Switched caught Lionhead Studio’s head Peter Molyneux at South by Southwest for an interview where he talked about gaming, connectivity, and, of course, Fable 3. Molyneux talked about wanting to make Fable, “all about power and making [the player] feel powerful.” He also expressed his desire to make the game something separate and above the hum-drum, “hero’s journey.”
Molyneux let slip that the first half of Fable 3 will surround the hero’s rise to power after defeating the villain, Logan. The second half of the game will involve the hero’s rise to the throne after felling Logan. After becoming king, your hero’s decisions affect not only you, but also your newly gained kingdom. On the goal of Fable 3, Molyneux said:
In addition, Molyneux described the new “touch” mechanic, and that he believed it would affect gamers emotionally. Touching someone in the game can include actions such as holding hands, shaking hands, and hugging. There will also be aggressive kinds of touching. For instance, pushing or shoving.
Fable 3 will have a lot of these new mechanics…and this feeling of power and responsibility which is really kind of interesting for a game like that and it has a relevance in today’s world.
Molyneux also had a very interesting thought about the future of gaming as a whole.
I can’t lie, I think Peter Molyneux is a very intelligent man. His belief that gaming can be something much more than just a person with a controller resonates with me. Although, sometimes it does seem like he’s thinking a little too far ahead of the issues gamers really care about. Do I think it would be neat for a game character to meaningfully interact with me while I was playing? Yes, a little bit. But it would also be a tiny bit strange, and maybe even a bit disturbing.
I really think that in the next two to three years, we’re going to start seeing stuff from everybody and not just Microsoft, but from everyone, that just changes our whole thought on what a game is. And actually, that’s part of the problem, the word ‘game’ is so trivial compared to what we’re really trying to do.
I really do applaud Molyneux’s efforts in trying to move the game industry forward – to transform gaming into a medium that is just as capable of conveying emotions and feelings as movies or books. But I can’t help but wonder, hasn’t this happened already? I’m sure a lot of people ended up crying when Aeris died way back in Final Fantasy 7. And I can’t say that I didn’t feel shocked when I saw Commander Shepard get spaced in the intro of Mass Effect 2. On the other hand, I have to admit that in Fable 2, I didn’t really feel the kind of emotional connection to the dog that was intended . Maybe being the ruler of a kingdom in Fable 3 might have more of an impact on me. After all, I was really bummed when my fish died in Mass Effect 2.
Source: Switched
