| Fable | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Action role-playing |
| Developers |
|
| Publisher | Xbox Game Studios |
| Composers | Danny Elfman Russell Shaw |
| Platforms | |
| First release | Fable 14 September 2004 |
| Latest release | Fable Fortune 22 February 2018 |
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Fable is a series ofaction role-playingvideo games forXbox,Microsoft Windows,macOS,Xbox 360 andXbox One platforms. The series was developed byLionhead Studios until the studio was closed in 2016, and is published byXbox Game Studios.
TheFable series takes place in the fictional nation of Albion, a state that, at the time of the first game, is composed of numerousautonomouscity-states with vast areas of countryside or wilderness in between. The setting originally resemblesMedieval Britain, with some European elements. The nameAlbion itself is an ancient albeit still used name forGreat Britain. The period of time progresses with each game; inFable II, Albion has advanced to an era similar to that of theAge of Enlightenment, and byFable III the nation has been unified under a monarchy and is undergoing an "Age of Industry" similar to the real-world 18th-19th-centuryIndustrial Revolution.
In the firstFable, players assume the role of a boy who is forced into a life of heroism when bandits attack his village, kill his father and kidnap his sister. The choices players make in the game affect the perception and reaction to their Hero by the characters of Albion and change the Hero's appearance to mirror what good or evil deeds he has performed. In addition to the main quest to learn what happened to the Hero's family, players can engage in optional quests and pursuits such as trading, romance and married life, pub gaming, boxing, exploring, and theft.[1]
Fable II takes place 500 years after the events of the first game.[2] The world resembles Europe between the late 1600s and early 1700s, the time ofhighwaymen and theEnlightenment. Science and more modern ideas have suppressed the religion and magic of old Albion. Its towns have developed into cities, weaponry is slowly taking advantage of gunpowder, and social, family and economic life present more possibilities - as well as challenges. The sequel basically expands most or all parts of the gaming experience from the previous game, without changing the elementary modes of playing. The continent of Albion is larger as a game world, but contains fewer locations, and the locations that remain are more developed and detailed. In contrast toFable, the solving of set quests is not the basis of the story; rather, the story develops from the player's situation in time and place. This gives the game a sense of more interactivity than the first title in the series.
InFable III the setting is 50 years after that ofFable II.[3] The historical development is further advanced since the last version: Albion is experiencing anIndustrial Revolution and society resembles that of the early 1800s. In all of the versions, the moral development (in a negative or a positive way) is at the core of the gameplay. This moral development is expanded to include the personal or psychological and has a more political aspect, as the goal of the game is to overthrow the oppressive king of Albion, as well as defend the continent from attacks from abroad.
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Asrole-playing video games, theFable series constructs the development of a protagonist controlled by the player, and the development is related to the same character's interaction with the game world. A major part of this interaction is for theFable series related to interaction with people, be it conversation, storytelling, education, trading, gaming, courting and relationships, or fighting.
The player is able to develop the protagonist following several parameters, such as magic, strength and social skills. The player may also direct the moral quality of the protagonist, so that skills may be developed in equal terms and conditions both in the negative and positive field.
In addition to this basis of the gameplay, some of the versions focus on set quests that together give the protagonist the opportunity to develop, as well as unveiling strands of the story of the game.
Fable II andFable III include cooperative gameplay, where two players with their own character can join forces in their different tasks.
| 2004 | Fable |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Fable: The Lost Chapters |
| 2006 | |
| 2007 | |
| 2008 | Fable II |
| Fable II Pub Games | |
| 2009 | |
| 2010 | Fable III |
| 2011 | Fable Coin Golf |
| 2012 | Fable Heroes |
| Fable: The Journey | |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | Fable Anniversary |
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | |
| 2017 | Fable Fortune |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2025 | |
| 2026 | Fable |
| Game | Metacritic |
|---|---|
| Fable | (Xbox) 85[4] (PC) 83[5] (X360) 68[6] |
| Fable II Pub Games | (X360) 53[7] |
| Fable II | (X360) 89[8] |
| Fable III | (X360) 80[9] (PC) 75[10] |
| Fable Heroes | (X360) 55[11] |
| Fable: The Journey | (X360) 61[12] |
The first game,Fable, was teased in 2001 by developerLionhead Studios. Lead designer and Lionhead co-founderPeter Molyneux "promised an experience like no other" and that the game would "revolutionize the RPG".Fable was released forXbox on 14 September 2004. It was originally seen very poorly as it was mostly reported that the game had no content due to the substantial amount of unfulfilled "promises" by Molyneux, which he soon apologized for, garnering even more press coverage.[13]
Despite offers from such large companies, such asElectronic Arts, the over-ambition experienced duringFable's development and overestimated sales of the original game had left Lionhead Studios with low stocks and in debt.[14] To gain access to a bigger budget Lionhead signed withMicrosoft Game Studios. An extended version,Fable: The Lost Chapters, was released for Windows and Xbox in September 2005;Feral Interactive ported the game to the Mac platform on 31 March 2008. It featured new content in many forms and, with the support of Microsoft, was a critical and commercial success.
Fable II was released forXbox 360 on 24 October 2008. It was also a critical and commercial success. It featured a tie-in game calledFable II Pub Games that was released on theXbox Live Arcade, and an interactive online flash game calledFable: A Hero's Tale that allowed players to open a secret chest in the main game.[15]
A third game,Fable III, was released for Xbox 360 on 29 October 2010, and aMicrosoft Windows release on 17 March 2011.[16][17] This game also featured a tie-in phone game calledFable Coin Golf.[18]
On 2 May 2012,Fable Heroes, was released for the Xbox Live Arcade. Despite the amount of differences the game has from others in the series and its mixed critical reception,[19] it being a multiplayer-based family-friendlybeat-em-up, the game is popular among fans as it still embodies some of fans' favorite iconic elements of the series.[citation needed]
Fable: The Journey, a spin-off within the series, was released in October 2012 in North America and Europe. The game utilized theKinect attachment for the Xbox 360. Lead designerPeter Molyneux departed Lionhead Studios in 2012.[20]
Lionhead Studios released anXbox 360 remake of the original game, includingThe Lost Chapters, calledFable Anniversary to mixed reviews in February 2014.Fable Trilogy, a compilation for Xbox 360 that includesFable Anniversary,Fable II andFable III was released in February 2014.[21]
Fable-themed card games were released as part of theMicrosoft Solitaire Collection for the PC on March 4, 2014 and aFable Anniversary theme was released for the Microsoft Jigsaw collection.[citation needed]
In August 2013, Lionhead Studios released a teaser trailer forFable Legends, anXbox One title set during the "Age of Heroes" long before the events of the first game. The trailer emphasizes that in the game the player would play alongside four other players and may choose to be the Hero of the story or the Villain. Microsoft canceled the project in March 2016 and Lionhead Studios was closed soon afterwards.[22]
In May 2016, former Lionhead developers launched aKickstarter campaign tocrowdfundFable Fortune, a free-to-playcollectible card game. The game was previously in development at Lionhead prior to the studio's closure.[23] The game was released for theXbox One in February 2018.
In January 2018, rumors surfaced thata newFable game was being developed byPlayground Games,[24] and that studio was hiring 177 positions for an open world role-playing game.[25][26] During the Xbox Games Showcase in July 2020, a newFable was announced as being in development, with the game releasing on theXbox Series X and Series S and Microsoft Windows at an undisclosed date.[27] It will run on theForza series' in-house game engine, ForzaTech.[28] In November 2021,Eidos-Montréal would join the project as a co-developer.[29] By March 2023, the game was reported to be in the early stages of full production. On June 11, 2023, Playground Games unveiled the first in-game trailer of Fable at the Xbox Games Showcase, featuring actorRichard Ayoade,[30] subsequently followed by another July 2024 trailer featuring actorMatt King.[31]
Fable: The Balverine Order is afantasy novel byPeter David based on the series.[32] The novel was released in North America and Europe in October 2010. The book was released with an exclusive code to unlock a unique weapon in Fable III.[33][34][35]
The story is told from the point of view of a king of an unknown country who listens to an unnamed story-teller in the Fable universe. It takes place betweenFable II andIII.[36] The central story involves the characters Thomas Kirkman, a wealthy son of a textile merchant whose mother's death puts him on his quest to find a balverine, and hismanservant, James Skelton, a child in a large poor family. The two friends brave the wilds in search of a balverine that killed Thomas' brother, Stephen.[37]