Evolution of a Hero

Something I was pretty interested in while I was looking through the new screenshots was the way in which the hero now actually looks and feels like a Next-Gen product. The textures and the actual character modelling, staying with the cartoon-ish look and feel are all coming together to make something which could actually be quite special.

So, I thought it would be cool to look back over the heroes that have been and gone and what we were all seeing back when Project Ego was the thing 'everyone' was talking about.

Project Ego

So back in the day, before Fable was ever called 'Fable' it was named Project Ego, and a man named Peter Molyneux was telling us that he was going to make a hero that tanned in the sun, his muscles grew when he used heavy weapons, his body would be scarred and damaged in battle and you could make him in anyway you felt right. Well, we nearly had that. In the end we had some fantastic beards and that was pretty awesome. I think everyone will remember making their first 'tramp beard' hero.

Fable/Fable: The Lost Chapters.

With new clothes, new items and new hairstyles and beards this was the one we all got to play with for real. The character model looked sometimes clumsy for people, but I thought it was pretty good. He had the right feel and did not have dead pan eyes which most character models have. The magical tattoos were a let down, not looking at all how they were advertised and 'everyone' had a problem with him ageing and looking grey for most of the game. Still, people liked the Gandalf look and those who did not could cheat their way back to youth through the advent of the Temple of Avo glitch...don't pretend you didn't do it.

Fable II

Now we had the chance to make both a male and female hero, and for the most part the model looked pretty good. It still retained the cartoon feel of it, but was a lot more realistic looking in the way he moved and acted. The hair styles were great, and the simple fact that you didn't look like gandalf all your life was a bonus to all. There were problems with the fact that the female hero always looked like hulk when she was made to be strong, but that was the price it seemed for taking that path. Hopefully that is remedied in the future release of Fable III.

Fable III

Good skin, good hair, amazingly textured clothes even for the build we're seeing here. The look is crisp and clean, no jagged edges and clipping seems a thing of the past. The Fable hero has turned into one good looking Next-Gen product and damn hell its good to see. All that extra power they are plugging into the game sure helps.