Speaking to Eurogamer, Molyneux owns up:
”I take this as a personal failure. And it is a personal failure. Not being persuasive enough that Fable 3 needed more time. That’s purely and utterly my fault. It’s me not being clear enough about it.
The subject matter of Fable 3 was really good. Becoming a king was a good centre point for a game. It’s a shame we didn’t find more time.”
He continued, ”As a creative director you always have to be clear about why you need time. Any publisher in my experience over the years, they don’t want to give you more time. Of course they don’t, because it means more money. But they equally don’t want you to make a mistake with the product.
“It’s very difficult for publishers to actually appreciate why more time is needed and what the business case for more time is. That’s the responsibility of the director who’s in charge of that developer. That’s me - to explain that and make that clear.”
Molyneux also discussed the dog in Fable 2, an idea he outlines as a career highlight:
”I loved the dog in Fable 2. That was a moment where we realised gaming experiences aren’t just about the weapon you’ve got, that you can give something else to players.
It was a great journey to implement that feature. The emotional link people had with their dog - I’ve still got letters from people who said, I love my dog and when it dies these terrible things happen. That’s how you measure success.”
Expect to see more from Molyneux across the coming months, as we await an announcement from independent studio 22 Cans, where he now resides. His full interview can be read here.
