14 DAY TRIAL // Peter Molyneux is one of the most extravagant game designers out there, famous for the massive hype campaigns that he puts together before launching any title, whether it is actually any good or not. However, his first Fable title, which he said would revolutionize game design, didn't really do so well.
Thankfully, Fable II managed to fix a lot of its predecessor's problems and enjoyed a fair share of success. But the first game was something of a life-changing event for both Molyneux and his team at Lionhead studios, which was under a tight deadline to deliver it for the first Xbox. Now, the game designer has spoken with Develop about the creation process of Fable.
“If I'm honest, on Fable we just burnt people's lives; we destroyed the team,” said Molyneux. “Week after week, month after month, they worked 50, 60, 70, 80 hour weeks. It destroyed their lives and destroyed their marriages. You just can't do that anymore. You can't do it.”
But all of these things changed with the second title, as the team had plenty of time to tweak it and make sure a great experience would be delivered to fans. He also admits that he settled his famous urges to change a game at the halfway point of its development just because he had an idea that may or may not have been very bright. “The truth is, I think I'm famously awful at developing games. Before, I'd walk into the office, wave my arms and say ‘I've just had a cool thought' — usually after severe alcohol abuse — and that lead us to spending a lot of money very foolishly on things that weren't going to get anywhere.” he said.
It's quite nice to hear an open game designer like Molyneux talk about the unusual things that the development process asks of the creative team. A lot of people think it is a dream job, but, at least according to the Fable designer, things aren't always that easy.