Peter Molyneux on Fable 2's 'big, big' secret

By Johnny Minkley Published 19 July, 2006

It's one word. Can you guess?

As journalists we love Peter Molyneux, because when most people say they can't talk about their secret game projects, like the stone-hearted spoilsports they are, they generally mean it. But when Molyneux warns us he's taken a vow of omerta, what he actually means is he's going rattle away for ages and say as much as he possibly can without quite hoisting himself by any specific petard.

Indeed, as he admitted to Eurogamer TV in an exclusive interview at last week's Develop Conference in Brighton: "I have realised I've got the PR equivalent of Tourette's. I can't help myself. It's the inability to downplay stuff - I have to get excited!"

On this occasion, the Lionhead boss was getting hot and bothered about 360 sequel Fable 2, and "the other one", the secret title in development at his now Microsoft-owned studio, dubbed 'Project Dmitri'.

On Fable 2: "I don't believe in going out and saying: 'we're going to create quite a good game.' I believe that what we're doing, with Fable 2, is thinking, right we've got to address all those things we did slightly wrong on Fable 1; we've got to make a bigger, better story, it's got to be an amazing world," Molyneux explained. "One of the main things is we've got to make this game jaw-droppingly beautiful. Sometimes darkly beautiful; beauty doesn't only mean green fields, but just stunningly beautiful. I came away from E3 just sick of seeing gunmetal shiny things and sewers."

Molyneux revealed that the Fable 2 design document is "almost up to 1,000 pages now," and while we actually know precious little about the RPG sequel, other than it's set 500 years after the events of Fable, we're promised there's a startling revelation to come.

"There has to be one big, big thing about Fable 2 that is going to shock and surprise people and that's what we've got, that's the exciting thing," he teased. "And we're not ready to show it yet. I think it's going to be next year if I'm honest with you. It's a very, very big thing and if I told you about it, it's one word, and if I told you about it then you'd say: 'what are you talking about? It's another one of those Peter Molyneux moments.'"

'Peter Molyneux on Fable 2's 'big, big' secret' Screenshot 1

Click here to watch.

Just tell us, dammit! "I need to show it to you and to prove it to you," he added. "But I think it's exactly what Lionhead stands for - it's uniqueness, it's originality and it's taking something and doing something with it that no-one's done before. And that's really what the core of what the whole of Fable is. Fable 2 should be everything you expect, then 10 times more that you don't expect - and that doesn't just apply to this one feature... I almost said it then! - that applies to the whole game."

You can watch Molyneux talk about Fable 2 and his other new project in his own words over on Eurogamer TV.

If that wasn't already teasing us to the point of torture, Molyneux had a few choice words on Lionhead's other major unannounced project. "The other project is... I kinda like playing around with other genres. And I like finding a way of not being pigeon-holed in one genre and this other game is exactly that," he continued.

"It's the thing I love most... I can't tell you the line, but it's a line... It's 'Project whatever it's called'... I so want to tell you what the line is! But I'd hope you just hearing the line you'd think, ah that would be interesting.

"I would be killed to death if I said anything at all, but I think it's certainly something that if I said the line then we could have a long discussion about it without you actually seeing the game. Which for me always makes the best root of ideas, having that clear, concise idea around something."

We love him, but he also frustrates the hell out of us. So, Fable 2 is all about "a word"; and Project Thingy is all about "a line". Answers on a postcard...

The full, exclusive interview with Peter Molyneux where, aside from new projects, he discusses in detail the Microsoft acquisition, the challenges facing the development community and why he wants you to make you care, will be broadcast later this week on Eurogamer TV.

Picture of Johnny.

About Johnny Minkley

Eurogamer TV's Johnny Minkley is a veteran journalist with a lifelong passion for games and the games industry. He uses Twitter more than most people use air.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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