Game Change: What Fable III Did Right Without Realizing

I didn't hate Fable III. For all its would be innovations and dumbed down “streamlining” I did enjoy it. Just not as much as I would have liked. And yet there was a moment, very early in the game, that seemed to promise an innovation in interactive storytelling that, for just a bit, gave me the giddies for what this game could have become. It seemed that Lionhead was taking their series' feature of narrative choice finally to the next level. But it was only almost, a grand introduction of pomp and flair that only delivered empty calories.

You ever notice how a lot of titles seem to really bring their A-game within the first 30 minutes or so? This of course is no doubt similar to how a novel's first paragraph really needs to snag the reader's attention, let them know that this is something worth their attention. Fable III is no different. The crucial choice that takes place in the throne room was a thrilling way to begin the Hero's story. But it was a choice that culminated into...well, what? Most of the decisions, if not all of them, in the game never amount to anything other than cosmetic. Now I would understand the difficulty of creating choices, true ones that place the player into a significant amount of control over the narrative. In essence you'd have to create/write multiple narratives, essentially multiple games. As the creators of the Matrix discovered, the problem is choice.

But why not? Games have been moving in this direction haven't they?

Here's what I'm actually hung up on. Elise. (Or Elliot if you played as a female hero.) The one instance in the beginning where you had the choice to either kiss her as a lover or hug her as a friend did so much more for the game's story than I think the game it's self knew it did.

By allowing the player to choose the nature of these characters' relationship, they were allowing the player to write their own backstories for them, forcing the audience to make an investment both emotionally and imaginatively. And the immediate pay off for doing so was magnificent, culminating in a gut wrenching, if not thrilling decision for her (or his) life just minutes later. I chose to keep Elise alive, if not for wanting to spare her (I believe I chose her to be my Hero's love), but because I was curious to find what further developments the game had in store for this seemingly prominent character. But, aside from a fairly trite romance side quest later, she had no significant bearing on the main character or the story as a whole. In fact nothing else in the game forced the player to invest anything imaginatively or emotionally so well as this. Sure there were all the arbitrary predicaments once the crown was rested on your Hero's head, but what connection did they have to any kind of solid narrative?

For a little bit I really thought we were not only going to be able to mold our hero, but the story around him/her as well. But Lionhead never gave us the pay off, the multiple endings, or varied narratives beyond anything cosmetic. Instead we got an incredibly simplified sequel to a sequel that was probably already simplified enough as it was. Don't even get me started on the terrible selection of emotes.

The Good:

- lush beautiful environments

- ALMOST deep interaction with player imagination

- a talking Hero (I hate silent protagonists)

- fun combat, mostly

- able to focus on individual npc's when emoting

Changes Needed:

- more weapons

- multiple outcomes, specifically with other characters (what if you could have saved sir Walter's life?)

- bigger, more exploratory environments

- more customizable hero (i.e. greater options for developing skills)

- go back to the radial emote wheel

We hope Fable Anniversary will give us a refreshment from the past, a return to the pre-industrial setting I would prefer, but here's really hopin' for the perfect game in Fable IV. (This article here furthers my sentiments on what the next proper installment would need.)