Though his vision usually outstrips his games' technical prowess, super developer Peter Molyneux is still responsible for some the most unique gaming experiences ever put to code. He's let us soar through the air on an enchanted rug, mow down civilians in a near-future dystopia, and has even let us play god once or twice.
Unfortunately, after having the distinct 'pleasure' of being absorbed by larger studios on twoseparate occasions, many of his most memorable creations have since been left to the pages of history. Even so, while Molyneux is currently courting players with his canine-friendlyFable 2, he recently told Shacknews that he's open to revisiting his earlier games, particularly Syndicate.
"I really would love to redo a version of Syndicate," he commented, adding that while he has not been given the go ahead to knock the dust off his past achievements, "one day, I'm sure that opportunity is going to come up and I'd love to do it." Of course, he's said this all before, but we continue to hold out hope. In a world filled with one mundane first-person shooter after the next, we could really use another Magic Carpet.
Fable 2's combat and canines aren't going to be the only next-gen things about the game. Developer Lionhead also wants to replace the tired old "Arseface" insult that villagers yell at the hero when they hate him. They've turned to their community of loyal fans (yes, you!) for a replacement on their official blog.
The comments section is already filling up with soon-to-be-classics, but we're especially fond of "Groin Crab," "Loner McLonelyton" and the puzzling "Big Girls Blouse." Your own personal chance at immortality is just one click away.
Before he was integrating man's best friend into Fable 2, Peter Molyneux designed a little game called Populous, which was subsequently the inspiration for an entire genre of simulation games known as "god games." Though it was officially (and quietly) announced two months ago, the Populous DS buzz is finally beginning to build, with screens and details of the portable remake appearing in a recent issue of Famitsu Magazine.
According to our buddies over at DS Fanboy, the remake will feature wireless multiplayer for up to four people, and options for both stylus-driven and classic control. The game's levels will be collected from the original's numerous sequels, expansions, and editions. Famitsu reports a February 2008 release for the game in Japan.
So, we might have sort of wanted to work at Lionhead Studios before we saw this latest video diary from the company, but now, after seeing the way they rung in their 10th anniversary, we're putting it on our lifelong to-do list, along with "skydiving," "Rocky Mountain climbing" and "going 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu."
After all, this diary focuses on the nerdiest guys at the company, the guys coding the development tools for Fable 2, and even they manage to seem cool. ... Well, as cool as someone who takes two days off to make a Pyramid Head costume can seem. It's all relative, we guess. If you're behind, catch up with part 1 and part 2.
During an otherwise pedestrian interview, Peter Molyneux opened that big mouth again, this time putting the burden of another potential overstatement squarely on Microsoft's shoulders. The Fable man has predicted that Xbox Live "will ultimately be far more impactful on video games in the long term than something like the Wii controller."
Molyneux isn't alone, but his view goes against the current (but possibly transitory) trend, which sees Wii demand reaching nothing short of phenomenon. Though, in practice, Wii is still an inconsistent technology; whereas Xbox Live is a stable and consistently growing platform that has changed the way publishers and developers create and deliver game content, and is inspiring competitors, namely Sony, to launch their own grand social networks for the console market. Is Molyneux dead on?
Peter Molyneux describes Fable 2's combat as "kind of a little bit mad." It's just one blue button; a system that doesn't punish casual gamers (button-mashers), but still satisfies hardcore players. The number of experience points earned in any given skirmish is determined by how skillfully one uses the X-button. Timed button presses, including counters, are worth more than mashing, while incorporating blocking and charge attacks (both accomplished by holding X) will net you even more points to build your hero. The attack button is also context sensitive, as you'll automatically pick up and toss items strewn about the ground if your foes are at a distance, or you'll grab an enemy and shove him into a wall if you're battling in close quarters.
Magic and ranged attacks (mapped to the Y- and B-buttons) will apparently operate in much the same way, but only the X-attack was on display at E3 in Lionhead's "Combat Testbed," a visually-lacking demo not meant to impress, but to arouse curiosity. "I know, it's bloody awful," Molyneux said of the current level of polish, while urging us to focus on more abstract concepts, like the amount of dedication that the development team has put into Fable 2's design. Molyneux is still haunted by his bold claims about the original Fable, lamenting his infamous 'greatest RPG evar' comment, made while Fable was still a rough draft. But the celebrated game designer insists that this -- to be the greatest -- is the goal for Fable 2, he's just not as (publicly) convinced he'll get there.
Whilst chatting with Peter Molyneux during a lightning fast, round robin interview session (8 tables, 8 Xbox luminaries, 4 minutes each: more at X3F), we learned two surprising things about Fable 2. First of all, we have bad news for all the would-be Fable 2 pirates: seafaring has been cut from the game. Molyneux told us that Lionhead had intended to allow players to become ship captains and sail the ocean blue, but eventually made the decision to cut the concept from the game. According to Molyneux, it's part of his job to cut things out of Fable 2 so that what is left -- the combat, for instance -- is really polished. Molyneux did inform us that the game will still contain pirates though, so that should serve as some consolation. As for the (possibly) good news: since we were on the subject of pirates, we cheekily asked Molyneux if Fable 2 will have ninjas. Molyneux responded, "Ninjas? Well, we aren't saying anything about that. It's funny you should ask that question." Why, Peter? Why is it funny that we should ask that question!? Tell us more!
So then, for those keeping score on Fable 2:
Death -- No Seafaring -- No Pirates -- Yes Ninjas -- Mmmm ... could be.
After sampling the delights of Fable 2 (more on that soon) we had a little chat with Peter Molyneux about death. Specifically, we talked about how death would be treated in Fable 2. Typically, death in video games means loading the previous checkpoint or restarting a given level. According to Molyneux, such will not be the case in Fable 2. Instead, when overpowered and bested by an enemy, players will be left with a permanent reminder of their defeat: a scar.
Granted, the scars are cosmetic, but they do affect how NPCs perceive the main character. The idea apparently came to Molyneux after watching Casino Royale, in which James Bond undergoes particularly brutal torture during one scene and finds himself in the arms of a woman during the next. According to Molyneux, "in Hollywood, heroes always win the day." That's all well and good, but what if you don't like the idea of being disfigured?
Players will have two choices it seems: don't lose, or pay a hefty fee to keep your attackers from scarring you. Molyneux revealed that testers are willing to lay down hefty sums of gold -- 1000, which is enough to buy a hut -- in order to avoid scarring. So there you have it, you won't die in Fable 2 -- even bosses can't kill you, they just leave deeper scars -- but you'll pay a price (one way or another) for failing in combat.
We previously covered Peter Molyneux's Fable 2 talk at GDC, and now the most-watched video at GameTrailers shows off Fable 2's dog, letting us take a closer look for tonight's video. Molyneux stresses not to scrutinize the graphics and that only the dog is worth looking at in the demo's current state. Overlooking the work left to be done, the dog seems to be well animated and deliver a lot of emotion; hopefully this companion will add more depth to the game.
Though his calm and and exceedingly eloquent manner might suggest a more languid pace, Peter Molyneux wastes little time when raising expectations -- and he knows it. "I'm going to get into trouble for saying this," says the British game designer before launching into his Fable 2 GDC presentation. "If we don't think it's going to be a landmark game, it's going to be bloody pointless to make it." Several moments later, I find myself thinking about what a horribly cruel man he is.
And that's a good thing. You see, one of Fable 2's key features is, well, a dog. Not some sort of magical beast or a disturbing, anthropomorphic St. Bernard. A tail-wagging, ball-chasing, honest-to-goodness dog. Fable's gesture system makes a return here, with petting and cries of scorn eliciting different reactions from the dog. At one point, Peter's on-screen character screams and waves his hands menacingly at the dog, frightening it into a quivering pile of fur. It seems mean, but the press members in the room chuckle appreciatively. Those monsters.
French gaming site Xboxygen has posted some pictures of a dog. Not just any dog, but Fable 2's dog. Could this be the "totally unexpected" feature Molyneux teased us about?
Having the inside scoop, Gamasutra reports that Peter Molyneux, Killer 7's Goichi Suda, and a team of Final Fantasy XII developers led by Taku Murata are joining the GDC 2007 lineup. Molyneux, well known for his mastery of hype-building (and subsequent apologies), will by lecturing on Fable 2, musing aloud about the brilliant innovations that might or might not make the final cut -- Molyneux promises to reveal "a totally unexpected feature" (we've heard that before).
Teasing aside, Molyneux is one of the most forward-thinking developers in the industry today. He might not always deliver, but he's earned his street cred for being a risk-taker. Molyneux's colorful presence is a key addition to GDC.
Also making appearances during the conference will be Goichi Suda, who will illustrate the experience of working on a small development team (in this case, Grasshopper), along with Taku Murata and other core members of the FFXII team, who will reflect on the lessons learned during the game's development.
Havok announced today that Molyneux and company have licensed Havok Complete for Fable 2. 'Complete' rolls Havok Physics and Havok Animation into one integrated package.
As Molyneux iterated, relying on Havok allows Lionhead developers to focus on the team's lofty aspirations, most-simply defined as dynamic regions, unconditional love, wealth accumulation, constrained combat, and an as of yet undisclosed uber-feature. As with the original Fable, at this stage it's hard to distinguish fantasy from reality (what gameplay elements will and won't make it into Fable 2's final release). But there is now at least one certainty: ragdolls.
Word from Lionhead is that Fable 2 has reached the "FP" milestone -- that's dev-speak for "first playable." Don't get too excited, this just means that Microsoft has been sent a few functional areas of the game, so the publisher can be confident its money isn't only being blown on "office refurbishment" and pizza parties.
The FP build also included a never-to-be-released quest, which, according to Lionhead's most recent community update, featured, "a magical potion, some pretty messed-up, dandy-dressed, wizard-types and most importantly such a dramatic outcome of a twisted nature, that it would make Joe Average Jr. freak out." We don't even wanna know ...
During a Leipzig GCDC briefing, Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux laid out some ideas on how to change the way combat games work. According to Eurogamer, Molyneux said combat games have the same issues among them, in that they are all about the same thing: hit points, weapons don't do much damage and the environments mean nothing.
Molyneux proposed that fighting in games should be more like the combat seen in films (using Kill Bill as an example). He said that game developers "do not treat a sword like a real thing; it's like a big squashy thing. And that's not what we want to present, or what Hollywood presents as combat." He said that he'd like to see more one-hit kills instead. Molyneux also pointed out that he'd like to see more one-button moves, saying that "around 80 percent of people use one button anyway." He said one button should do different things depending on the context.
According to 1UP, Molyneux was also critical of motion-sensing controls being used in combat (referring to, but not specifically mentioning the Wii): "I realized, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I actually looked really stupid. Even with nothing in my hand, I get tired very, very quickly. I think motion-sensitivity is very, very useful, but I think the obvious way of doing it -- unless you're dealing with a 15 to 20 minute experience at most of actually being hugely physical -- is not where the opportunity lies here."
[Update: Added video of Molyneux's presentation after the break.]
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