Fable 2 developer diary video - emotions, the dog, in-game footage

You can watch the first in a series of Fable 2 developer diary videos right here.

Peter Molyneux and the rest of Lionhead's crew talk about emphasizing emotions and how the gameworld reacts to everything you do. There's also some talk about the dog unveiled at GDC.

"We could have given you this dog and made him controllable by you, that would have been the easy thing to do," Molyneux added. "But we've been brave about this, we've given you no control over the dog."

Finally, as a special treat - the video includes some wonderful in-game footage of Bowerstone and Brightwood areas.

I just had to laugh at molyneux at this one. Just repeating all the time - "just think about it... you've got no control over the dog...."

It may become awesome however. I've still not seen any of the earlier promises in this vid however. I hope they aren't silently dropping them.

I don't really want to hear about a dog. How big is the scope of this game, is it an open world? Will there be actual interesting dungeons?

dvader654

Why does there have to be dungeons.  I hope there are none!  This aint zelda son :P 

rather than all these ways you can effect the game world.dvader654

For me, that's one of the most interesting aspects of gaming, period - especially RPG's. To have the gameworld change according to your actions and its inhabitants react to you differently is much more exciting to me than a dungeon's layout or whatever. My favorite example he gave was let's say you're walking through the woods and encounter a small trading post. You could perhaps do some business there, and there's a possibility that when you return to the same spot years later, you'd find a thriving settlement. On the other hand, if you killed the trader and ransacked the post, the forest would claim the spot once more. I don't know if he'll manage to pull it off, but that's the kind of stuff I want out of a game like this.

As for the scope, supposedly it's everything the original was supposed to be and more. When showcasing Bowerstone, Molyneux said you could wind up owning every single house/shop you could see - and that there would be quests attached to them.

LOL I don't know why but that made me laugh: "But we've been brave about this, we've given you no control over the dog."gaminggeek

Watch the video, it actually makes perfect sense considering what he's trying to accomplish. Letting you control the dog with simple button presses would indeed be the easy way out.

[QUOTE="gaminggeek"]LOL I don't know why but that made me laugh: "But we've been brave about this, we've given you no control over the dog."UpInFlames

Watch the video, it actually makes perfect sense considering what he's trying to accomplish. Letting you control the dog with simple button presses would indeed be the easy way out.

I just (tried) to watch it. They started talking about love, and then the video jammed (thank heavens). I was never the biggest Fable fan in the first place. I'll have to take a wait and see approach.

Most of the discussion wasn't that interesting if you've already seen all the GDC footage regarding the dog and Molyneux waxing lyrical about love - not that it's a bad idea, just that we already heard the same stuff a few months ago.

However the video is worth watching for hi-def game footage right at the end. It's really gorgeous, and although the draw distance in town isn't *huge*, it's incredibly detailed.

Well thats where the whole difference in philosophy comes in.  What actions are you really performing when you do business and later its thriving.  Basically all you are doing is dialogue choices, there is nothing there from a gameplay standpoint.  Now its nice to have but only if there is something worth playing around it.  Will having that new town have it thrive and have someone create some special item that you would need to access some new level  or something, then its worth it but if its just superficial like everything in the first game it really means nothing.dvader654

Seriously dvader, sometimes I think you really need to take your head out of the gameplay aspect and look at the bigger picture. Gameplay mechanics are just that...mechanics, tools for you to use in order to accomplish greater things. They don't make a game, just like graphics don't either. It's always a combination of loads of different things. The example he used means everything because it makes you believe something is really happening around you, that you aren't just mindlessly wandering through a static world.

I think it looks cool so far, however Flamey please forgive me.... I am remaining skeptical until the final product/review. All of this was promised with the first Fable. I want this game to turn out good in a big way but im taking the wait and see approach here too.GodModeEnabled

Yea, he talked up the first Fable a lot and although it was a good game it really didn't approach what was promised.

making the game intersting to play rather than all these ways you can effect the game world. 

dvader654

Then I'm guessing you missed the entire point of the premise of Fable.

 

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]I think it looks cool so far, however Flamey please forgive me.... I am remaining skeptical until the final product/review. All of this was promised with the first Fable. I want this game to turn out good in a big way but im taking the wait and see approach here too.yomi_basic

Yea, he talked up the first Fable a lot and although it was a good game it really didn't approach what was promised.

Agreed. Classic Moleyneux, the man always talks up a better game than he makes. Fable wasn't a bad game, but like you said, it just didn't come close to living up to its promise.

I think it looks cool so far, however Flamey please forgive me.... I am remaining skeptical until the final product/review. All of this was promised with the first Fable. I want this game to turn out good in a big way but im taking the wait and see approach here too.GodModeEnabled

There's no need for you to apologize or anything, I realize a lot of people were let down by the original and have every right to be skeptical. Personally, I loved Fable despite its obvious shortcommings. It's hard for me not to get excited though, as this is exactly what I want out of gaming, you know?

Thats the way I am approaching this game, I want to hear a lot more on the combat, on what skills your character can have, on how big the game world will be, types of enemies, thats what I want to hear, not about the dog.

Again thats just me.  Its not that I don't want the game world to react to you or it have the best emotions put into a game.  Its that I hope they focus more on the gameplay aspect cause that was a big weak point of the first.  If they get the gameplay part right then everything else clicks into place and you have one potential GOTY contender, but if the core is not there then I don't know what to think.dvader654

I understand where you're coming from and in a way I agree...hell, I want to hear about those aspects as well. But this was just one in a series of development diary videos which focused on one aspect of the game. Fable 2 is still a long way away, I'm sure there'll be a lot of talk about that stuff in the meantime. But this sort of thing is just super exciting to me.

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"]

making the game intersting to play rather than all these ways you can effect the game world. 

dvader654

Then I'm guessing you missed the entire point of the premise of Fable.

:roll: 

Let me ask you, what did you think of the original Fable, your complete review. I don't want the simple "it overpromised and underdelivered" answer, there was a lot more going on than just that. 

What does your repsonse have anthing to do with what I stated?

I don't care about the dog. I never once cared about the dog. It's not neccessary, and it's possible that the game would be better off without it. Peter Molyneux seems to be more interested in the virtual pet aspect that he's trying to shove into this game than the game itself. In a game like Fable, I want to be a hero, not a dog's keeper.

Poor Molyneux. He has issues with this. He gets so caught up in certain aspects of a game that he loses his ability to think clearly. Either that, or he puts way too much in and doesn't focus on any of it at all. That's what happened with the original Fable.

I don't care about the dog. I never once cared about the dog. It's not neccessary, and it's possible that the game would be better off without it. Peter Molyneux seems to be more interested in the virtual pet aspect that he's trying to shove into this game than the game itself. In a game like Fable, I want to be a hero, not a dog's keeper.AquaMantor

Considering that the dog will be sort of a replacement for a HUD (Fable 2 supposedly won't have a HUD whatsoever), I'd say that the dog will prove to be very helpful - it will point out places of interest and warn about enemies. Also, Molyneux specifically said how they didn't want players to babysit the dog, that's why you don't have any control over him whatsoever. If he gets injured, you can just leave him behind. Any interaction with the dog will be purely voluntary.

I LOVE the good/evil aspect of the game too, becaue that gives it some replay value, definetly keep that. I would like to see the ability to choose between playing a man or a woman though, because in these types of games that gives it even more replay value. So lets see... balance the spells, up the difficulty a bit (it was far too easy), craft a more immersive, meaningfull story, double the length of the game (20hrs would be sweet), slow the aging process a bit, let me play as a woman if I want to and for god sakes this game is begging for a dragon boss fight! Overall an awesome experience that just needs some tweaking, im really looking forward to the sequel but like others hold some reservations about it.GodModeEnabled

It needs to be a lot longer than 20 hours for me to consider it a true RPG - I finished the original in about 13 hours, and I did all the side-quests and fooled around in the world. A better storyline would definitely be much appreciated, more fleshed out characters as well. You will be able to play as a woman, and furthermore - if you do, you will be able to get pregnant and have a family. Your child will look up to you and grow up to be like you - good or bad, just like the dog. But I thought you never play as a female...?

If he gets injured, you can just leave him behind. Any interaction with the dog will be purely voluntary. UpInFlames

And here is where the tricky part comes, according to Molyneux, if the dog gets injured, and you choose to leave him behind, he will follow you, no matter how long will it take to reach you again, injured and all. No matter what you do (or not do) to the dog, he won't leave your side. But you won't control him. Molyneux wants us to grow some sort of bond with this dog feature, to become emotionally attached to him. Maybe he plans to kill it before the end. 

But I thought you never play as a female...?UpInFlames

Life is full of surprises, isn't it? :P 

And here is where the tricky part comes, according to Molyneux, if the dog gets injured, and you choose to leave him behind, he will follow you, no matter how long will it take to reach you again, injured and all. No matter what you do (or not do) to the dog, he won't leave your side. But you won't control him. Molyneux wants us to grow some sort of bond with this dog feature, to become emotionally attached to him. Maybe he plans to kill it before the end.SteelAttack

Yeah, Molyneux told this gripping story about the injured dog scratching on your door, but let's face it - this is supposedly a very big game and you're constantly on the move...there's no way an injured dog will ever catch up with you. Even if he does, you can just move on again and leave him behind (if you're really such a cold, heartless bastard). No comment on the "Molyneux is going to kill my dog!" conspiracy. :wink:

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"]

making the game intersting to play rather than all these ways you can effect the game world. 

dvader654

Then I'm guessing you missed the entire point of the premise of Fable.

:roll: 

Let me ask you, what did you think of the original Fable, your complete review. I don't want the simple "it overpromised and underdelivered" answer, there was a lot more going on than just that. 

What does your repsonse have anthing to do with what I stated?

Cause I am actually sharing my ideas about the game, if you don't like it EXPLAIN WHY. Instead doing some pointless comment how about you provide a worthy addition to this discussion, this is a board to discuss things after all is it not.  Share your view, what do you expect from Fable, did you like the way the first game was designed, what do you want to see, etc. Or you can go back to pointless remarks, your call.

Why the antisocial behavior?

I was merely providing the bait for a more detailed response, from which what I thought was a bizarre comment to make by criticizing the whole concept of the game for not liking it. The formula wasn't perfect, but if worked on and tweaked enough, the next Fable could be magnificent.

I don't see how such an innocuous comment as I made before could have prompted such an angry response. Perhaps you ought to take a day off from the forums to simmer down a bit, and I say that as a helpful suggestion rather than tossing flames your way. Posting here is supposed to be enjoyable.;)

I honostly dont know why you guys say things like "I don't care about the dog. I never once cared about the dog. It's not neccessary, and it's possible that the game would be better off without it."  Im not trying to pick on you aqua but a lot of people have this same opinion so i used it. 

Personally i think we should embrace this because its trying to do something different.  You guys basically want the same thing over and over?  Just give it a chance, it could be good.  Theres a lot of other games that can give you the same ol.  The most important aspect that needs to be improved imo is the combat.  Fables was dull so i hope they make it better.  I remember that vid peter demonstrated where you can pick up a chair and hit an enemy with it, and it was really interactive, and it was stressing realism so you could kill someone with just a few hits.  I think hat sounds awsome and i hope they put it in.  Obviously it could still be challenging, there would be a lot more blocking so its not like you just press A twice, but i9t actually takes skill. 

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"]

making the game intersting to play rather than all these ways you can effect the game world. 

dvader654

Then I'm guessing you missed the entire point of the premise of Fable.

:roll: 

Let me ask you, what did you think of the original Fable, your complete review. I don't want the simple "it overpromised and underdelivered" answer, there was a lot more going on than just that. 

What does your repsonse have anthing to do with what I stated?

Cause I am actually sharing my ideas about the game, if you don't like it EXPLAIN WHY. Instead doing some pointless comment how about you provide a worthy addition to this discussion, this is a board to discuss things after all is it not.  Share your view, what do you expect from Fable, did you like the way the first game was designed, what do you want to see, etc. Or you can go back to pointless remarks, your call.

Hey man, calm down. If you're going to criticize someone about posts that don't--according to you--contribute to the discussion, then I'm going to have to call you out on all those E3, etc. posts of yours that were comprised almost solely of "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG" or the like. I know someone made a post like that that Skylock or someone deleted because it contributed nothing to discussion. On the other hand, Marcus is asking you something that should get meaningful discussion GOING.

The major emphasis in Fable was on how the game world reacted [superficially] to the player's actions, I believe. I don't remember much of the coverage, but I don't remember Molyneux emphasizing the combat, dungeons, and other elements of "gameplay". Combat sucked, I thought. In my opinion, so much of the game was superficial-only, though it's been a while since I've played much of it. Not my kind of game. I'll play Zelda and The Elder Scrolls happily, though. And honestly, I can't see a hybrid between the two play styles associated with those games working out at all well.

Things I'd like Lionhead to focus on this time around: combat, character interaction, depth, LIGHTING THAT DOESN'T FREAKING HURT MY EYES, LENGTH, and LOAD TIMES. Damn, there's so much that could be improved, even before they get/got to introducing new elements.

It needs to be a lot longer than 20 hours for me to consider it a true RPG - I finished the original in about 13 hours, and I did all the side-quests and fooled around in the world. A better storyline would definitely be much appreciated, more fleshed out characters as well. You will be able to play as a woman, and furthermore - if you do, you will be able to get pregnant and have a family. Your child will look up to you and grow up to be like you - good or bad, just like the dog. But I thought you never play as a female...?UpInFlames

I hope the dog is customizable! Id really like to model my dog into the game. I know he can change given your influence on him and your alignment you know thigns such as growing horns etc.martin_f

[QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"]

making the game intersting to play rather than all these ways you can effect the game world. 

MarcusAntonius

Then I'm guessing you missed the entire point of the premise of Fable.

:roll: 

Let me ask you, what did you think of the original Fable, your complete review. I don't want the simple "it overpromised and underdelivered" answer, there was a lot more going on than just that. 

What does your repsonse have anthing to do with what I stated?

Cause I am actually sharing my ideas about the game, if you don't like it EXPLAIN WHY. Instead doing some pointless comment how about you provide a worthy addition to this discussion, this is a board to discuss things after all is it not.  Share your view, what do you expect from Fable, did you like the way the first game was designed, what do you want to see, etc. Or you can go back to pointless remarks, your call.

Why the antisocial behavior?

I was merely providing the bait for a more detailed response, from which what I thought was a bizarre comment to make by criticizing the whole concept of the game for not liking it. The formula wasn't perfect, but if worked on and tweaked enough, the next Fable could be magnificent.

I don't see how such an innocuous comment as I made before could have prompted such an angry response. Perhaps you ought to take a day off from the forums to simmer down a bit, and I say that as a helpful suggestion rather tossing flames your way. Posting here is supposed to be enjoyable.;)

[QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="MarcusAntonius"][QUOTE="dvader654"]

making the game intersting to play rather than all these ways you can effect the game world. 

GodModeEnabled

Then I'm guessing you missed the entire point of the premise of Fable.

:roll: 

Let me ask you, what did you think of the original Fable, your complete review. I don't want the simple "it overpromised and underdelivered" answer, there was a lot more going on than just that. 

What does your repsonse have anthing to do with what I stated?

Cause I am actually sharing my ideas about the game, if you don't like it EXPLAIN WHY. Instead doing some pointless comment how about you provide a worthy addition to this discussion, this is a board to discuss things after all is it not.  Share your view, what do you expect from Fable, did you like the way the first game was designed, what do you want to see, etc. Or you can go back to pointless remarks, your call.

Why the antisocial behavior?

I was merely providing the bait for a more detailed response, from which what I thought was a bizarre comment to make by criticizing the whole concept of the game for not liking it. The formula wasn't perfect, but if worked on and tweaked enough, the next Fable could be magnificent.

I don't see how such an innocuous comment as I made before could have prompted such an angry response. Perhaps you ought to take a day off from the forums to simmer down a bit, and I say that as a helpful suggestion rather tossing flames your way. Posting here is supposed to be enjoyable.;)

That statement of general behavior might be true, but I think he had a point this time. Molyneux and co. were emphasizing the player's behavior's effect upon NPCs above all else, if I remember correctly (i.e. part of "the point" of the game).

Eh, id rather have a meaty, full, adventure at 20 hrs than a super long one anyways. I guess im just moving past the point where I have time for 100 hr games, so shorter ones are appreciated. Ok, ill compromise...... 30 hrs. But if the game is really awesome ill play it no matter the lack of length (a la god of war) or infusion of soul crushing dear god o mama please have an end raaaaaaar length (Oblivion) Woo I always wanted to get pregnant! Er.... I mean that sounds cool o_0 ..... I like to play as women my second playthrough usually. Sometimes I mix it up though. I usually always play evil women though... cause I have a thing for evil women I guess. By the gods ill find a husband to breed with and beat his ass all the way to the kitchen to make me supper! :evil:GodModeEnabled

:lol: Dude, you have no idea how much I appreciate your rants.

Apparently if you become really evil the dog changes with you and starts laughing and pissing on the corpses of your murdered foes. GOTY.GodModeEnabled

How I managed not to point this out sooner is beyond me. This truly is, hands down, the single most important feature ever devised. And I'm not kidding here.

Not to flame or anything, but your posts usually consist of sarcastic little snippets attacking other posters, rather than contributing to any meangingfull discussion. Rather than talking about Fable really all you have done is come in and criticised his opinion of the game, which is fine ... but can get annoying when done all the time. And the only reason im even interjecting is because most other people lack the testicular fortitude to tell someone straight to their face their shortcomings, man up, deal with it and move on man.GodModeEnabled

That's not me you're talking about, I don't know who you're talking about. I rarely attack other posters, so you've clearly mistaken me for someone else.

I didn't criticize anyone, so I'm not entirely sure if you even read my post. Man up, oh please. Dvader is the one guilty of copping out, not me. I asked him to explain his reasoning in so many words and he resorted to antisocial behavior, which is quite unfortunate.

Thats a completely different situation, here I was commenting on what I want and he specifically posting about my opinions, rather that post something constructive he posted a pointless response.  I guess he wanted to say something, why else make that comment, but he didn't say anything.  Upinflames didn't agree with my comments either but he explained himself, thats the way to do it, is that so hard.

dvader654

I was merely providing the bait for a more detailed response, from which what I thought was a bizarre comment to make by criticizing the whole concept of the game for not liking it. The formula wasn't perfect, but if worked on and tweaked enough, the next Fable could be magnificent.

MarcusAntonius

You were saying? Again, there was no reason for such a harsh reaction.

Apparently if you become really evil the dog changes with you and starts laughing and pissing on the corpses of your murdered foes. GOTY.GodModeEnabled

How I managed not to point this out sooner is beyond me. This truly is, hands down, the single most important feature ever devised. And I'm not kidding here.UpInFlames

As long as nothing bad happens to the dog I suppose I'm OK with it. Its like all the blood an dviolence and slaughter is fine just as long as no dogs are hurt.

Cats on the other hand........