Molyneux details Fable II's flaws...

Monday 15-Sep-2008 11:45 AM Lip-sync is "pretty bad" and the dog can get "a bit fractured", admits frank designer

www.cvg.co.uk

Incredibly frank Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has listed his dislikes and flaws in Fable II... before the game's even in the shops.

"Pretty bad" lip-syncing, the odd "low spot" and occasions when the players' dog can get "a bit fractured", are among Molyneux's criticisms of the Fable sequel, he told CVG.

The shock honesty outburst from the game designer comes just weeks after he said he'd give his game "9 out of 10" in an interview with Xbox World 360.

"There are low spots in the game and it's no one's fault that these low spots are there, it's just that there's a lot to this game," Molyneux said. "You've got to remember that we're not building a corridor game here where you can say 'right, in one hour fifteen minutes, someone's going see that light and we're going make that light like this.'

"I think the lip-sync is pretty bad, you know, the quality of the animation falls off, you know, quite a lot, I think the navigation can be a bit dodgy sometimes, I think the dog can get a bit fractured sometimes. But those are sideline issues, you're not going to care about those, they're technical issues, and I wish we'd had time to polish every single tiny second of the game."

Despite the flaws, the outspoken game designer says he's "incredibly proud" of what his team at Lionhead has managed to create. "You can measure me by this game," he said.

"I haven't made the mistakes I made in Fable 1 and tried to shove all the game features into the game," he added. "You know, I'm immensely proud of what we've done. The story is incredible.

"I don't know how [Fable II is] going to be received, I've no idea. I think if people don't look for problems in Fable, if they don't care so much about jaws moving in the exact time with the lip-syncing, it might do well. But if people want to criticise... there's things to criticise in Fable 2, I'll be absolutely honest with you.

"I think though, it's the things that you've yet to discover that really will give Fable 2 its rightful score."

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"I think the lip-sync is pretty bad, you know, the quality of the animation falls off, you know, quite a lot"

WTF^ this is the 1st time ive heard of someone fobbing his game down.

either way the game is looking promising im split between this and fallout 3, i prefer a more fantasy adventure akin to oblivion over a more apocyliptic style game as fallout. so fable 2 comes up better for me there.

is fable 2 on your radar, and will reviewers ignore minor discrepencies in the final game or take them into account.

ps.^ LOL at 1:10 to 1:40 LOL

honesty is the best policy.

Admit it has flaws, I mean what game is perfect?

Your anti-360 campaign is really in full swing lately... I guess it has to be to keep up with demand because of the price cut and all. :)

Not to mention the overwhelmingly positive Fable 2 previews.

I have the game on pre-order. I think Peter is suffering from post-gigantic-project stress or something...

Lip sync shlip sync, it's still gonna be a great game...

oh hi there, disol i have to give it to you, your the most approachable xbox fan out there

on topic all i was getting across that its a bit strange for him to critisise fable 2, sure its going to be a great game and its a proven/returning IP, but if it was me i wouldnt say things like that about my game.

i predict reviewers will not take in account minor discrepencies on fable 2, as minor discrepencies dont make the game worse for the gamer. although may i add if it was a ps3 game it would be the old case of "ohh ohhh lip synching is all over the place blah blah"

but its a 360 game and lets hope it turns out to be a good rpg, im leaning towards this over fallout 3

Despite this being posted as an attempt to discredit Fable 2 or the 360, considering how honest Molyneux is being it actually makes him and the game better (at least in my mind). How often do we hear things like this? And considering what Molyneux was like for Fable 1 I think his attitude and admissions reflect upon his game in a positive way. I certainly have more respect for him now as a person and game dev than I did a year ago. Not to say he was a bad person/dev before (far from it) but these recent articles/interviews have made him and his game look very good.

yes your right on this occasion, previews are positive

a lot of people will be looking for a good game to play this year, im not interested in the co-op just the main story. if it ends up like oblivion esque in where it branches out and you can keep going on quests then it will be a hit.

games like obliv,fable and even fallout 3 are zelda beaters imo

 I'm thinking he saw the damage that Dyack did to Too Human with his big mouth...and is just covering his ass if the game doesn't get AAA status or something. Not to mention Fable 1 was criticised for being overhyped.