Fable Part 2: Growing Old

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY-ftgGaZsU
Click here to watch All Your History: Fable III (Lionhead Studios) - Episode 1!

All Your History: Fable III (Lionhead Studios) - Episode 2 (Game Development History) S02E49

Since its beginning, Fable has grown into Microsoft's signature RPG. In this second and final episode of our retrospective, watch and see how Lionhead Studios were bought out by Microsoft, and used their new-found resources to cement Fable's place in the Xbox's catalogue.

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TAGS: All Your History Are Belong To Us Rob Talbert yt:quality=high Fable III Lionhead Studios Microsoft Game Peter Molyneux Xbox 360 X360 Windows XP PC game console video bullfrog po

By 1997, UK developer Bullfrog Productions was a respected studio with games like Populous and Magic Carpet under its belt. But in August of that year one of its best creative minds Peter Molyneux left to form his own outfit. And as he put together Lion Head Studios a good number of his former Bullfrog coworkers followed his lead and made their own companies. What followed would be a roller coaster ride of business alliances and mergers as most of these companies failed to find any traction. But one would end up giving Lion Head its signature franchise.

In going from a spare room in Molyneux's house to one of the most developed worlds in console gaming Lion Head proved that when you take a couple of unlikely heroes and set them an impossible task what you get is a fable. One of the several start ups begun by Former Bullfrog employees was Big Blue Box. So named because it was the least stupid  name the founders could think of.

They were the brothers. Dean and Simon plus their friend Eon Lovette. And they were just a little ambitious. Instead of starting out slow with a nice small project with formulaic mechcanics,
they wanted to create a huge living world filled with realistic people that would dynamically react to the player's decisions on his epic quest. And they had a name for their superlative title: Thingy. Needless to say they didn't get a lot of seed money to start out. But they had kept in touch with their old coworker Peter Molyneux. Molyneux had privately made quite a bit of money with his older games and now lived in a mansion.

Being the nice old chap that wams he allowed the three guys to operate out of one of his spare rooms while they were getting started. Molyneaux wanted them to succeed. In fact he wanted all the ex-Bullfrog guys making companies to succeed. But he knew that running a business was hard work, and often detracted from the actual game making process. And so Molyneaux's business partner Steve Jackson devised an innovative system to help them out. His studio, Lion Head, would embrace these other ones as satellite studios.




As satellite studios they would be completely independent and could make whatever games they wanted, but Lionhead would handle all the technology testing, design, PR, and business support. It was a huge boost to the fledgling operations, which could now focus on making a game rather than running the company. Sadly though, Molyneaux couldn't fund his satellites, so it was up to each of them to find their own seed money.

Big Blue Box had a bank loan for the moment. But long term, they were going to need a publisher. For a while it looked pretty grim. Major corporations didn't want to invest in a start-up with unknown names and a wildly expensive project. But then when it all started to look pretty hopeless,  they were saved by the biggest corporation of them all.

Microsoft was quietly beginning work on its first console. And was looking for talented up and coming developers to code for them. They liked Big Blue Box's demo and they trusted that Molyneaux would help them deliver a quality game. And so it was that Thingy found a publisher in Microsoft game studios in June 2000.

Category:

• Gaming
• Animation
• Entertainment

Starring:

• Rob Talbert

Directed by:

• Nicholas Werner

Produced by:

• Machinima
• Nicholas Werner

Written by:

• Nicholas Werner

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[hardraynesgonnafall]

I can't say I agree that hes a liar. He does break promises but I don't think he intends to do it. Making a game is complex process. I think the guy is just an over romantic who is so proud and in love with the series that he has no end of ideas for it that he gets over excited and speaks before he acts. But I don't think hes actually trying to wrong or trick people. Than again what do I know, I really don't care either cause I love the franchise all the same

[Tearonex]

if you make Fable 4 MAKE IT MORE LIKE 2 RATHER THEN 3

[DaPlaystationBroHood]

actually he never mentioned fable 3 pc

[DaPlaystationBroHood]

nvr mind my last comment

[DaPlaystationBroHood]

i lov how he dnt mention the pc versions of fable and fable 3

[madkiller656]

@2601andrew *face palm* its the fucking internet man

[Tonvir999]

The first fable has to be my favorite, and after playing three I have low expectations for the franchise. The first one was wonderful and enjoyable. The second one? well I'd rather use a bow than a gun. The dog was nice though.

[BloodScorchedSun]

@DANNYBARE2 yeah that is a good idea the ruling system in the 3rd game wasnt that good though, the economy was improved so if they added something with maybe land control and have to go to war and decide what armies to give funds and stuff like that and improve upon the story and the gameplay it could be amazing

[Chorkly]

@Tearonex fuck that, make it like TLC

[DANNYBARE2]

@BloodScorchedSun I think a mix of the combat of the first game, the amount of customization you could do to your character from the second game and the economy and expanding the ruling system of the third game would make the 4th game one of the best games made.

[BloodScorchedSun]

fable 3 had some cool elements but was too short and sucked they need to make the next more like the 2nd game