Fabled Roleplaying

I think more words have been written about Fable® than any other upcoming Xbox® game (okay, except Halo® 2). It was announced years ago. It's witnessed several Electronic Entertainment Expos (E3). Its touted features have been the dreams of every roleplaying gamer. It's headed up by guru designer Peter Molyneux, and it's expected to be "the greatest roleplaying game of all time." All of these elements have birthed countless articles dedicated to discussing all things Fable.

Well, perhaps not all things. The actual roleplaying elements—how you interact with the world and improve your character—have seen surprisingly little press. I think it's high time we spilled at least some of the beans on these features, don't you?

All those hearts mean they like you.

The Art of Inference
In roleplaying games, both past and present, actual interactions with the people that populate the world have been handled in a variety of ways. Often, all you do is walk up to a person, press a button, and see what they have to say. It's a serviceable feature, but it doesn't allow you to make a real impression on them, now does it? Other games will offer you a variety of comments to make. This allows you to at least choose what you want to ask or say—and how you want to ask or say it—but the dialogue has already been chosen for you. It works, but it's a bit on the predetermined side.

Fable, on the other hand, offers a different approach. Your character gets to infer an attitude without the mess of having to speak pre-written dialogue. You can make an impression on a non-player character (NPC) by using a variety of vocal and physical gestures. For example, let's say you're trying to get a little information from one of the local women in town. Initially, she seems taken aback at being approached by some random man. Well, not to worry, you can choose to "flirt" with the woman. Perhaps a little charismatic attention will soften her up a bit. This allows you to get the message you want across without interrupting the immersive experience by having your character speak dialogue that you think is out of character.

Let the flirtation begin.

From simply smiling, giggling, or waving to gesturing fearsomely (especially useful if your character is thought of as scary) or even farting (yes, it's in the game, and it seems to be a big hit with the children), you have plenty of options to get your message across.

Augmentation
Weapons are a mainstay of roleplaying games. From swords to axes to war hammers, these are the tools of the hero trade. In Fable, a weapon can become much more powerful over time. You won't necessarily toss your old sword out because you found a new axe that pulses with fire. Instead, you'll have the opportunity to augment your weapons. For example, a sword might have three slots available on it, and you can use those slots to power up your weapon. Whether it's with lightning, fire, silver, or piercing abilities, it's up to you to customize your own weapons.

Here's what happens with high Will.

Always Improving
Fable, along with nearly every roleplaying game to ever grace a console or PC, allows for your character to improve over time. It uses four separate types of experience points to do this:

• Strength Points: Strength experience will allow you to improve and focus different physical aspects of your character. You'll be able to up your physique, health, and overall toughness.
• Will Points: These points allow you to improve your different Will abilities. Will can be thought of as magic, so if you want to improve your lightning spell, Will points are the way to do it. Obviously, the more points you drop into a spell, the more powerful it becomes. For example, a higher level lightning spell may strike one enemy and chain onto others.
• Skill Points: These allow you to improve your various non-magical skills. If you want to be the premier swordsman in the land, you'll be using Skill points to further that goal.
• General Experience: These experience points are not bound to any one area. You can use them to improve your attributes (e.g., health or guile) or to improve your skills—Will or non-magical.

In keeping with the "improve by the way you play" philosophy, you'll be granted experience based on your actions. If you focus on melee combat, you'll naturally receive more Strength experience points than Will or Skill points. General experience is gained by collecting experience orbs from fallen foes.

While Fable is introducing a lot of new and exciting elements into the world of roleplaying games, it has not forgotten the roots of the genre. Interacting with NPCs, wielding cool weapons, and leveling up are definite parts of the game, but now we can look forward to those elements having a Fable twist.

Article by Alex McLain