Fable III Interview

Gamasutra was able to corner Lionhead Studios’ Peter Molyneux during GamesCom for a brief conversation about the newly announced Fable III.

The question the Lionhead team then poses to players is: “How are you going to fulfill the promises you made in your journey to rule?” In understanding the use of power, Molyneux and his colleagues looked at European kings through history, who were “really evil vicious bastards” in a lot of cases, he submits.

The Lionhead exec said that “we should allow people to do the mechanics that they used to do – but we really need a new game mechanic.” So the spirit of passing judgments on players has been integrated into normal Fable-style gameplay.

Essentially, this is the “ability at any time to say ‘I’m going to judge you'”. For example, if a girl is caught by the kitchen staff after stealing, the player could say that he is too busy, or simply pass judgment as king, or go check out the situation himself — triggering a quest.

Molyneux spoke to the pressure and weight of being a ruler, both in real and virtual life, saying: “Sometimes, especially when you take power, you have to be cruel, because only you know what’s going on.”

The creator also teased adventures beyond Albion in this new Fable iteration, mentioning that “we’re unlocking a whole new continent” that he can’t really talk about.