Fable III Interview
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Are you afraid people will think you've dumbed the game down?
No. You can design a game around ten percent of your audience if you want to but you're probably being a bit lazy about it, and you know what? The world moves on, man.
Some people getting really upset if I remove experience and health bars and move leveling from a 2D to a 3D interface isn't a reason not to do it, it's actually a reason to do it. I know some people are gonna miss health bars and experience but their total number is getting smaller and smaller.
I like Expressions and I like the ability to emote but there's just no reason for me to do that, but then you start to introduce the Touch system and the Follower system and you're like (of course!) Now it fits in, now it's part of the game, now there's a reason for me to do that. There's a consequence to me doing that and it all adds up.
Is removing health and leveling removing the RPG from Fable?
I'm not sure I would personally call Fable an RPG. I mean it's certainly not a 1990s RPG, for sure. In a way you could look at it as an action-adventure, you know there's a lot of drama, there's a lot of story, there's a lot of emotion in there, but we're leveling up. And you know, I love that leveling up mechanic; I love RPGs and I love seeing myself and my hero grow and get more powerful, but a lot of the leveling up is just a number at the end of the day. Your leveling up is usually just spending that experience in the equivalent of a DOS screen. You absolutely level up in Fable III... but it's just different.
I really thought about why you just get experience for combat; it seemed wrong somehow. This game is about expressions and getting married, and doing other things in the world should be as important as fighting. As soon as we said the world '˜Followers' just saying the word '˜Followers'... what people think of you means more to the entirety of the game.
