Fable Update

[Professor S]

Well there is finally more info coming out about Fable, which is due to release in the US in September and eveywhere else in October. These articles go mainly into the trials and tribulations of attempting to be a good character and an evil character. Thankfully this game looks to be incredibly deep and maintain a purely good or evil stance will be very difficult or nearly impossible; at least it will be more difficult and complex than KOTOR.

There was also a tidbit about how when the main story is completed and the credits role... THE GAME IS NOT OVER. Your character and the living world around you continue with new quests popping up now and then and it lets you do whatever you wish to this world you helped create.

About being good
http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/fable/528077p1.html

About being evil
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/527/527974p1.html

[Acebot44]

I love Fable. If I didn't I wouldn't of been following it (religiously) for the past three years. This game will be amazing but with every new batch of screens I see how far away it is from Project Ego. I'm still waiting for PE but Fable will help the wait go by faster :D

Also, for those who pre-ordered, the DVD is out now at Gamestop.

[Bond]

I remember when I interviewed Dene Carter from Big Blue Box in 2001, when the game was set to ship in 2002. I'm pretty sure it was the first interview on Fable, what was then Project Ego. Here's the transcript:

FunXbox: First of all I would like to thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you please give some background information on Big Blue Box (BBB) and some of the previous projects you have worked on?

Dene Carter: Many of us have worked on a lot of Bullfrog games at one time or another - most notably Dungeon Keeper. As individuals, we're an experienced company. Some of us worked at Codemasters, some at Mindscape, others at Probe. A lot of years spent moaning about what's wrong with games today.

FunXbox: Is there any reason why you chose to develop Project Ego for the Xbox console rather than the Playstation 2 or the Gamecube?

Dene Carter: Yes. It's a fantastic console. THE fantastic console. If we were to attempt it on any other machine at the moment we'd have to make so many cuts, concessions and design revisions that it would be unrecognizable. The hard-disk, the sheer, raw power of the machine, and, frankly, Microsoft's serious devotion to ensuring the Xbox will have new, innovative and original games which show the true meaning of Next Generation gaming.

FunXbox: Could you please just give us some general information on PE for our readers who have not yet heard about the game?

Dene Carter: Project Ego follows the story of a young child as he grows up; from a simple innocent into the most powerful hero the world of Albion has ever seen. Quite how the player does this, is up to him. He can gain fame or notoriety, be courageous or cowardly, mystical or straight-forward, rely on brains or brawn. Every thing the player does, and how he does it is recorded and used to change some element of gameplay or the story. Phobias, allergies, hatreds, friends and enemies - many elements of real life will be simulated to ensure players feel that their hero is very much an extension of themselves.

FunXbox: Can you give us a brief summary of the battle system you'll encounter in PE?

Dene Carter: Real-time. Morphing. Multi-weapon. Skill-based. Frying pans. Vital areas. What more can I say?

FunXbox: When can we expect some more of those oh-so-worshipped screen shots of the game?

Dene Carter: We're planning on releasing some more quite soon.

FunXbox: Is there any new information that you can give us about the plot of PE?

Dene Carter: That's a hard question since the main plot takes on a very different aspect depending on how you view your character. Let's just say that the story will feel pretty epic.

FunXbox: Have you decided to take on your fans idea to include a SandGoose?

Dene Carter: No comment. No. Really. No comment.

FunXbox: Is it possible for you to reveal just a little more information about the main characters?

Dene Carter: Well, considering you choose who the main characters are, it's a bit difficult! There are a few individuals in the world whose personalities have been 'tweaked' a little. The mayor of Bowerstone will be very interesting. I'd like to see how people interact with him.

FunXbox: What kind of weapons will you encounter in Project Ego?

Dene Carter: Rubber chickens. Frying pans. Pointy sticks. Swords. Daggers. Chairs.

FunXbox: Will there be any female playable characters in the game?

Dene Carter: We've done preliminary work on the female character, but we don't know how well she'll fit into the game.

FunXbox: Do you have a rough estimate on how many polygons each character will have?

Dene Carter: The characters range from 4,000 to over 10,000.

FunXbox: What part of the game do you feel is the most fun?

Dene Carter: I like playing with the villager's minds. Threatening someone so much they start to fear you is quite funny, since you can do precisely the opposite somewhere else! I also rather like stealing stuff from shopkeepers who hate me.

FunXbox: Can you tell us how far along the game is done?

Dene Carter: We've got some way to go yet; we've got a lot of planned features to get in there.

FunXbox: Will there be any mini games in Project Ego?

Dene Carter: What? Like golf? We haven't even begun to think of mini-games yet.

FunXbox: What types of things are there in Project Ego that will make it stand out from other games of its kind?

Dene Carter: Where do I start? The sheer, vast scale of everything - the world (and the view distance), the choices, the complete and utter difference between one person's life and another. We have creatures and people who will be terrible foes to some, and best friends to another. Corrupt people, honorable people, families, evolving communities of 'monsters'. The variety of gameplay and the scope for individual variation is collosal.

FunXbox: Do you know around when Project Ego will be released in the United States and Japan?

Dene Carter: 6 weeks after we finish writing it. :-)

FunXbox: Has there been anything that you originally hoped to put in the game that will not make it to the final version?

Dene Carter: Everything that we ever wanted to put in the game is in. This technology has been empowering beyond our wildest dreams. If we do decide to leave out anything it'll be a purely design-based decision; if a feature doesn't play well, or a concept just doesn't work, it won't go in.

FunXbox: Is there anything you would like to say in closing?

Dene Carter: We'd like to thank the online community for their interest, and reiterate our desire to ensure this is a very special game for everyone out there. We always listen to the comments people make about what they like and don't like, and these will be reflected in our design decisions and eventually, the final game. It's your game too. Stick around - things will get a lot more interesting soon. Now where did I put that sandgoose mesh...

[Acebot44]

That was you? I remember reading that before :D

[DeathsHand]

There was also a tidbit about how when the main story is completed and the credits role... THE GAME IS NOT OVER. Your character and the living world around you continue with new quests popping up now and then and it lets you do whatever you wish to this world you helped create.

I've wanted a game to do that for so long... I've always hoped Zelda did it somehow... Now all I need is an Xbox :sneaky:

[Typhoid]

Like i have said, this game will be the reason i buy an Xbox, well, this and Halo2, but still.


High five to Fable.

[Canyarion]

Yeah Zelda came pretty close I think... not as close as... let's say Onimushi, but for Nintendo fans Zelda was good enough. :D

Fable just might make me buy a used Xbox. :D

[Vampyr]

I've been contemplating buying an Xbox for a while now...mainly for this game, but also for a few others (halo, morrowind, Ninja Gaiden)

And after reading those articles, I want it even more. :D

[Professor S]

I love Fable. If I didn't I wouldn't of been following it (religiously) for the past three years. This game will be amazing but with every new batch of screens I see how far away it is from Project Ego. I'm still waiting for PE but Fable will help the wait go by faster :D

You know that Project Ego and Fable are the same thing right? Maybe my "joke meter" is off, but you sounded sincere. :D

[Canyarion]

Perhaps he meant that evolved into something so much better than Project Ego was....

[Acebot44]

^Actually quite the opposite.

I wrote about three paragraphs of what was different before I went to look for some old interviews...Fable is just Project Ego-Lite IMO. It's not what I saw it as in my mind 3-4 years ago but a game which will be great anyway, just not as great as Project Ego would have been (even though that was just the temp name but still sounded better). I have my hopes still waiting for an Ego-esk game to be released along with Chrono Break ;)

And yes Strangler I knew that :D

[Professor S]

Ok, good, I was worried for a second.

Yeah, a lot was taken out from the original plans, but something tells me they'll be planning to include a lot of what was taken out into the sequel. Or at least I hope they do.

[Canyarion]

One thing's for sure, they reaaaaaaaaaally downgraded the graphics. :(

[Professor S]

One thing's for sure, they reaaaaaaaaaally downgraded the graphics. :(

Maybe they aren't quite as good as originally pictured, but I think you might be exagerrating a tad.

http://xboxmedia.ign.com/xbox/image/article/527/527974/fable-20040701073051671-000.jpg


That still looks pretty darn good to me!

[Ginkasa]

*didn't care when it was known as Project Ego*

What kind of stuff was taken out...?


*shrugs and walks away*

[Acebot44]

The only major things which were taken out is a fully free roaming environment (a la morrowind) and that every NPC ages. Now, only characters important to you will go through a significant aging process. Also, the promise Fable being different by having no stat pages and that the hero would evolve before our eyes while we didnt even notice it. Last I heard, when you gain experience from picking up orbs (W.T.F.) you are allowed to assign two kinds of experience points. General and Specific. Specific goes to one of the three different categories of Skill, Will, and Strength. General is well, general. I think I read that whenever you go to the guild master to assign this experience to strength, your avatar muscles bulge and become bigger. Not what I had originally expected...

I'm more disappointed at myself than the game though :( . I let my own imagination take control of me. I expected impossible results from this game. But, with anything that has dissapointed me something new and better as emerged. I don't think anyone would have thought up the gestures system. BRILLIANT! :cool: Really, the AI of Fable is the most amazing thing about the game, and nobody should go without playing it atleast once.

Oh, and Cany, the reason why Fable doesnt look as great as PE is because it isnt Anti-Aliased and something needed to be sacraficed in order for this game to be kept up at a steady 30 FPS.

[Canyarion]

Also, the promise Fable being different by having no stat pages and that the hero would evolve before our eyes while we didnt even notice it. Last I heard, when you gain experience from picking up orbs (W.T.F.) you are allowed to assign two kinds of experience points. General and Specific. Specific goes to one of the three different categories of Skill, Will, and Strength. General is well, general. I think I read that whenever you go to the guild master to assign this experience to strength, your avatar muscles bulge and become bigger.:eek: That's really too bad... :(