It was the first time he realised you could ”make huge mistakes in the press”, that you can let too much enthusiasm shine through. So, what was it then?
”We went away worked hard at building a team, Big Blue Box. We were lucky enough to get a contract with Microsoft,” said Molyneux, ex-Bullfrog Productions big cheese, ”and then I went out to the press and I said something terrible.”
”Probably the worst thing I’ve ever said in my life. I said Fable is going to be the greatest roleplaying game of all time.” Yes it was the infamous Fable series of statements, promises, pinky swears and inevitable heartbreak. Where’s our acorn Peter?!
”That was the first time I really realised that you can make huge mistakes in the press - you can’t just stand up and get all enthusiastic like I do with developers,” he went on. His studio is determined still to make the best RPG they can despite the jaded pundits.
”We’re still trying to make the greatest roleplaying game of all time.”
”Your publisher always tends to fill you with doom and gloom, you had something called a forecast which said it could possibly sell this much and you think ‘oh God, I don’t make a game that sells 100 units, it should be million units.’”
”And Fable came out it was just hugely successful. That conversation in 1996 led to the start of something we loved so much,” added Molyneux.
Despite all the improvements made with Fable II over the original, and with Fable III just around the corner: ”I still can’t persuade my wife to like Fable,” he admits. Fable III releases on Xbox 360 October 26th with a PC version at a later undisclosed date.
