Fable Creator Discusses new Xbox One Game Fable Legends

Peter Molyneux, the legendary developer behind several classic games, including the first three Fable games, recently sat down with IGN to discuss how he feels about the recently revealed Fable Legends, the new multiplayer co-op prequel to the series he started but is no longer a part of. Molyneux is surprised that instead of creating Fable 4, Lionhead Studios is making a prequel set 400 years before the events of the first game:

"I am a bit surprised that they're not carrying on the Fable story, because I think there was a great prize to be won there."

Molyneux also had some words to say about the possibility that a dog companion, a staple of the series, may not be a part of Fable Legends. He first joked about a new companion being put into the game, before seriously discussing the importance the dog companion beings to the series:

"Well, I hope there's a chicken. At least there's got to be a chicken, surely...It's a shame. They're this emotional driver, this emotional engine. I mean, there was so much more that you could do with the dog, to focus on it being this thing that loved you, loved the player, and would sacrifice itself for you. I think we explored that in Fable II more than it was explored in Fable III, and you could go back to that. It's a shame it's not there. It doesn't surprise me. It's a huge amount of work, putting the dog in there."

The developer was quick to point out that he is not criticizing Fable Legends, which will focus on four player co-op gameplay with a fifth player using a tablet to act in the role of a dungeon master for the other players. He points out that creating emotional responses in games is much harder than making a game fun to play:

"Let's be clear about it. Doing an emotionally driven game is a very tough thing. We can probably count the games that have nailed that on less than one hand. It's The Last of Us. It's Half-Life 2. Maybe Fable touched on it. Doing that makes your life tough. Sometimes making your life tough means that you don't get the quality in the rest of the stuff."

Finally, the developer had one piece of advice for the team now in charge of the series, saying that he is confident that team behind Fable Legends is capable of delivering an amazing experience for gamers.

"And the thing that they definitely should do is just focus on the quality. Make every sword swing, every magic spell look amazing. That's advice that's hard to take, because it's an incredible skill to master. Finally, I would say it's easy to give advice, but it's very hard to implement. They're good guys. I'm sure they'll do a good job."

Fable Legends will be an Xbox One exclusive, and does not have a release date set currently. Peter Molyneux is working with his new studio 22cans on the game Godus.