Molyneux names more Fable 2 XBLA titles

Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has revealed there will be a total of three Xbox Live Arcade games that will let you earn money for use in Fable 2.

He unveiled the first of these, Keystone, at GDC in February, and uncovered plans for two more in the recent Major Nelson podcast.

"The idea is this: Carbonated Games, part of Microsoft, have made some great casual games, Arcade titles. They have got three titles, one called Keystone, one called Wizard's Tower and one called Mage Dice," said Molyneux.

These "semi-gambling" games will reward you with Fable gold if you win. When Fable 2 eventually comes out (sometime this autumn), you will be able to use your accrued funds in game.

"If you do a good job, you can be a millionaire before the game starts," promised Molyneux. You can then use your piles of gold to buy virtually anything in Fable 2 (on top of weapons and armour and traditional fare).

Anything from dungeons to castles to shops are up for grabs, and splashing out on them will unlock side-quests to explore. As for houses, well, take your pick.

"You can buy every house. There's the city of Bowstone; all the houses that you can get to you can buy," added Molyneux.

"If you buy all of those houses you're known as the Mayor of Bowstone. If you end up buying everything in the region you are known as the King of Bowstone. And if you buy everything in the land of Albion you are known as the Emperor of Albion."

Not all of you will get that far, suggested Molyneux, although he expects at least "a few" of you to make the effort.

But beware, spending too much time worrying about your bank balance will alter your appearance and have you looking a bit like Bill Gates, he joked. "Every choice has a consequence," he reminded us.

Molyneux went on to detail the three major ways Fable 2 will distinguish itself from the original: by adding a sense of emotional drama using mechanics such as the dog and family relationships; by adding a "much, much better" combat system that is both simple and deep; and by adding jump-in co-operative play.

One thing he didn't mention at GDC recently was the Breadcrumb Trail feature. This is a sort of personal GPS that leads you to your quest destination. Interestingly your dog will try to pull you off this straight and narrow and lead you to side-quests.

This is the same dog that will leap on floored opponents, love you without question, and act as a warning mechanism. "Dogs in films always know that aliens are aliens," added Molyneux, suggesting that this will be a feature put to use in the main story.

Another thing to note about co-op is that it will cast the person joining your world as a henchman, but it will be based on statistics from their saved game if it detects one. Then, when they leave your world, they will take all the gold and experience they have earned with them; you take your character around with you, effectively.

Peter Molyneux was also keen to point out that his team prints out and shares what the community has been saying fairly regularly. Hi Peter! Invisibility over laser-eyes, still?

And, in case you were wondering, Peter has an unnatural hatred of chickens because his mum used to leave him in a pram near a chicken ranch, so his first words were clucks.

"Chicken cruelty is always featured highly in my games," cackled Molyneux.

If you are after more information, pop into our Fable 2 preview from GDC.