Gaming Target - Xbox: Fable

Written by Gavin Wright on August 22, 2002

Updated Look: Project Eggo, what the hell? Who would make a game about waffles?

УProject Ego is going to be the greatest role-playing game of all time.Ф

These are the unwavering words of one Peter Molyneux, legendary producer of PC classics such as Black and White and Populous. In the gaming world, the man's name has grown to be synonymous with innovation in the realm of game design. Project Ego is indeed an ambitious undertaking, but with such a respected name driving the project one can't help but buy into such a wild claim.

Project Ego has set out to be an RPG in the truest sense of the word. Everything in Ego, from the main character to the game world itself, evolves through the actions of the player. Traditional role-playing conventions, such as turn-based battles and character level-ups, have all been tossed out in favor of more realistic approaches. In a sense, Project Ego has picked up where Shenmue left off, stretching our traditional perceptions of the role-playing genre that much further.

As a fifteen year-old boy, you return home one day to find your mother and father kidnapped and your dog nailed to the front door. Motivated only by revenge, you set off to find your parents. At this point, you are given full control of a stock character that is yours to mold from thereon out. As the story progresses, the boy eventually finds himself in a position for which he must save the world, a quest that will take up at least 40 years of the boy's life. That's right; the character will actually age in real-time over the course of the game, starting out as an innocent young teenager and perhaps ending up a gray-haired, wrinkled old man with a bad back. How your character turns out in the end is entirely up to you.

Every action our hero makes in the game changes his appearance in some way. If he's outside chopping wood all day, his arms will grow stronger and he will be more adept to using weapons like axes and swords. His appearance will change as well, as you'll soon notice him develop a bulkier appearance and a tan from being out in the sun. On the other hand, if he spends all of his time inside studying arcane texts, he'll grow more capable in the magical arts, but his skin will turn pale and his hairline will eventually begin to recede.

Your actions affect not only your character's outward appearance, but also the game world itself. Say that you step on a sapling while walking through a forest one afternoon. A tree will never grow in its place, unless of course you plant another seed there yourself. Or perhaps you go into a town one day and accidentally cut a young boy in the arm. If you happen to visit that town again later on in your life, you may find the boy all grown up, with a scar left on his arm and a mean grudge out for you. The idea is to create a world that's as realistic as possible, then to allow the player to shape it as they like.

People will perceive you differently through your actions and appearance. If you are nice to everyone, never killing a person unjustly or stealing from merchants, you will be loved and idolized by everyone you come across. Children will start to dress like you and mimic your hairstyle (which, by the way, can be customized to your liking), and you may even walk into a bar one day to find a group of people telling stories about your heroic deeds. You'll also run into other heroes on your journey that may have taken up the same quest as you. You could make it all the way to the top of Fire Mountain only to find that the evil dragon has already been slain by Greg the Great, in which case people would be telling his tales instead of yours. Conversely, following an evil way of life will drive people into fear at the very sight of you. Following this path may make the game a bit more difficult to complete, since people won't want to talk to you or help you out quite as much. After all, if you go into town and murder someone just so you can take their shoes, you can't expect to walk up to one of the townspeople and ask for directions.

Being a famous adventurer can get you a lot of women, and in Ego you'll actually able to hook up with a girl and get married. You can get yourself a house, a dog, and even raise a family. It should be exciting to watch your children (which will bear a strong resemblance to you) grow up along with you over the course of the game, and this aspect of the game may provide an interesting diversion away from the main quest.

Details are somewhat sketchy at this point concerning the combat system, but we know at least a few things about it. For one, fighting will all be in real-time, therefore there is no taking turns attacking or pausing to select options from a menu. There are numerous weapons to wield in the game, with axes, swords, bows, and even frying pans shown thus far. There will also be a combo system for executing stringed attacks similar to an adventure game. Magic can also be used in battle, though it is unclear how that is gone about. Enemy A.I. is being stressed in the game, with opponents that will know how to hide, run, and block effectively.

Graphically, the game is coming along very well. The environments are impressive and well-detailed, with lush vegetation and diverse townscapes. There are also some nice-looking special effects, like a blue trail that is left behind after swinging a sword. Shadows are particularly convincing, casting off of just about every object in the world. One video clip shows a single day passing in compressed time, showcasing the shadows as they change realistically while the sun shifts its position in the sky. Every texture and object in the game, particularly interior items, is insanely detailed. Character models look great, predominantly considering the near-infinite amount of design possibilities for the main character. Project Ego is definitely one of the best-looking Xbox games at this point, although we still have quite a wait before its release.