Even though Lionhead Studios’ Fable 2 is still quite a long way off, they have been nice enough to start a new series of video diaries chronicling their development process. Starting today, they will be available on the Lionhead website, and the Xbox Live Marketplace. I watched the first episode, and I must say I love how ambitious Peter Molyneux is with his games. The first episode, which is about love and emotion in Fable 2, almost seems a little over-the-top. The idea, which I agree is a good one, mostly centers around the new “dog” addition gameplay element. You do not tell your dog what to do, but essentially you get a sense that the dog loves you, and will do as instructed. Conversely, you can hate and abuse your dog, and he will in turn hate you. While Molyneux’s ideas often sound better on paper than in actual practice, I must say I applaud his efforts. He is often known for over-promising and under-delivering, but I think his work is important to the industry. Even if the games he makes aren’t stellar blockbusters, he at least is addressing and attempting to tackle issues with game design and our perception of interaction. The concept is that NPCs should not simply do what you tell them, but they should have a free will, and their own decisions should be made by them. This is essentially what makes humans interesting to talk to, and why we have relationships.

Granted it seems a bit silly discussing these issues in the same context of a virtual dog, and the video somewhat plays out silly. But I’m glad the folks over at Lionhead are brave enough to talk about them, and to even make free little video progress reports. Another interesting concept to be explored by Fable 2 is Death. Often death in a video game simply means going back in time 15 minutes with a “do-over”. This destroys the concepts of urgency and consequences. Molyneux has said in interviews that Fable 2 will address this somehow. How exactly, remains to be seen. Hopefully the next installment from Lionhead will cover this topic. Keep up the good work Lionhead.