Even thoughFablewas announced a long time ago, neither Playground Games nor Microsoft has come forward with any comments on when the game might actually release. Some signs suggest that the game is on the horizon, but until Playground confirms a release window, fans will officially remain in the dark. Any potentialFablerelease windows are hard to predict because there has been precious little insight into howFable’s development is actually going. Luckily for Xbox owners and RPG fans, a formerFabledeveloper recently offered a bit of insight on the status ofFableand Playground’s approach to the game.
Juan Fernandez,Fable’s former combat designer, says thatFable’s development has been slow so far for the reason that fans would expect: Playground simply doesn’t have much inherent experience with RPGs. Playground’s claim to fame is theForza Horizonline of racing games, which are consistently well-received, but they’re obviously completely different from a fantasy RPG likeFable.Fernandez suggests that Playground is optimistic and ambitious in spite of the slow pace, however, which is a great sign for Playground’s future.Fable’s development may prove to be an invaluable learning experience for the studio that leads to major projects beyondFable.
The Value in Fable’s Slow Development
For fans, it’s naturally sad to hear thatFableis moving slowly, but for Playground Games, it’s a good thing for multiple reasons. Naturally, slow development improvesFable’s chances of living up to expectations, since it’s less likely that Playground will rush over key details. However, the studio itself has a better chance to grow by working onFableat a careful, diligent pace. A leisurely development process allows Playground to savor the experience of working with an RPG for the first time, which means it’ll have more chances to learn lessons, master new development skills, and expand its capabilities as a studio.
Playground Games hashired some serious talent forFable,and some of that talent has experience working on major RPGs, but odds are good that quite a few longtime Playground devs are working onFabletoo, regardless of whether they have RPG expertise or not. If that’s the case, thenFable’s new hires can help longtime developers understand the structure of RPGs better, which will allow new development skills to pervade the studio, rather than remaining isolated to the new developers.Fablecould be an incredible learning experience for Playground Games' staff thanks to its unfamiliar genre.
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Playground’s Next Big Experiment
Regardless of howFableitself is received, Xbox fans should expect to see Playground Games announce another non-racing game some time afterFablecomes out. Afterlearning the ropes of RPG developmentthroughFable,it wouldn’t be surprising if Playground decided to come up with its own fantasy RPG franchise. Playground could even try to reach out and experiment with another entirely different genre. Whether it decides to make a platformer or a horror game, there are all kinds of creative directions that Playground Games could go afterFable,as long as it has the confidence to keep experimenting.
Fans should also note that Fernandez described a resourceful attitude within Playground Games that bodes well for future games. Even thoughFabledevelopment is going slowly, it sounds like Playground Games is enthusiastic about the work that it’s doing and trying to move efficiently; it’s not intimidated by its own inexperience. That makes more experiments seem even more likely in the future, in spite of Playground’s history to sticking to a single IP intheForza Horizongames. TheFablerevival is fantastic news in its own right, consideringFable’s history as a classic RPG, but it could be even better news for Playground’s future as an Xbox developer.
