Fable II First Look Preview

I arrived at the Campton hotel a half hour before my scheduled meeting with video game legend Peter Molyneux. I passed the time by trying to determine how much more the lamps littered around the lobby cost compared to the lamps I have back home. The Campton, after all, is one of the finest hotels I’ve ever set foot in and being in my grey t-shirt and tattered jeans, I felt about as out of place as when I stepped into the women’s washroom accidentally at the local mall.

By the time the little hand struck two, I was squeezed into an elevator filled with fellow journalists and shuffled into room 203 where Peter stood patiently in front of a 40-inch Samsung HDTV displaying the words Fable 2 proudly, welcoming each of his guests as if it were a high school reunion and we hadn’t seen each other in years.

Now with this lengthy, three-paragraph intro, you’re either contemplating closing this window or are just so swelled up with anticipation from all the pre-GDC buzz surrounding Fable 2 that you’re willing to put up with another few hundred words to get to the goods. Whether you fit into the former group or not, I’ll cut to the chase. Fable 2 looks frickin’ sweet. And to give you a little appetizer before the main course, Molyneux confirmed that Fable 2 is in fact a free-roaming adventure; yes you can purchase shops, castles, heck, even entire towns; and no, a 2007 release seems highly unlikely.

Still hungry?

If you’ve been surfing through blogs and websites that can’t keep their embargo promises, you likely already know what the big secret is: A dog. It sounds lame even typing it, and when Molyneux introduced his furry friend to the crammed room of journalists, the silence was deafening.

“He is the state-of-art in technology. Everything we’ve learned throughout the years about AI and behaviour – simulations – come to its peak in this stupid fluffy animal,” said Molyneux. “He’s a complete and utter simulation. He’s not in any way scripted; your dog will behave and look differently to my dog. If you look at the Quality of him, his fur grows; he truly reflects your life.”

The demo itself showed Molyneux’s created hero on screen, with a shaved head, clothed in brown garments, and equipped with a musket and sword strapped to his back – dog at his side. Molyneux then began to play ball with the dog and tell a rather amusing story about a developer who would throw the ball off particularly large cliffs and watch the dog launch itself off the edge. Molyneux was quick to let us know that he’s since had the dog programmed to follow certain survival instincts, so if you had hoped to treat your dog in such a bad way, you’re out of luck.

Next we were shown the dog’s various reactions to our hero’s expressions. When he scolded the dog, it whimpered, when he screamed at it, it lay down and tucked its head between its paws, and when the hero decided it was time to let one rip (a personal Molyneux favourite), the dog comically rolled onto its back, raised its paws into the air and yelped wildly.

Molyneux then guided our hero up a nearby path, pointing out that the dog, unlike other game sidekicks, doesn’t follow behind the character, or to either side of him for that matter. Instead, the dog serves as a guide, effectively eliminating the need for a mini-map, pointing your hero in the right direction; though whether you follow its lead or venture off is entirely up to you.

After passing a stone archway, our hero’s furry friend began to growl signifying an enemy’s presence up ahead. As it turns out, the area was being patrolled by a group of hobs, two of which sported maces, the third brandishing its own musket. The hero then unsheathed his sword in preparation for a fight. The dog immediately recognized this action as the go-ahead to attack and vaulted itself forward, attacking the most threatening hob first – the one with the musket – and tearing it to shreds. The hero then withdrew his sword, equipped his gun, and fired away at the remaining two.

Now this is when I almost broke down into tears. Having a room full of journalists, grown men no less, on the verge of tearing up over a virtual animal is a pretty impressive (or pathetic) sight, and exactly the type of emotion Molyneux is hoping his audience will experience. The dog had been hurt during the battle, badly. It whimpered as it slowly crawled back to the hero, one leg up, seemingly broken from the attack. Then, in an act of cruelty that almost had me jump up in protest, Molyneux had the hero scamper away, leaving his loyal companion behind.

“Now, this dog loves you man, more than any game character’s loved you before,” said Molyneux. “Even if it takes him an hour, he’ll follow you relentlessly through the world, dragging his body to where you are, and if you’re in a pub somewhere, drinking away, or flirting with a woman, or playing a pub game, you will hear a scratching on the door. Someone will open that door, this blooded mangy mat of a dog will crawl in with his one remaining leg and everyone will turn around and go ‘oh my god, who would do such a thing’. Now that’s an emotion.”

But can the dog, being such an integral part of the game, die? Molyneux sidestepped our questions about death, though he practically (albeit subtly) told us that there will be a point in the game where you have to choose to save the dog or give it up for good.

The session ended with me opening my big mouth and asking about a release date. Hey, someone had to ask. Below is Molyneux’s response – take it for what it’s worth folks.

“It’ll be released when it’s a great game. Probably with the schedule, it’ll take us beyond 2007, and then we’re into unknown territory.”

As for the rest of the details of the game, check back tomorrow for part 2 of our Fable 2 coverage where we’ll dive into the theme of love, family life, and whether or not you should wear protection.