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Molyneux becomes French knight, farts in our general direction
Peter Molyneux, responsible for such mixed blessings as Fable, Black and White, and The Movies, has received the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et de Lettres award from the French government, just like Mario mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto did last year. The award makes both gentlemen honorary French knights. No word on whether they get to prance about in suits of armor, but we'll keep you posted.
GDC: More Fable 2 feature goodness
As we slowly recover from GDC jet-lag, we thought it would be best to post some of the other features that Peter Molyneux confirmed for Fable 2. After all, a dog can't be the only new feature in Fable 2. There really is quite a bit to consider, so we'll just dole out the info in bite sized bits via a handy bulleted list. Everyone likes lists. Players can pick a male or female hero Players can choose to have protected or unprotected sex (and yes, there are STDs) Female heroes can get pregnant Players can have children The world responds to your "hero-ness" Two new character morphs (besides Good/Evil): cruelty/kindness and wealth/poverty Own every single piece of property Players can become king Let's look at these more closely.
Revolutionary Fable 2 feature is a dog
There's a reason Peter Molyneux is smiling in this picture. He was nervous to reveal the "revolutionary" new feature in Fable 2. Several people on his own team told him not to do it. In fairness, it's definitely a risky feature. No one in their right mind would call it revolutionary at first glance. Yes, the intertubes were right: Fable 2's secret new feature is a dog. That's it. So, why is Peter smiling? He's smiling because he just convinced a room full of jaded journalists that a dog is revolutionary. Yup, it's a dog, but believe it or not, you will love it.
Fable 2 dog is the 'totally unexpected' feature?
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?[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Molyneux would've loved to work with the Wii
During an interview with Computer and Video Games, Lionhead Studios head and Fable creator Peter Molyneux took a chance to speak his mind regarding the Wii when questioned. The entirety of the interview is mainly based on Peter's work in the development field and his time at Microsoft, but he does take the opportunity to express his interest in Nintendo's console:CVG: Is the Wii something, under different circumstances, you'd like to explore? Molyneux: I'd love to play around with it. You know, it's a pure design challenge and the biggest change you can make in a designer's life is changing the controller and not thinking about 'oh we're not going to put this on the X button and that on the A button' - but having to do a complete re-think is quite an exciting challenge and something I would've loved to have got my teeth into, yes.
Molyneux discusses Wii and PS3
Gamespot UK recently had a Q & A session with Lionhead's Peter Molyneux (Populous, Black & White). Lionhead Studios, who was acquired by Microsoft last April, has also developed such hits as The Movies and Fable. During the interview, the console wars debate came up and Peter's response was surprisingly Wii-positive, but of course he couldn't help but cram some praise for the 360 in there as well. As for Sony, he said: GSUK: There seems to be a backlash mounting against the PlayStation 3, while the Wii seems to be going from strength to strength. How do you think the next-gen console war is going to stack up? PM: Well, I have been through console wars before, but this one strikes me as particularly interesting. Nintendo has done a great job of convincing us that next gen is about game play rather than high-tech specs. Microsoft has done an incredible job of expanding games online and making them more mass market. Sony, in my view, seems it has been rather more lazy with their message. How all this pans out really depends on one thing and that is the brilliance of the titles that appear on each platform over the next two to three years. Marketing the hardware is nothing compared to the games that run on it, so I expect the system with the greatest games on it to end up on top. Everyone has been very supportive of the one-two punch combo of the Wii and Xbox 360, leaving Sony to stew in their own stolen juices, forgetting that Microsoft is in fact the competition for Nintendo as well. Just like Reggie said in his USA Today interview, he'd rather see consumers buying the Wii, along with some games and accessories, over buying both consoles and creating an opportunity to sell more of his competitor's product. We couldn't agree more.
A few Fable scraps
The Lionhead Times has be updated with a few bits of info regarding Fable 2. Most of the info is just general development stuff, but there are a few interesting things to point out. For instance, the story of Fable 2 takes place 500 years after the events of Fable and The Lost Chapters, giving the game a richer history from which to build the story. The story is also planned to be longer than the original, which is definitely good news. Somewhat more cryptic, it's also revealed that the story could take a turn that will "shock" players. Another little tidbit, the Fable 2 team now has to make "milestone" builds of the game in order to showcase the game's progress to the suits at Microsoft. The upshot of this is that we should get some insight on the game's progress as well. Fable 2 is one of the 360's heavy hitters so, rest assured that we'll keep you posted.
Microsoft's Lionhead acquisition official
The GDC rumour mill had its finger on the pulse where Lionhead and Microsoft were concerned; Microsoft has acquired the British developer, beating out rumoured competition from EA and Ubisoft. It looks as though Microsoft were especially keen to grab Peter Molyneux -- they'll be putting his innovative approach to gaming to use on the Xbox 360 and Vista platforms. This is good news for the struggling Lionhead, although whether it will help Molyneux's games sell any better is yet to be seen. As far as the UK games industry is concerned, international acquisitions like this (and Rare's before it) are interesting -- while there will always be smaller guys going it alone, there's a short supply of big-name British developers who are staying home-grown.
