Incredibly frank Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has listed his dislikes and flaws in Fable II... before the game's even in the shops.
"Pretty bad" lip-syncing, the odd "low spot" and occasions when the players' dog can get "a bit fractured", are among Molyneux's criticisms of the Fable sequel, he told CVG.
The shock honesty outburst from the game designer comes just weeks after he said he'd give his game "9 out of 10" in an interview with Xbox World 360.
"There are low spots in the game and it's no one's fault that these low spots are there, it's just that there's a lot to this game," Molyneux said. "You've got to remember that we're not building a corridor game here where you can say 'right, in one hour fifteen minutes, someone's going see that light and we're going make that light like this.'
"I think the lip-sync is pretty bad, you know, the quality of the animation falls off, you know, quite a lot, I think the navigation can be a bit dodgy sometimes, I think the dog can get a bit fractured sometimes. But those are sideline issues, you're not going to care about those, they're technical issues, and I wish we'd had time to polish every single tiny second of the game."
Despite the flaws, the outspoken game designer says he's "incredibly proud" of what his team at Lionhead has managed to create. "You can measure me by this game," he said.
"I haven't made the mistakes I made in Fable 1 and tried to shove all the game features into the game," he added. "You know, I'm immensely proud of what we've done. The story is incredible.
"I don't know how [Fable II is] going to be received, I've no idea. I think if people don't look for problems in Fable, if they don't care so much about jaws moving in the exact time with the lip-syncing, it might do well. But if people want to criticise... there's things to criticise in Fable 2, I'll be absolutely honest with you.
"I think though, it's the things that you've yet to discover that really will give Fable 2 its rightful score."
Check back for our full interview with Lionhead's Peter Molyneux in CVG later.
It all sounds like minor details. I have no doubt this will be a great game. It doesn't change my mind about Molyneux, he's a tit. Just a tit with talent who produces excellent games.
Does anyone have any idea what Lionheads next project is and will Molyneux mention it in Toyko?
Wow! That's really refreshing honesty there from old Mr Molyneux. I think hes' worrying too much though, if thats the only flaws in the game. His biggest concern should be that his game is going up against Fallout 3, which releases one week after Fable 2.
I don't really understand why this guy gets so much press.
Sure he's been involved in a few decent games but he has helped create a few rubbish ones too.
I'm sure there are many other people in the industry that can offer pearls of gaming wisdom, why don't you journo's go find them instead of reporting on Peter's opinion of the day.
Personally, I find poor lip-syncing a very grating flaw, but then I won't buy Fable 2 for the cut scenes. At least now I can get over the issue early. Hopefully they won't be as bad as the dubbing job in Ace combat 6.
I think what Mr. Molyneux is doing is trying to lower the hype the game has so that when people finally buy and play it, they get even more blown away than they already would have been. Genius.
I think what Mr. Molyneux is doing is trying to lower the hype the game has so that when people finally buy and play it, they get even more blown away than they already would have been. Genius.
Nah. A genius wouldn't have such flaws in his game. And to expect perfection is to recieve disappointment. It'll be a great game, nay - maybe a fantastic game - but such an ambitous game will always have flaws and bugs. You have been warned!
I like Molyneux. He really is a proper gamer. He bigs up his stuff, he shouts his mouth off about how great it is, but he also admits when things don't work so well. He's like a fanboy, but working from the inside out.
I never played the original but I'm interested in this one.
I think what Mr. Molyneux is doing is trying to lower the hype the game has so that when people finally buy and play it, they get even more blown away than they already would have been. Genius.
Nah. A genius wouldn't have such flaws in his game. And to expect perfection is to recieve disappointment. It'll be a great game, nay - maybe a fantastic game - but such an ambitous game will always have flaws and bugs. You have been warned!
I think you got me all wrong, I was not trying to say that Peter is perfect or that Fable is going to be the second coming, I just think that what he's doing is very smart.
Personally, I can't understand why he would voluntarily highlight flaws in the game mechanics unless he's trying to draw the attention away from worse problems!
I'm very sceptical about this game. Twas never of the same calibre as Oblivion if you ask me.
I don't really understand why this guy gets so much press.
Populous 1 & 2, Syndicate, Magic Carpet, Black & White were all landmark games at the time. He at least tries to push boundaries, which is more than can be said for most people. Credit where credit's due, please.
Personally, I can't understand why he would voluntarily highlight flaws in the game mechanics unless he's trying to draw the attention away from worse problems!
I'm very sceptical about this game. Twas never of the same calibre as Oblivion if you ask me.
None of what he's highlighted is a game play mechanic.
Personally, I can't understand why he would voluntarily highlight flaws in the game mechanics unless he's trying to draw the attention away from worse problems!
I'm very sceptical about this game. Twas never of the same calibre as Oblivion if you ask me.
None of what he's highlighted is a game play mechanic.
Exactly, and the game you mention in comparison (Oblivion) did have a fundamental flaw in its gameplay (IMO). The levelling up system completely ruined that game for me. Unforgivable mistake.
Personally, I can't understand why he would voluntarily highlight flaws in the game mechanics unless he's trying to draw the attention away from worse problems!
I'm very sceptical about this game. Twas never of the same calibre as Oblivion if you ask me.
None of what he's highlighted is a game play mechanic.
Exactly, and the game you mention in comparison (Oblivion) did have a fundamental flaw in its gameplay (IMO). The levelling up system completely ruined that game for me. Unforgivable mistake.
I'd say personally after playing Oblivion and Morrowind, no RPG beats them. Fable was extremely over-hyped IMO, and I can see the same happening with this one. I suppose it's just a game I don't "get". Would give it a go but Morrowind keeps me occupied on Xbox.
In all honesty, Oblivion is a truly mediocre game. the storyline was horrible and the main plot was more like a subplot. Also, the whole first person deal ruined it, and the third person view was even worse because your character can strafe or something. I could keep going, but i won't. Basically, the Fable games are on a higher plain of existence than Elder Scrolls.
Personally, I can't understand why he would voluntarily highlight flaws in the game mechanics unless he's trying to draw the attention away from worse problems!
I'm very sceptical about this game. Twas never of the same calibre as Oblivion if you ask me.
None of what he's highlighted is a game play mechanic.
Surely the dog is part of the gameplay mechanic.
However, each to their own I suppose. I'm much more an fps fan so I actually liked the 1st person aspect of Oblivion. I find it hard to totally suspends disbelief when I can see my character is a little pointy eared Japanese gnome-equivalent. I'd rather play the game through my "own" eyes so to speak.
I don't really understand why this guy gets so much press.
Populous 1 & 2, Syndicate, Magic Carpet, Black & White were all landmark games at the time. He at least tries to push boundaries, which is more than can be said for most people. Credit where credit's due, please.
Sure, like i said he's created a few decent games. I guess Fable 2 is about to be released so we are bound to hear from Peter right now. Once it's out though can we have a moratorium on all things Lionhead. Thanks
I appreciate his honesty and I hope he won't get blasted for it. No one can create the perfect game, but he seems to hold himself to a perfect standard and I think that is commendable. I have had it on pre-order (which is unusual for me) for a while now. Why? Mostly because of my faith in him. Strange but true.
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