Fable: The Journey, Kinect, and Real-Time Melee

We haven’t really been covering Fable: The Journey and we won’t for the most part, but occasionally interesting bits arise for those still following the evolution of the Fable franchise. The Official Xbox Magazine has been doling out some good coverage in bits and pieces, including a look at the art of Albion, or Peter Molyneux on the audience of the Journey and how it will “compel” you to buy a Kinect.

The studio was tasked with making a game for both casual and core audiences, Molyneux explained. “Our job is to make a game that the hardcore would really enjoy. That’s what Microsoft asked us to do, so that the people who don’t have Kinect would feel compelled to get it. Not because they have to, but because they want to.

“And we do that by making a 90+ Metacritic game that is reviewed by gamers,” he added. “That’s who review these games, and that’s why the early games didn’t get those scores. And that’s our ambition now.”

Molyneux also explained why there are only magic attacks in the game, with no guns or melee combat.

“Whenever I swing a sword and I hit something on screen, the visuals and the sound isn’t enough. We could have done what Zelda did well on Twilight Princess, where it doesn’t really matter what you do, what happens on-screen is the best thing. But I wanted people to feel powerful, to feel power, and that’s all about you.

“The thing about magic is there’s nothing encoded in your mind about how it should feel. So no guns, and no swords.”

If the Kinect can’t support a game that fits these mainstays of the franchise, why put the franchise on the Kinect?