Lionhead Studios: Fable 4 Jobs For Next-Gen

"It is with mixed emotions that I made the decision to leave Microsoft and Lionhead Studios, the company that I co-founded in 1997, at the conclusion of development of Fable: The Journey [...] I remain extremely passionate and proud of the people, products and experiences that we created, from B lack & White to Fable to our pioneering work with Milo and Kate for the Kinect platform. However, I felt the time was right to pursue a new independent ventu


The industry's current infatuation with motion control gaming is openly seen as a clever (or not so clever) ploy to divert the attention of the "casual" gamer from Nintendo’s very successful Wii console. It has been common knowledge for some time now that both Sony and MS are developing their own approach to motion control gaming, the Move and Kinect respectively. But to take the world's largest annual industry platform, at which many of gaming's biggest showcases have occurred, and focus on this single, controversial piece of hardware as the centerpiece has left many fans, myself included, shaking their fist in the air and wondering what the heck happe

With a new engine delivering improved visuals, and a new way to execute combat and traversal, Fable: The Journey has the chance to make great headway for the Kinect hardware. Molyneux seems like he understands Kinect much better than other developers, and he promises to make a believer out of each and every naysa


Having recently finished Fable 3 myself, I was eagerly anticipating a reveal for Lionhead Studios’ next adventure. Though this wasn’t exactly the Fable I was looking for, I went into the demo with an open mind and came out a believer, not just because of the compelling power of Peter Molyneux’s imagination, but because the game sounds really awes

This event is such a big deal for some that it's probably more exciting than Christmas. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, more commonly known as E3, is the greatest event on every video gamer's calendar. It all began back in the 1990s to little fanfare. Despite the lack of attention, there were some monumental announcements. It was at this E3 that Sony made its debut to the gaming industry. The Sega Saturn was available to test play as well as the Nintendo Virtual Boy. Nintendo also revealed its Ultra 64 console, stating it will be ready next year. A few notable game titles at the show included Ridge Racer, Panzer Dragoon and Virtua Fighter. E3 started slow, but because this was the first expo dedicated to video games, more companies and fans realized they weren't going to miss out next year.


Still, after a demo that was less than desirable, Fable: The Journey has rebounded nicely with an intriguing concept and storyline. This could very well be the first hardcore Kinect title worth picking


First and foremost, Molyneux wanted to clear the air by saying that the demo shown during the E3 press conference was indeed an " Fablelegendary.Com on rails" sequence, but was not indicative of the final experience. In an effort to keep bugs and motion control issues to a minimum, the team at Lionhead devised this tech demo to show the capabilities of the game, not necessarily what the final product will look l


Also responding to the player’s decisions will be the horse that navigates your buggy in the game. Dependent on how you treat your horse — whether you break out your whip to travel a bit faster or not — the equestrian creature might develop a luscious glow or could be all skin and bones. Think of Fable: The Journey ’s horse as this version's dog, how you interact with the horse will determine whether you are a noble or an evil charac


Movement off of the buggy has yet to be clearly outlined by the team at Lionhead , but Molyneux said it would be something along the lines of pointing in a general direction. Molyneux would like players of Fable: The Journey to explore as much of Albion as they possibly can, but doesn't want them to be hindered by the feeling that they have to be extremely active. Fable: The Journey allows the player to experience the game's traveral in a simple and approachable


Since, contrary to popular opinion after the Microsoft press conference, players will actually be able to explore a large chunk of Albion in Fable: The Journey , we thought it important to report-on the context for this advent

That criteria is consonant with a Lionhead job listing which surfaced last year, brimming with suggestive language related to next-gen engine/graphical design. There are some curious distinctions, however, present in the animation director description that point directly toward work on the Fable franch


Obviously there are still more Fable: The Journey details on the way, with this E3 2011 demo focusing only on showcasing the tech of the game rather than the final product -- and with that also comes the opportunity for some of these story details to change or be altered. The general idea, we imagine, should be preserved, but things like Fable 3 save game interaction might change over t