good or bad? You will decide your kingdom's fate by passing judgment or investigating crimes.
Molyneux introduced two new mechanics for next year’s Fable III: Judgments and Touch. When you are king, you’ll see numerous people come before you who have committed crimes. Should you punish them outright or investigate their story? These judgment situations serve as quests. You can summarily sentence the person, setting an example for the rest of the kingdom, or you can investigate. Molyneux said, for example, a young girl was caught stealing. If you investigate, you might find that she was trying to feed her starving family.
The other mechanic, Touch, enables players to turn a simple handshake into a hug or a kiss, or something more, according to Molyneux, who sheepishly teased the audience. Another example he gave of Touch was of you saving a child who was stuck in a burning house. In Fable II, you would just prress a butto and save the child. In Fable III, you would actually go in and walk out with the child, where everyone could see you. “I’m going to tease you with how we’re doing this, and it’s one sliver of what we’re doing with Fable III.” Could he possibly be talking about Project Natal? Hm…when was Molyneux ever subtle?
