Fable has become a modern classic. Its release back in 2004 has influenced every subsequent RPG.
In my home, at least, the game and the series it spawned is spoken of with the reverence reserved for such long-running franchises as Final Fantasy and Zelda. I’m convinced that, as the series continues, most other gaming households will follow suit.
Fable didn’t introduce moral choices, but it did pioneer moral quandaries — particularly if you were trying to play the good path. Games such as Mass Effect, Dragon Age and later instalments of the Elder Scrolls series (I’m looking at you, Skyrim) all show its influence.
With two highly successful sequels for the 360, a couple of spin-offs out and another — Fable Legends — in the works for the Xbox One, it’s sometimes hard to remember the game that started the franchise.
But no longer. Fable Anniversary, the HD remake of the original Fable, will release in the UAE on February 6. To be more accurate, it’s a remake of Fable: The Lost Chapters, which introduced more characters, quests and items to the original game.
I had a chance to talk to lead designer Ted Timmins, who is also Fable franchise manager for developers Lionhead Studios.
Timmins originally joined Lionhead as a tester for Fable, when his job was to complete the game every day.
“I may have completed it more times than most,” he said.
The new release, he says, is more than a simple HD reskinning. For example, the game interface has been modernised, item abilities can be compared with those equipped — a useful ability that’s developed in games since the original release. There’ll even be an option to change the interface into the familiar one developed for Fable 2.
And you’ll be able to tie in a Smart Glass device to display maps, if you have one.
So it’s more a full refurbishment of an ageing classic than a touch-up and polish. Who, then, is this game aimed at? Those of us who remember the original, or a new wave of young gamers?
Timmins countered with a question of his own. Had I played The Lost Chapters? I admitted I hadn’t.
“There are people out there who have played Fable 1, 2 and 3 but haven’t played The Lost Chapters,” he said. “That’s in the box by default. All players will now get to fight the end boss.
“As soon as you boot it up you’ll be like, ‘Wow, this looks like a game from 2014.’ But it will still feel like the original.”
Even Fable’s original designer, Peter Molyneaux, who left Lionhead early last year, had given the new version his thumbs up, said Timmins, who said he’d bumped into the legend at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and persuaded him to give the revamp a whirl.
“We approached this game as though it was a new game,” said Timmins. “We’ve been working on it for 16 months — this is the game that started it all.”
Whatever the approach, the fact remains that it is a 10-year-old game. But Timmins is adamant it doesn’t feel out of date.
“Something created 10 years ago still feels relevant,” he said. “You have changes in the character; the fact that you can fart in front of your wife, she’ll divorce you and you can go to the pub and get fat. Usually that’s only in real life.”
Those gamers who have only played the sequels may find things a little different. The series keeps its signature look and feel — and is always set in the world of Albion — but each game explores a different time period, a different story and set of characters.
“We try to bring something different each time ... In a way, game developers are damned if they change it and damned if they don’t. If you don’t change enough, people say it’s an expansion pack, if you change too much then they say it’s a different game.”
Fable Anniversary will be available for the Xbox 360. At present there are no plans for an Xbox One version but Timmins says he’s keen to see a PC version eventually, though “we have to have that conversation after the game is launched”.
“From a game perspective, we have done everything we can. We can only hope that we get a good reception and good sales.”
