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One of the biggest changes going from Fable II to the third game is the overhaul of the user interface. It was desperately needed as Fable II’s UI was terrible, with a uninformative map, and cumbersome layout. Fable III foregoes a traditional 2D menu system and instead communicates nearly everything through a physical 3D representation within the game world.
It is much better, not only for technical reasons—it is much snappier now—but also for the conveyance of information in a more visual form. The traditional pause screen is now the “sanctuary”, an area that the player teleported into when pressing the start button. It contains all the standard things found in a pause screen like statistics, clothing options, map, online options, weaponry but most things are found in actual rooms. Weaponry hangs on a wall in the armory, clothes appear on forms in the dressing room, and the large topographical map sits in the center of the main room.
Though the best example of this is the treasury, where there is a literal money pile of all the gold that has been accumulated. Seeing it like that gives me far more motivation than I had before to engage in the various ways to earn money. Instead of seeing a rather arbitrary number go up, I instead see a gigantic pile of money that I can actually walk on. Along with this, there is an intriguing key that can only be reached once the pile of money is big enough to reach the top of the room. But to open the chest that goes with the key, all the money must be spent away. It gives a strong, outright motivation to find out what is in it and in doing that, it encourages one to explore the systems of the game further.
Adding a 3D map is also a huge improvement that resonates in the game. The most important thing about the new map is that it allows me to turn off the golden trail that I had to rely on in Fable II. Much like the modern mini-map, the golden trail was a distraction that diverted my eyes away from the game world, making me less aware of how everything was laid out. There is a better sense of place because I must now look to the environment for quick, moment to moment navigation instead of a linear line. I feel more free to explore an area without a line constantly telling me I am going in the “wrong” direction.
The Fable III user interface redesign has really helped me enjoy the game much more than the previous iterations. But what is most clever about this interface is the way it feeds back into the game systems. I care more about buying property and renting it out because of the physical representation and whatever metaphor they are trying to work in with the treasury. I care more about how the world is laid out and where places are because I can navigate on my own now. I never expected an interface could be used to make me more invested in a game but surprisingly, that is exactly what it does.
Comments
14 years ago
I completely agree, School. I'm surprised by some of the hate that I've heard about the new system, when it should be praised instead.
(except for the fact that it's literally impossible to see your inventory, that seems kind've weird)
14 years ago
I hated looking through for my clothing or my dye in Fable 2, but having an entire room set up just for that was a really good idea. I love this new menu I hope some other games start to use the start menu like this (Where it fits, i don't think that seeing a spartan freeze time to change the gamma would fit so well).
14 years ago
True, its a HUGE improvement but it seems like a lot of the game is cutted off. There was SOOO much to do in Fable 2!
I had 67 hours of gameplay on my Fable 2 profile, I have 12 hours in Fable 3 and I already feel done with the game.
14 years ago
I'd probably still be playing the game if it wasn't for this silly cumbersome thing. That map should have been mapped to the select button, and the rest could have benefited from a quick and well organized menu. The amount of time wasted on doing the smallest of changes is stupid.
It being more useful than Fable 2's menus is just a testament to how horrible it was in that game. They heard people bitching about it and they went to the opposite extreme. What they needed was to go get someone from Codemasters to work on the interface. I don't doubt that a lot of the streamlining and simplification of Fable 3 was necessary to fit with this new interface. I wonder how far you are in the game school. The sleek interface becomes much less so when you start getting way more weapons, outfits, etc.
I hate the golden trail more than anyone, but I don't think maps solve the problem. I'd care more about the world if there were no load screens, better signage, more memorable topography, and npcs that actually explained where things were.
School just loves Duck Tales more than most I guess.
14 years ago
From what I've seen in the demo video, it looks like the temple in Lionhead's "Black and White" - far from a new idea, but more interesting than a text menu.
14 years ago
I never played Fable 2 but I've been enjoying the sanctuary in Fable 3 a lot
14 years ago
The money and weapons room kinda remind me of Overlord where you could see the visual representation of your gold supply. But that key idea is inspired, props for whoever taught of that
14 years ago
I see that you mustn't use the map feature very often, Ben.
14 years ago
I think the whole "menu as a castle" thing was a nice idea, but poorly executed.
13 years, 11 months ago
I am in complete agreement regarding the map issue. The lack of solid geographical information was the biggest flaw (aside from the lame-ass, anticlimactic ending) of Fable II. I'm so happy to be able to stop relying on that stupid trail. You are absolutely right when you say that the trail was distracting, I felt like I missed a ton of stuff and didn't take full advantage of the free-roaming abilities because I was so stuck on the mission.
I also agree with Comradebearjew about the Sanctuary addition. I think the idea is excellent and I hope to see it better executed in the future and perhaps more widely used in the RPG genre. However, this first try wasn't exactly a home run.
Sara
13 years, 10 months ago
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