Since its announcement, Kinect exclusive Fable: The Journey has come under fire. Today, the creators behind Fable have asked gamers to give it a fair chance.
Dene and Simon Carter, creators of the Fable universe before Microsoft absored their Big Blue Box company, feel the criticism is uncalled for.
“It’s unfair that game’s getting a lot of stick,” Simon Carter told Eurogamer.
”It looks great. What they’re trying to do, by marrying core gaming with Kinect, is obviously tricky. It’s a difficult control mechanism to get into core gaming. I think they’re doing a great job.”
Dene Carter feels there’s plenty of opportunity for spin-off franchises under the Fable brand.
“Why there can’t be room for a Kinect side spin-off of the Fable franchise I don’t know,” he said.
”That seems a bit odd. I can’t think of any good reason why that would not work. If this was a Mario thing for example, if this was a Mario shooter based on the Wii controller, nobody would go, ‘That’s a terrible thing. That should never have happened. That’s a betrayal blah blah blah vitriol vitriol.’
”But strangely enough Fable seems to be treated very differently from that. We all know it’s a franchise. We all know it’s a brand. The fact somebody wants to do something a bit different with that brand while we’re waiting for the next big game, that doesn’t seem like something people should get too angry about. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.”
He continued: ”If they were talking about the core franchise, I would have an awful lot of time for that. It’s more the fact that they’re complaining about a different team doing something different based on the franchise. If it was called Black & White shooter I don’t think we’d have had the same level.”
”When Mario Kart came out, nobody was going, what?! There’s no jumping! That’s not the next Mario game! What are you talking about Miyamoto! I hate you! I’m going to burn your house down and kill your children!” Simon added.
Despite the disappointment of unfair judgement, Dene Carter is glad the fans react emotionally to the change.
”On the other hand, I love people are passionate and do feel some kind of emotion to what we’re doing rather than shrugging their shoulders and going, ‘Whatever.’ He said. “Let’s be honest, our industry could so easily move into that.”
With rumours of Fable 4 doing the rounds for Christmas 2013, Lionhead still remains tight-lipped on the future of the franchise. Focusing on The Journey, the developer today released box art for the upcoming title.
”The box art signifies that we are working on a game now that will appear in shops all over the world and this is how you are going to spot Fable: The Journey in local retailers.
“Needless to say we are very proud of it! If you own a Kinect - or are planning on buying one in the near future - and you are a serious gamer who doesn’t want to jump around their living room, then this is the game to look out for.”
