During a visit to Lionhead HQ to go hands-on with Fable: The Journey,
three key team-members repeatedly drop the C-bomb. Yes, it seems that
if there’s a take-home message that the Guildford-based studio would
like to convey it’s that Fable: The Journey is "cool". However, it’s
probably best if we dispense with such an intangible adjective and
instead focus on an entirely more relevant fact: this Kinect-only jaunt
through Albion actually works.
Fable: The Journey’s strengths are the result of a combination of savvy design choices and intelligent programming. The former is best exemplified by Lionhead’s decision to pass over melee combat in favour of ranged magic attacks. By doing so, the studio avoids the potential pitfalls of having to replicate the swift, one-to-one movement required of close-combat and of having to find ways to mask the inherent lag that would be exposed by the close proximity of foes.
Moreover, a focus on magic allows for some interesting design choices, such as after-touch that can be applied to spells in order to fling electrical bolts high into the air before bringing them crashing down on hapless foes with downward swipe, which is useful for flushing enemies out of cover or for bending spells around environmental obstacles.
"We want to do what Kinect does well and steer away from the areas that Kinect doesn't do so well," explains creative producer Gary Carr. "I think The Journey does things that, hopefully, you’ll feel wouldn't be as much fun if you were doing this" he says, as he mimes waggling twin analogue sticks.
While opting for magic attacks over melee might facilitate Lionhead’s sleight of hand as it combats Kinect’s shortcomings, playing Fable: The Journey while seated is as technically impressive as it is appealing and natural. The narrative fits, as every-man hero Gabriel’s default position is sat down in a horse-drawn cart (complete with screen-framing awning to enhance the effect) and the technology recognises the natural gestures required to emulate the feeling of guiding a horse via reigns, whether it’s to steer, to quicken and slow its pace or to come to an abrupt halt.
It’s when you play through an on-foot dungeon section that movement feels most linear, as Gabriel moves at his own pace through dimly-lit corridors. An open cavern dotted here or there brings Gabriel to a complete halt as you clear it of foes through a combination of aggressive spells and the magical tendril projected by Force Push, which is used both to stun armoured enemies and plug the burrows from which they are emerging with rubble pulled from the cavern ceiling. The pacing of the preview build is judged such that the game’s shepherding doesn’t intrude too much on the experience, but it’s when you realise that you can never, ever go backwards of your own volition that you start to feel restricted.
Fortunately, there appears to be plenty to do, see and interact with in front of you (including the satisfying requirement to fling open a chest with both hands) to ensure that Fable: The Journey fulfils its mandate as a game and avoids being dubbed a spectator sport. The spell system in particular offers chances to ad lib to discover interesting combinations of your own accord, but only after you’ve been taught the basics.
This is something that has changed since the game’s last showing
earlier this year when then-Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux claimed, “You
don’t have to preach to people anymore ... they can play the game and
experiment", by way of explaining the decision not to include any in-game tutorials.
Now, standard tutorials introduce the basic game mechanics, which is
for the good of the experience in hinting at the potential of the magic
system, but to its detriment when applied to the intuitive actions used
to control the horse. However, this latter concession is as a result of
extensive user research, rather than post-Molyneux Lionhead’s desire to
nanny us.
Despite not being able to break free of such a mundane videogame requirement, Fable: The Journey does have plenty of room for experimentation. "There are things that you can do with the magic that we don't teach you and you'll either find them or not find them,” assures Carr. “There are combinations of stuff as you start to level-up and dual-wield that are possible that we simply didn't design it to do. So, as just one example, you can pin things to a wall a la Spider-Man by using Force Push and fire at them while there pinned; we didn't design that, it's a freebie."
Fable: The Journey has improved over recent months and will continue to be polished ahead of its release later this year, but it’s already apparent that Lionhead’s artists and programmers have done an excellent job in utilising Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 to render varied vistas and interesting environments to help you forget that you’re never in complete control the direction in which you’re heading.
"We hope that this is one of those landmark experiences that people point to in order to show that you can sit down [to play Kinect] and that you can do a non-party game that you can get really immersed in," concludes Lionhead Studio co-founder and head Mark Webley. "...and that, actually, you can do some quite cool things."
Whether or not Fable: The Journey is cool will be up to each individual that opts to play it to decide for themselves, but the very fact that it works; as a seated, Kinect-only game and an immersive, fun experience, should ensure that more people get to make that call.
Fable: The Journey’s strengths are the result of a combination of savvy design choices and intelligent programming. The former is best exemplified by Lionhead’s decision to pass over melee combat in favour of ranged magic attacks. By doing so, the studio avoids the potential pitfalls of having to replicate the swift, one-to-one movement required of close-combat and of having to find ways to mask the inherent lag that would be exposed by the close proximity of foes.
Moreover, a focus on magic allows for some interesting design choices, such as after-touch that can be applied to spells in order to fling electrical bolts high into the air before bringing them crashing down on hapless foes with downward swipe, which is useful for flushing enemies out of cover or for bending spells around environmental obstacles.
"We want to do what Kinect does well and steer away from the areas that Kinect doesn't do so well," explains creative producer Gary Carr. "I think The Journey does things that, hopefully, you’ll feel wouldn't be as much fun if you were doing this" he says, as he mimes waggling twin analogue sticks.
While opting for magic attacks over melee might facilitate Lionhead’s sleight of hand as it combats Kinect’s shortcomings, playing Fable: The Journey while seated is as technically impressive as it is appealing and natural. The narrative fits, as every-man hero Gabriel’s default position is sat down in a horse-drawn cart (complete with screen-framing awning to enhance the effect) and the technology recognises the natural gestures required to emulate the feeling of guiding a horse via reigns, whether it’s to steer, to quicken and slow its pace or to come to an abrupt halt.
It’s when you play through an on-foot dungeon section that movement feels most linear, as Gabriel moves at his own pace through dimly-lit corridors. An open cavern dotted here or there brings Gabriel to a complete halt as you clear it of foes through a combination of aggressive spells and the magical tendril projected by Force Push, which is used both to stun armoured enemies and plug the burrows from which they are emerging with rubble pulled from the cavern ceiling. The pacing of the preview build is judged such that the game’s shepherding doesn’t intrude too much on the experience, but it’s when you realise that you can never, ever go backwards of your own volition that you start to feel restricted.
Fortunately, there appears to be plenty to do, see and interact with in front of you (including the satisfying requirement to fling open a chest with both hands) to ensure that Fable: The Journey fulfils its mandate as a game and avoids being dubbed a spectator sport. The spell system in particular offers chances to ad lib to discover interesting combinations of your own accord, but only after you’ve been taught the basics.
Despite not being able to break free of such a mundane videogame requirement, Fable: The Journey does have plenty of room for experimentation. "There are things that you can do with the magic that we don't teach you and you'll either find them or not find them,” assures Carr. “There are combinations of stuff as you start to level-up and dual-wield that are possible that we simply didn't design it to do. So, as just one example, you can pin things to a wall a la Spider-Man by using Force Push and fire at them while there pinned; we didn't design that, it's a freebie."
Fable: The Journey has improved over recent months and will continue to be polished ahead of its release later this year, but it’s already apparent that Lionhead’s artists and programmers have done an excellent job in utilising Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 to render varied vistas and interesting environments to help you forget that you’re never in complete control the direction in which you’re heading.
"We hope that this is one of those landmark experiences that people point to in order to show that you can sit down [to play Kinect] and that you can do a non-party game that you can get really immersed in," concludes Lionhead Studio co-founder and head Mark Webley. "...and that, actually, you can do some quite cool things."
Whether or not Fable: The Journey is cool will be up to each individual that opts to play it to decide for themselves, but the very fact that it works; as a seated, Kinect-only game and an immersive, fun experience, should ensure that more people get to make that call.
Athens Time
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