Fable (video game series)

Last updated

Fable
Fable logo turkish.png
Genre(s) Action role-playing
Developer(s)
Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios
Composer(s) Danny Elfman
Russell Shaw
Platform(s)
First release Fable
14 September 2004
Latest release Fable Fortune
25 July 2017

Fable is a series of action role-playing video games for Xbox, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms. The series was developed by Lionhead Studios until the studio was closed in 2016, and is published by Xbox Game Studios.

Contents

Setting

The Fable series takes place in the fictional nation of Albion, a state that, at the time of the first game, is composed of numerous autonomous city-states with vast areas of countryside or wilderness in between. The setting originally resembles Medieval Britain, with some European elements. The name Albion itself is an ancient albeit still used name for Great Britain. The period of time progresses with each game; in Fable II , Albion has advanced to an era similar to that of the Age of Enlightenment, and by Fable III the nation has been unified under a monarchy and is undergoing an "Age of Industry" similar to the real-world 18th-19th-century Industrial Revolution.

In the first Fable , players assume the role of a boy who is forced into a life of heroism when bandits attack his village, kill his father and kidnap his sister. The choices players make in the game affect the perception and reaction to their Hero by the characters of Albion and change the Hero's appearance to mirror what good or evil deeds he has performed. In addition to the main quest to learn what happened to the Hero's family, players can engage in optional quests and pursuits such as trading, romance and married life, pub gaming, boxing, exploring, and theft. [1]

Fable II takes place 500 years after the events of the first game. [2] The world resembles Europe between the late 1600s and early 1700s, the time of highwaymen and the Enlightenment. Science and more modern ideas have suppressed the religion and magic of old Albion. Its towns have developed into cities, weaponry is slowly taking advantage of gunpowder, and social, family and economic life present more possibilities - as well as challenges. The sequel basically expands most or all parts of the gaming experience from the previous game, without changing the elementary modes of playing. The continent of Albion is larger as a game world, but contains fewer locations, and the locations that remain are more developed and detailed. In contrast to Fable , the solving of set quests is not the basis of the story; rather, the story develops from the player's situation in time and place. This gives the game a sense of more interactivity than the first title in the series.

In Fable III the setting is 50 years after that of Fable II . [3] The historical development is further advanced since the last version: Albion is experiencing an industrial revolution and society resembles that of the early 1800s. In all of the versions, the moral development (in a negative or a positive way) is at the core of the gameplay. This moral development is expanded to include the personal or psychological and has a more political aspect, as the goal of the game is to overthrow the oppressive king of Albion, as well as defend the continent from attacks from abroad.

Gameplay

As role-playing video games, the Fable series constructs the development of a protagonist controlled by the player, and the development is related to the same character's interaction with the game world. A major part of this interaction is for the Fable series related to interaction with people, be it conversation, storytelling, education, trading, gaming, courting and relationships, or fighting.

The player is able to develop the protagonist following several parameters, such as magic, strength and social skills. The player may also direct the moral quality of the protagonist, so that skills may be developed in equal terms and conditions both in the negative and positive field.

In addition to this basis of the gameplay, some of the versions focus on set quests that together give the protagonist the opportunity to develop, as well as unveiling strands of the story of the game.

Fable II and Fable III include cooperative gameplay, where two players with their own character can join forces in their different tasks.

History

Release timeline
2004 Fable
2005 Fable: The Lost Chapters
2006
2007
2008 Fable II
Fable II Pub Games
2009
2010 Fable III
2011Fable Coin Golf
2012 Fable Heroes
Fable: The Journey
2013
2014 Fable Anniversary
2015
2016
2017 Fable Fortune
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
TBA Fable
Aggregate review scores
As of 6 July 2014.
Game Metacritic
Fable (Xbox) 85 [4]
(PC) 83 [5]
(X360) 68 [6]
Fable II Pub Games (X360) 53 [7]
Fable II (X360) 89 [8]
Fable III (X360) 80 [9]
(PC) 75 [10]
Fable Heroes (X360) 55 [11]
Fable: The Journey (X360) 61 [12]

Fable (2001–2006)

The first game, Fable , was teased in 2001 by developer Lionhead Studios. Lead designer and Lionhead co-founder Peter Molyneux "promised an experience like no other" and that the game would "revolutionize the RPG". Fable was released for Xbox on 14 September 2004. It was originally seen very poorly as it was mostly reported that the game had no content due to the substantial amount of unfulfilled "promises" by Molyneux, which he soon apologized for, garnering even more press coverage. [13]

Despite offers from such large companies, such as Electronic Arts, the over-ambition experienced during Fable's development and overestimated sales of the original game had left Lionhead Studios with low stocks and in debt. [14] To gain access to a bigger budget Lionhead signed with Microsoft Game Studios. An extended version, Fable: The Lost Chapters , was released for Windows and Xbox in September 2005; Feral Interactive ported the game to the Mac platform on 31 March 2008. It featured new content in many forms and, with the support of Microsoft, was a critical and commercial success.

Fable II, Fable III (2006–2012)

Fable II was released for Xbox 360 on 24 October 2008. It was also a critical and commercial success. It featured a tie-in game called Fable II Pub Games that was released on the Xbox Live Arcade, and an interactive online flash game called Fable: A Hero's Tale that allowed players to open a secret chest in the main game. [15]

A third game, Fable III , was released for Xbox 360 on 29 October 2010, and a Microsoft Windows release on 17 March 2011. [16] [17] This game also featured a tie-in phone game called Fable Coin Golf . [18]

On 2 May 2012, Fable Heroes , was released for the Xbox Live Arcade. Despite the amount of differences the game has from others in the series and its mixed critical reception, [19] it being a multiplayer-based family-friendly beat-em-up, the game is popular among fans as it still embodies some of fans' favorite iconic elements of the series.[ citation needed ]

Decline (2012–2020)

Fable: The Journey , a spin-off within the series, was released in October 2012 in North America and Europe. The game utilized the Kinect attachment for the Xbox 360. Lead designer Peter Molyneux departed Lionhead Studios in 2012.[ citation needed ]

Lionhead Studios released an Xbox 360 remake of the original game, including The Lost Chapters, called Fable Anniversary to mixed reviews in February 2014. Fable Trilogy, a compilation for Xbox 360 that includes Fable Anniversary, Fable II and Fable III was released in February 2014. [20]

Fable-themed card games were released as part of the Microsoft Solitaire Collection for the PC on March 4, 2014 and a Fable Anniversary theme was released for the Microsoft Jigsaw collection.[ citation needed ]

In August 2013, Lionhead Studios released a teaser trailer for Fable Legends , an Xbox One title set during the "Age of Heroes" long before the events of the first game. The trailer emphasizes that in the game the player would play alongside four other players and may choose to be the Hero of the story or the Villain. Microsoft canceled the project in March 2016 and Lionhead Studios was closed soon afterwards. [21]

In May 2016, former Lionhead developers launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund Fable Fortune , a free-to-play collectible card game. The game was previously in development at Lionhead prior to the studio's closure. [22] The game was released for the Xbox One in February 2018.

Reboot (2020–present)

In January 2018, rumors surfaced that a new Fable game was being developed by Playground Games, [23] and that studio was hiring 177 positions for an open world role-playing game. [24] [25] During the Xbox Games Showcase in July 2020, a new Fable was announced as being in development, with the game releasing on the Xbox Series X and Series S and Microsoft Windows at an undisclosed date. [26] It will run on the Forza series' in-house game engine, ForzaTech. [27] In November 2021, Eidos-Montréal would join the project as a co-developer. [28] By March 2023, the game was reported to be in the early stages of full production. On June 11, 2023, Playground Games unveiled the first in-game trailer of Fable at the Xbox Games Showcase, featuring actor Richard Ayoade. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionhead Studios</span> British video game developer, 1997–2016

Lionhead Studios Limited was a British video game developer founded in July 1997 by Peter Molyneux, Mark Webley, Tim Rance, and Steve Jackson. The company is best known for the Black & White and Fable series. Lionhead started as a breakaway from developer Bullfrog Productions, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a god game with elements of artificial life and strategy games. Black & White was published by Electronic Arts in 2001. Lionhead Studios is named after Webley's hamster, which died not long after the naming of the studio, as a result of which the studio was very briefly renamed to Redeye Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox Game Studios</span> American video game company

Xbox Game Studios is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, for the development and publishing of video games for Microsoft Windows. It has since expanded to include games and other interactive entertainment for the namesake Xbox platforms, other desktop operating systems, Windows Mobile and other mobile platforms, and web-based portals.

<i>Fable</i> (2004 video game) 2004 video game

Fable is an action role-playing video game, the first in the Fable series. It was developed for the Xbox, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X platforms by Big Blue Box Studios, a satellite developer of Lionhead Studios, and was published by Microsoft Studios. The game shipped for the Xbox in September 2004. An extended version of the game, Fable: The Lost Chapters, was released for the Xbox and Windows in September 2005. A port of the game for Mac OS X, created by Robosoft Technologies and published by Feral Interactive, was released in March 2008 after a delay of more than two years due to licensing issues.

<i>Forza Motorsport</i> (2005 video game) 2005 video game

Forza Motorsport is a 2005 simulation racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox gaming system. The word Forza is Italian for strength. The game is the first installment in the Forza series, a series that has continued on Microsoft's subsequent consoles, the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It features over 200 cars and multiple real world and fictional race courses. It also featured online multiplayer via Xbox Live. It is compatible on the Xbox 360 via backwards compatibility. Forza Motorsport received universal acclaim according to the review aggregation website Metacritic, and received a Gold sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The NPD Group reported that in its release month the game sold over 100,000 copies in North America.

<i>Fable II</i> 2008 video game

Fable II is a 2008 action role-playing open world video game, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360. The game is the second installment in the Fable game series, and the sequel to 2004's Fable. The story takes place within the fictional land of Albion, 500 years after the first game. Players assume the role of a young hero who is destined to stop a former ruler turned madman from destroying the world. The game features several prominent actors portraying major characters in the game, including Zoë Wanamaker, Ron Glass and Stephen Fry. The game's setting takes inspiration from the historical late colonial era, in terms of architecture, social quality and basic firearms such as flintlock pistols.

Call of Duty is a video game series and media franchise published by Activision, starting in 2003. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-off and handheld games were made by other developers. The most recent title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, was released on November 10, 2023.

<i>Fable II Pub Games</i> 2008 video game

Fable II Pub Games is an Xbox Live Arcade title that includes three pub game-styled minigames called Keystone, Fortune's Tower and Spinnerbox for the Xbox 360, developed by Carbonated Games under the supervision of Lionhead Studios, which all share functionality with Fable II. The games are included in both editions of Fable II. Fable II Pub Games was free for those who pre-ordered Fable II from participating retailers.

<i>Fable III</i> 2010 video game

Fable III is a 2010 action role-playing open world video game, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The third game in the Fable series, the story focuses on the player character's struggle to overthrow the King of Albion, the player character's brother, by forming alliances and building support for a revolution. After a successful revolt, the player becomes the monarch and is tasked with attempting to defend Albion from a great evil. The game includes voice acting by Ben Kingsley (Sabine), Stephen Fry (Reaver), Simon Pegg, Naomie Harris (Page), Michael Fassbender (Logan), Zoë Wanamaker (Theresa), Bernard Hill, Nicholas Hoult (Elliot), John Cleese (Jasper), Jonathan Ross, Adjoa Andoh (Kalin), Kellie Bright, and Louis Tamone.

<i>Project Milo</i> Video game

Project Milo was a project in development by Lionhead Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. Formerly a secretive project under the early codename "Dimitri", Project Milo was unveiled at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in a demonstration for Kinect, as a "controller-free" entertainment initiative for the Xbox 360 based on depth-sensing and pattern recognition technologies. The project was a tech demo to showcase the capabilities of Kinect and was not released, despite conflicting reports that the project was an actual game.

<i>Forza</i> Racing video game series published by Xbox Game Studios

Forza is a racing video game series for Xbox consoles and Microsoft Windows published by Xbox Game Studios.

<i>Fable: The Journey</i> 2012 video game

Fable: The Journey is an action role-playing on rails video game, the fifth in the Fable series. It was developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360, as a Kinect title. First announced at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo, the game is a standalone title, separate from the main series. Unlike previous games, Fable: The Journey was developed using Unreal Engine 3.

<i>Fable Heroes</i> 2012 video game

Fable Heroes is a beat 'em up video game in the Fable series, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360. Announced at the 2012 Xbox Spring Showcase, it was released on 2 May that year as part of the Xbox Live Arcade Next Promotion. It is the first "family-friendly" game in the Fable series.

Playground Games Limited is a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa, England. It is known for developing the Forza Horizon series, which is part of the larger Forza franchise. In 2018, Playground Games became part of Microsoft Studios. They are also developing the next game in the Fable series.

<i>The Wolf Among Us</i> 2013 video game

The Wolf Among Us is an episodic graphic neo-noir mystery-drama adventure game developed by Telltale Games, based on Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series, to which it serves as a prequel. The game consists of five episodes that were released throughout 2013 and 2014. Retail versions for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles were made available in November 2014. In the game, players control Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of Fabletown – a clandestine community within 1980s New York City consisting of various fantastical characters from fairy tales and folklore – and must investigate a series of mysterious murders; the first ones to occur in Fabletown in a long time.

Music of the <i>Fable</i> series

Fable is a series of action role-playing video games developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows, and Mac OS X platforms. The music of the Fable series is the soundtrack to all three games.

<i>Fable Legends</i> 2016 video game

Fable Legends is a cancelled cooperative action role-playing video game developed by Lionhead Studios and projected to be published by Microsoft Studios for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One. Microsoft cancelled the game on 7 March 2016. The servers shut down on 13 April.

<i>Forza Horizon 2</i> 2014 video game

Forza Horizon 2 is a 2014 racing video game developed for Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. It is the sequel to 2012's Forza Horizon, the seventh instalment in the Forza series, and the series' first multi-console instalment. The Xbox One version of the game was developed by Playground Games, the team behind the original Forza Horizon, while Sumo Digital developed the version for Xbox 360, with Forza series developer Turn 10 Studios supporting both builds. The Xbox 360 version is also the final Forza game released for the platform. The game received positive reviews from critics and a sequel, Forza Horizon 3, was released on 27 September 2016.

<i>Fable Fortune</i> 2018 video game

Fable Fortune was a free-to-play digital collectible card game set in the Fable universe. The game was released for Windows and Xbox One in February 2018, after an initial early access release. It was co-developed by Flaming Fowl Studios and Mediatonic. In late 2019, Flaming Fowl Studios announced their intent to cease work on further updates for the game, citing its lacklustre performance on the market. The support for the game was finally discontinued on 4 March 2020.

<i>Fable</i> (upcoming video game) Upcoming video game developed by Playground Games

Fable is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game serves as a reboot for the Fable series and will be released for Xbox Series X/S and Microsoft Windows.

References

  1. ↑ "Fable". Lionhead.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Fable II". Lionhead. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Fable III". Lionhead. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Fable Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Fable: The Lost Chapters Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Fable Anniversary Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Fable II Pub Games Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Fable II Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Fable III Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Fable III Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Fable Heroes Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Fable: The Journey Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  13. ↑ Schreir, Jason (11 March 2014). "The Man Who Promised Too Much". Kotaku. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  14. ↑ Stanton, Rich (20 May 2016). "Lionhead: the rise and fall of a British video game legend". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  15. ↑ Thompson, Michael (16 October 2008). "Web games provide even more Fable 2 in-game loot". Arstechnica. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  16. ↑ I. G. N. Staff (11 October 2010). "Sumthing Else Music Works Announces Release of Fable III Original Soundtrack". IGN. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  17. ↑ Onyett, Charles (24 February 2011). "Fable III PC Gets a Release Date". IGN. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "App Addicted: 'Fable Coin Golf' is a Windows Phone 7 win". NBC News. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  19. ↑ Tan, Maurice (30 April 2012). "Review: Fable Heroes". Destructoid. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  20. ↑ Matulef, Jeffrey (18 January 2014). "Fable Trilogy confirmed for February". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  21. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (7 March 2016). "Microsoft cancels Fable Legends, plans to shut down Lionhead Studios". Polygon. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  22. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (31 May 2016). "Former Lionhead devs take Hearthstone-style Fable Fortune to Kickstarter". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "Sources: Microsoft plots Fable return". Eurogamer . 17 January 2018. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  24. ↑ "Playground Games hiring 177 developers for 'new AAA open world RPG'". Windows Central. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  25. ↑ Kain, Erik. "'Forza Horizon' Studio Reportedly Developing New Open-World 'Fable' Game For Xbox One". Forbes. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  26. ↑ Matt T.M. Kim (23 July 2020). "Fable Revealed for Xbox Series X". IGN . Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  27. ↑ "Fable Is Being Developed Using the Forza Engine". IGN . 5 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022.
  28. ↑ "Embracer Group Shuts Down Montreal Video Game Studio". Bloomberg . 1 November 2021.
  29. ↑ Spear, Rebecca (11 June 2023). "Fable gets a new trailer at Xbox Games Showcase 2023". Windows Central . Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
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