The story of Peter Molyneux apologizing about Fable is getting a lot of pickup. Which is bizarre, because Fable is the most interesting RPG I've played in years.

What's wonderful about Fable is that the innovations in gameplay make for a really compelling narrative experience. I feel like I'm the hero of a classic adventure story, not just visiting the nodes in an RPG story graph. Little touches like the townspeople calling out to you, your character getting older and more careworn, or the complex ways your personality changes in response to your actions. It's a real step forward.

Molyneux is one of the most hyped game designers ever. Deservedly so, because his games are consistently innovative. Populous, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper, Black & White; they're all huge achievments. Molyneux's apology is that Fable doesn't quite live up to the hype, that it only has 15 innovative features and not the 25 he promised. I can live with that.

culturegames
  2004-10-02 16:08 Z