Topic: Fable: A Tale of Broken Promises

[couchmonkey]

Fable is finally out, and while the reviews are very positive, they all agree on one thing: the game isn't what Big Blue Box built it up to be.

This comes as little surprise to me.  I think if you hear of a game that sounds too ambitious to be possible, it probably is. Fable promised to let players choose any path and create a gaming world in practically any image the player chose.  I was reminded of Earthbound 64, and we all know how that turned out.

Now I'm not here just to bash Fable.  It still sounds like it turned out to be a very good game, but I think developers need to start being more cautious when they boast about games being revolutionary or having one million-and-one features, especially when the game still has years of development to come.    Basically, I think develpers should promote a game it all they like when it's ready, but let the final game do the talking, not the wishlist of features that you came up with at the drawing board.

[nitsu niflheim]

I agree, my want factor for Fable has dropped a lot since learning that the game is hardly what it had been boasted to be.  I may still get the game later in the future, just not this year.  I think that developers should really just keep their mouths shut while they are building the game, because that way the consumer won't be disappoined to learn that everything that the game was suppose to have doesn't have.  I find it sad that Fable has been in development for so long, and they knew how the game was going to be like when it was released and didn't let on to the fact that the game had changes, also that for as long as the game has been in developement, that the game wasn't want they were boasting about.  It's similar to the last Tomb Raider game, only this time I think the game is still going to be a good game, the two reviews I have seen were very good.  9.3 from IGN and 9.1 from teamxbox (I am going by memory, but I think the scores are as close if not accurate)

[Draygaia]

I was wondering if you could post a bit more about the game.  Talk about the gameplay.  To choose any path in a game is something to me.  D&D games nowadays seem to be really more of the promise for giving you results that really depends on your choices.

[Ian Sane]

"the two reviews I have seen were very good. 9.3 from IGN and 9.1 from teamxbox"

IGN Xbox and TeamXbox aren't exactly the most unbiased sources for Xbox game reviews.  I think we should wait until more reviews come in.

Anyhoo I think the problem isn't that the developer is hyping up the game too much ahead of time.  I think the problem is that the developer doesn't have a specific design in mind going in.  Fable's original design wasn't really a design as much as it was a broad concept.  I find that a lot of games that don't deliver on "promises" are game where the original idea was to the effect of "you can do ANYTHING!"  That's not a realistic game design.  That's a fantasy.  A good game should have a solid design concept that the game builds up from and ideas spin out of.

[KDR_11k]

Another thread like this one, just that it has one former dev of the game in the discussion so you can get some insight on what was going on inside the dev team.

[rpglover]

this game will most likely be a very very good game but unfortunately it was way way too hyped- at first it seemed you could have total freedom, certain decisions would change the story drastically and take you on a new path, a living growing world as you grow, ect... but some of those expectations never were fully realized- the game has around 40 quests, most of which are story centered- you cant change the story due to your actions anymore, but the way your character grows depending on how you play is still reason enough to play the game i would imagine- its cool how you can use magic only, and you age faster or if you use stealth, you become a more lean theif type character, and you grow bigger and stronger for the weapons you use- it is an interesting game, one that will be very good, but unfortunately too much hype over shaddowed what the game presents- its unfortunate that most will judge it on what it was hyped to be rather than what it is

from what i have heard the gameplay is very good- it feels good and the game runs smoothly- as i have said above you can play through the game any way you like- swords swinging, long range bow and arrows, or even magic- and each has effects on your body- unfortunately real time aging is not in this game (as i think was promised) but instead you age through chapters- depending on what you did in a previous chapter has effects on your character- mostly physical which is pretty cool- the game seems good but we will see