Wednesday 8 June 2011

Fable: The Journey ''Not so On-Rails...ish"


After trawling the net for more previews we have this from GamePro about how Fable: The Journey wont be as 'On Rails' as we first thought.

My appointment to see a live demo of the newly announced, Kinect-based Fable: The Journey began with Lionhead’s head honcho Peter Molyneux brandishing a permanent marker, and writing "IT IS NOT ON RAILS" on the wall behind him.

But based on Molyneux’s repeated insistence on the game’s not-on-rails nature ("Aren’t all E3 demos on rails?" he asked back), I’m going to have to hold off on passing judgment on its on/off-rails gameplay until a bit further into its production cycle.

Molyneux cited two driving factors in The Journey’s production: 1) freedom, and 2) control. Freedom in the (not-on-rails) sense that there’s a rich world to explore in your own unique way; and control in the sense that Microsoft’s Kinect motion controller is used in a way that won’t exhaust you. As seen in the announcement trailer, most of The Journey’s Albion will be viewed from the driver’s seat of a horse-drawn carriage. You’ll be able to cast magic and interact with the environment from the carriage, and managing the horse’s reins (speed/direction) looks pretty slick with the Kinect. You can also use the device’s voice recognition technology to teach your horse phrases as you play, essentially hot-keying various custom commands ("Slow down," "Giddy up," "Stop," etc.) with your voice -- something that Molyneux hopes will act towards you creating an emotional repoire with you and your equestrian companion. While an on-foot movement system hasn’t been finalized (Molyneux hinted at a hand gesture-based system), the game looked very manageable both sitting and standing.

GamePro Link

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