There's an old adage about Fable that involves an acorn. When the first was being marketed before release, designer Peter Molyneux showcased how players could plant an acorn, and as time passed throughout Fable, the acorn would slowly grow into a great tree. This fabled acorn didn't make it into the final cut, and now it stands for many of Molyneux's aspired features that didn't make it into Fable.
The franchise is under new management now, which means really anything goes for the next-gen Fable reboot. Hopefully, Playground Games takes some inspiration from Fable's past and makes good on some old promises.
Undelivered Fable Features
Although the acorn mechanic isn't necessarily important in a volume, it does stand for something that would be great to see in Fable. In an open-world game that's all about becoming the hero (or the villain), it's good to see one's impact on the world. The Xbox Series X has the processing power to include lots of small ways that the player can interact with the world that result in big effects after many hours of play. Ideally, that doesn't require the player to get aged up over time, though. Fable players weren't always fond of the early game's forced aging. Fable 3 left the mechanic behind, and that could stay that way.
Conversely, the player could use more ways to be affected by the world around them. Peter Molyneux once promised that players could be infected by and become a balverine, Fable's take on werewolves, but that never came to fruition. It would be great if Playground Games actually let players become balverines, as The Elder Scrolls has proven via its own werewolves and vampires that there's room for players to become their own monsters in RPGs. Fable could stand to have such an option available to players.
Another promise of Molyneux's was a highly dynamic combat system for Fable. There's recordings of a demo Molyneux once delivered in which Fable players could improvise weapons out of their surroundings and pull off maneuvers like swinging on chandeliers to kick enemies. Such an elaborate combat system is hardly out of the question for the Xbox Series X, and it's really exciting to imagine a Fable game where players can improvise attacks using their surroundings to augment their chosen fighting style. Empowering players and rewarding them for their creativity in combat would earn Fable a lot of points with its fans.
Immersion in a Next-Gen Fable
There's lots of other small changes Playground Games could pick up from Fable's past. It could decide to expand on the dog's abilities, for instance, if it decides to bring this loyal companion back. It's also at liberty to introduce more animal companions for the player. In Fable 2, the dog was almost a horse, and the developers even floated magical creatures like a fairy for the player's companion. These are all back on the table for a reboot. Other small changes could include the dynamic weather system that Molyneux once dreamt of. The Xbox Series X can easily process regularly changing weather; small details like that really help bring the setting to life.
It's hard to say just how different Fable is going to be from its original iteration. It's being made by a completely different studio, now that Lionhead Studios is closed. Information about the game might still be a long ways away, considering how recently crucial positions for Fable's development have been filled. However, if the game is still in planning stages, that might be a good thing for lost content. It gives the developers more time to look at where Fable could have been before it moves ahead. There's lots of rich ideas for the franchise that just didn't make the cut in the final versions of the franchise entries. Hopefully Playground Games finds room for some great ideas that fell by the wayside.
Fable is in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.