Fable Anniversary.. Remastering A Classic

This is my final post on my personal enquiry based on Fable Anniversary. By reading through my previous posts you can see the development of research on this topic, in this post the information will be more detailed and involve interviews with Lionhead employee's which have worked on the game. 

The changes made with a new system 

It’s 10 years ago since the original box version was released and technology has moved on an awful lot in those years, so there are many improvements. Lionhead have used Unreal 3 for the rendering side which has much more improved Lighting, Materials and Effects than the original Fable engine. An obvious difference is the screen size. The original Fable was created on 4:3 format whereas Fable Anniversary has been created in widescreen. 

The polygon count has been raised significantly for all in-game models, this means the models edges and silhouettes look much smoother. You can really see this when looking at the chair and the main character. 

The texture budget was also raised for all the assets in the game. You can see the change in detail in the clothing and objects in the room. This is clear if you look at the rug and the beds in the background. 

The way materials work and look in games has been significantly improved since 2004. By including Specular Maps, and setting specific values within a material we can now visually distinguish much better between material types.It’s clear in the image that the glass in the windows and the boys belt buckles have a strong specular value set which give them a much shinier appearance, making them look and feel much lore like the materials they are supposed to be. 

Normal Maps are also used in games today. These are special textures used as part of a models material to add extra bump detail. These can be seen working clearly in the weave of the rug and the creases in the bed at the back of the room

Lionhead added extra light sources where required to interior levels to create a better lit and more visually appealing environment.  Notice the candle creating a pool of light at the back of the room above the bed.   

They also added dynamic shadow casting to several key light sources, including the interior fireplaces. You can see the long shadows of the boy and the chair being cast across the floor.

Change in User Interface 

For Fable Anniversary the User Interface was updated but not changed completely. Bigger budgets means that the visual quality is better and the interface can be designed in a way so it is user friendly and easy to navigate around. 

One of the first screens players see in Fable Anniversary is the Press Start screen. The difference is very clear. The newer screen really showcases the environment in the game and invites the player into the game so they can continue to explore the world of Albion.

As seen in these screengrabs the HUD is still quite similar as the creators didn't want to stray too far from the original as this is a remastering and not a remake. So many features were kept the same like the way objects are shown in golden framed elements. However these have been updated to fit on the screen more effectively and they have been made as vector shapes so they can be resized easily and have multiple uses. The Mini-Map also looks more realistic and all of these elements can be disabled depending on what the user wants.

As with the Region Map shown here we can see that the different elements have been spaced out so more information can be seen and so that it is clearer to see the actual map. The creator of Fable Anniversary's User Interface Jenny Peers said that " I referred to the original Albion map heavily and was keen to try and keep a familiarity between the old and new. By keeping the colours similar I hope that, at a glance, players still recognise it as the iconic Albion map" 

Interviews with the makers of Fable Anniversary

What's the first thing fans who played the original "Fable" will notice about the new version of the game?

"Apart from how good everything looks, I think the first thing the fans will notice is that it still feels like the same game and that was very important to us. We wanted to add fidelity to the world and to the characters without changing the core experience."

Did the development team have to overcome any particular challenges in bringing the game from the original Xbox to the Xbox 360?

"One of the most challenging aspects was just dealing with the sheer complexity of the original game. There are many systems running throughout the game dealing with everything from player morphing to the NPC AI, all of which were combined with the main Gold and Silver quests and the even more challenging random Bronze quests. We spent a lot of time making sure that all of this was still working just like it did in the original."

We've heard there's a new save system that's been designed specifically for "Fable Anniversary". Could you tell us a bit about what's changed?

"We brought the save system up to more modern day standards. The original game had a ‘World Save’ when you were not on a quest and very confusing ‘Hero Save’ for when you were on a quest. The major problem being that you couldn’t save your progress during most of the quests, so if you died or had to switch off the console you would lose all of your progress. We changed all of this so you now have checkpoint saves when you are on a quest to automatically save your progress and you can create a manual save at any point in the game."

Interested in listening in on some more in depth interviews? 

Check out this video: 

There are also some really insightful reviews on YouTube, feel free to watch at your pleasure but if you just want a taste, here's a short reviews from GameSpot: 

Achievements!

Something that every gamer loves is Xbox achievements. A feature that isn't available on the original Fable, Fable Anniversary now includes 50 fun and interesting achievements. The names of a lot of these achievements reference recent pop culture. 

GLADIATOR, READY! 

WINTER IS COMING

Many fans were excited about this new list of achievements as achievements on the original Fable were always asked for. 

But what's next for Fable? 

With the new release of the Xbox One Lionhead have created a new game for the new next gen console. There are mixed feelings about this game, as many other Fable games that haven't followed the storyline have been a disappointment to fans. However the new game is called Fable Legends and hear's a little trailer for anyone interested. 

So this has been my personal enquiry into Fable Anniversary, it's changes and the celebration of a very popular game series. I'd recommend playing the Fable series and taking your time with it, I loved each game although each has its strong and weak points however overall each game carries on with its lovable or despised characters and its interesting gameplay. 

References: 

• http://www.lionhead.com/blog/2013/november/12/fable-anniversary-ui-old-and-new/
• http://www.lionhead.com/blog/2013/december/16/remastering-fable-anniversary/
• http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/12/5406176/fable-anniversary-review-cracked-frame
• http://www.xboxachievements.com/forum/showthread.php?t=324362
• http://www.lionhead.com/blog/2013/december/13/fable-anniversary-full-achievement-list/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V9MGALRPfg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FmJGs-Z4FI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95tDJtAmeP0

Fable Anniversary continued...

Leading on from my last blog post where I talked about what I wanted to do for my personal enquiry, in this post I’m going to research further into the subject and form a rough draft of my final 1000 word post.

From reading my previous blog post you can see I briefly outlined my idea and some points I could research further into.

These are the short bullet points I made:

•          Change in visual quality
•          Why the change is so dramatic 
•          Texture budget
•          Processing differences
•          Actual in game change
•          Interface
•          Feedback
•          Fan reviews

To add to this I want to expand on interviews which the makers of the remastered game have been involved in. I want to add this because it’s a creditable source and makes the information more interesting. 

The changes made with a new system

It’s 10 years ago since the original box version was released and technology has moved on an awful lot in those years, so there are many improvements. Lionhead have used Unreal 3 for the rendering side which has much more improved Lighting, Materials and Effects than the original Fable engine.

An obvious difference is the screen size. The original Fable was created on 4:3 format whereas Fable Anniversary has been created in widescreen. 

The polygon count has been raised significantly for all in-game models, this means the models edges and silhouettes look much smoother. 

The texture budget was also raised for all the assets in the game. You can see the change in detail in the clothing and objects in the room. 

The way materials work and look in games has been significantly improved since 2004. By including Specular Maps, and setting specific values within a material we can now visually distinguish much better between material types. It’s clear in the image that the glass in the windows and the boys belt buckles have a strong specular value set which give them a much shinier appearance, making them look and feel much lore like the materials they are supposed to be.

Normal Maps are also used in games today. These are special textures used as part of a models material to add extra bump detail. These can be seen working clearly in the weave of the rug and the creases in the bed at the back of the room

Lionhead added extra light sources where required to interior levels to create a better lit and more visually appealing environment.  Notice the candle creating a pool of light at the back of the room above the bed.   

They also added dynamic shadow casting to several key light sources, including the interior fireplaces. You can see the long shadows of the Boy and the chair being cast across the floor

Change in User Interface 

For Fable Anniversary the User Interface was updated but not changed completely. Bigger budgets means that the visual quality is better and the interface can be designed in a way so it is user friendly and easy to navigate around. 

One of the first screens players see in Fable Anniversary is the Press Start screen. The difference is very clear. The newer screen really showcases the environment in the game and invites the player into the game so they can continue to explore the world of Albion. 

As seen in these screengrabs the HUD is still quite similar as the creators didn't want to stray too far from the original as this is a remastering and not a remake. So many features were kept the same like the way objects are shown in golden framed elements. However these have been updated to fit on the screen more effectively and they have been made as vector shapes so they can be resized easily and have multiple uses. The Mini-Map also looks more realistic and all of these elements can be disabled depending on what the user wants. 

As with the Region Map shown here we can see that the different elements have been spaced out so more information can be seen and so that it is clearer to see the actual map. The creator of Fable Anniversary's User Interface Jenny Peers said that " I referred to the original Albion map heavily and was keen to try and keep a familiarity between the old and new. By keeping the colours similar I hope that, at a glance, players still recognise it as the iconic Albion map" 

So here is a brief but more insightful look into the work behind Fable Anniversary, how it has been improved with more modern next gen software and how it differs from the original game. 

There is still a lot more information which I want to put into the final post including some interviews and appropriate video links to those interviews if necessary. 

References: 

• http://www.lionhead.com/blog/2013/november/12/fable-anniversary-ui-old-and-new/
• http://www.lionhead.com/blog/2013/december/16/remastering-fable-anniversary/
• http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/12/5406176/fable-anniversary-review-cracked-frame

Fable Anniversary! The reboot of a much loved Original Xbox game

Some of the first blog posts I made were of the history of computers, dating back from the 1850s to the present day. This was all leading to one final post on a personal enquiry into something that interests us in games or the gaming industry historically or otherwise. 

I thought about this a lot and I had a hard time trying to decide what to write mine on as it has to 1000  words and something I find interesting and can talk about in detail.
The art direction task given to us a few weeks ago before the Easter break gave me an idea; to write my personal enquiry on Fable Anniversary, a very recent release from Lionhead Studios. I got the idea as from my previous post you can see that I did my presentation on Fable 3. This got me thinking, why don't I write my personal enquiry on not only a game I love and have previously talked about in depth, but also something really interesting. 

This is where Fable Anniversary comes in. Lionhead Studios, the creators of the Fable series recently made a reboot of the original xbox game Fable, the first of the series. 
The gameplay is the same, even the interface. However it's released on the Xbox 360, a next gen console with the capability to process quicker and with higher quality. 

So this is the first of three posts on my personal enquiry. In this post I research into the topic briefly and make a few points that I plan to talk about in the final post. 




"FOR EVERY CHOICE, A CONSEQUENCE.

Fully re-mastered with HD visuals and audio, Fable Anniversary is a stunning rendition of the original game that will delight faithful fans and new players alike! Imagine a world where every choice and action determines what you become."

The idea of fully remastering the original game: 

What was the original goal with a remake like this, what did you want to achieve?

"Initially we really wanted to just remake the whole thing. But then once we worked out it would take about three years we realised it wasn’t viable. And that’s not really what the fans would want. The fans want a nice excuse to play through the original again. The feedback that we’ve had so far is that they’re ecstatic. I have that feeling towards a lot of games myself, like Halo – it blew my mind. I can relate to the fans’ feelings."

The video below shows a direct comparison of the Original Fable and Fable Anniversary. 

Other points to make: 

• Change in visual quality
• Why the change is so dramatic 
• Texture budget
• Processing differences
• Actual in game change
• Interface
• Feedback
• Fan reviews

References: 

1.  http://www.vg247.com/2014/01/22/fable-anniversary-video-preview-is-a-hd-makeover-enough-for-this-xbox-classic/
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmrW-_gITPA
3. http://www.lionhead.com/games/fable-anniversary/

Fable III: Art Direction

So for Critical Studies we were set to make a presentation on art direction. This could be based on a film, video game still, concept art or painting. I chose to make mine on Fable 3,the third installment of the Fable series as it's one of my favourite games. 

To narrow this down more I chose one specific concept art for the game which is below. 

This concept piece painted by Emrah Emasli presents a part of the game set in the unforgiving desert wasteland of the game's world. This painting creates a view of the desert as vast and neverending which really puts the player in the character's shoes. Showing the scale of the character in the bottom left represents the challenge the character faces on their journey through this part of the game trekking through a desert and facing many enemies along the way.

When viewing the concept piece against this in game still we can see direct similarities. The jagged rocks pushing out and up from the sand in the concept painting can be seen used in the game in this image. These rocks really show the hazardous nature of the desert as the player faces many dangers as they progress through this part of the game.
The colour is however quite different but as seen from the shadows in the game still this is because of the realtime change in the time. In the concept the sun is bright and still quite high in the sky so shadows are not as prominent, in the game still the shadows are long and dark showing the just set sun and the change into evening. 

All in all I think this concept is translated well into the actual game and presents the story of the game accurately.