I was thinking about what the next Fable game should be like, if it ever comes to be. I actually got quite far into the process, and here is what I came up with.
Step 1: Go back in Time
In order for the game to keep any sense of fun, the game must stop going forward in time. Any farther, and the point of a Strength or Will-based Hero will quickly become obsolete in the face of technological progress. Which wouldn't be very fun at all. Obviously, to keep the timeline intact, we don't completely abandon the future; the game could still be seen from the point of view of a Mother/Father/Grandparent telling their children a story of Heroes of old during the "modern" Albion. But the gameplay itself would take place in the past.
Step 2: Get rid of Theresa. Permanently. Forever.
Theresa is the single biggest (and most annoying) obstacle to telling a good story in future Fable games. She's annoying, no one cares about her, she should've died after the first Fable game, and having and omniscient figure in the game kind of hampers of any the fun to be had. We need no more hand-holding from her; we should find our own way through the game; succeed or fail by our own hand, not by hers.
Step 3: Set the game during a turbulent Time
In order for there to be some really hard, morally difficult choices, the game needs to be set during a time of upheaval or turmoil. The War of Guilds, the Anti-Hero Rebellion, or from a time before Fable I would be the best.
Step 4: Make Morality Hurt
This time, the decision need to be actual, hard choices, not black/white like the older games. Not every decision should be a gut-buster, but the majority of them should leave any player with twangs of self-doubt and moral confusion. And make them count; being good feels nice, but often hurts and makes things harder. Being evil makes many things easier, but also makes other things increasingly difficult or outright impossible. And depending on when the game is set, being evil should actually hinder your overall goal.
That being said, some should still be harmless, IE: Picking what breed your dog is at the start of the game, etc.
Step 5: Have actual Boss Fights Again
This crap of "bosses" just being moderately harder enemies needs to stop. Bosses need to be real bosses; IE: Be unique, have patterns and attacks that need to be known/learned, and a mastery of the techniques presented so far in order to beat them. "Spam Sword/Shoot/Magic" should not be an acceptable strategy to beat a boss, even in SP, much less Co-Op.
Step 6: Make Combat Harder
Combat needs to be drastically harder. Spamming an attack should not work past the initial few areas. Knowing how to dodge, when to strike, remove enemy shields etc. should be the key to winning, not "Press X Repeatedly to Win Fight". This ties into the next point.....
Step 7: Remove the Jack of All Trades
Heroes should no longer be able to be a "Jack-Of-All-Trades" character. Either through gameplay or a conscious decision at the start of the game, Heroes must be forced to be a Hero of Strength, Skill or Will; choosing one precludes you from gaining any amount of serious ability in either of the other two areas. That being said, each "tree" must go farther, and give you a far greater different style of play than the other two areas.
In addition, what kind of Hero you are should make an impact on the world; a Hero of Skill cannot do the same things a Hero of Strength can, likewise a Hero of Will. Depending on what you are, different things happen; dungeons change slightly, or become unavailable because you can't handle them etc.
Step 8: Make Character Development be more like an RPG
Within each Hero area, make it so that there is the ability to uniquely shape your character. Go back to the "Enemies give EXP system" and let us decide how we move forward, rather than making it linear. For example, Heroes of Strength could choose to improve their Sword+Shield skills, or to become a mad beserker. Heroes of Skill could work on their Arrow/Crossbow abilities, or work on their Rogue-ish Dual-Dagger and Stealth abilities. Heroes of Will could become the noble Holy mage lighting the way for the world, or the bitter Frost mage for whom the very ground shudders and freezes in his presence, etc.
Step 9: Item Variety
More of it. Thats it. Lots more.
Step 10: Property
Make there be a point to owning property, besides making obscene amounts of money. Also, make property more customizable; IE You can add rooms, change more decor, etc.
Step 11: Length
The main questline should take 15-20 hours to complete, ignoring any sidequests. One should'nt be able to complete the whole game in one afternoon sit-down.
Step 12: Bring back the Menu
All of our items, stats etc. should go in a centralized one-button pause menu, like any other game out there. Make it so that we can add on to our house or something a trophy/treasure room where we can go gawk at our awesomeness, but for out in-the world exploring, a simple menu is all we need or want.
Step 13: No More Fast Travel
No more fast travel. Unless its to warp back to our house, we're walking there. With as few loading screens as possible; and make the transitions believable please; Albion is a big place. There is more than enough room to space out towns and such in the world.
Step 1: Go back in Time
In order for the game to keep any sense of fun, the game must stop going forward in time. Any farther, and the point of a Strength or Will-based Hero will quickly become obsolete in the face of technological progress. Which wouldn't be very fun at all. Obviously, to keep the timeline intact, we don't completely abandon the future; the game could still be seen from the point of view of a Mother/Father/Grandparent telling their children a story of Heroes of old during the "modern" Albion. But the gameplay itself would take place in the past.
Step 2: Get rid of Theresa. Permanently. Forever.
Theresa is the single biggest (and most annoying) obstacle to telling a good story in future Fable games. She's annoying, no one cares about her, she should've died after the first Fable game, and having and omniscient figure in the game kind of hampers of any the fun to be had. We need no more hand-holding from her; we should find our own way through the game; succeed or fail by our own hand, not by hers.
Step 3: Set the game during a turbulent Time
In order for there to be some really hard, morally difficult choices, the game needs to be set during a time of upheaval or turmoil. The War of Guilds, the Anti-Hero Rebellion, or from a time before Fable I would be the best.
Step 4: Make Morality Hurt
This time, the decision need to be actual, hard choices, not black/white like the older games. Not every decision should be a gut-buster, but the majority of them should leave any player with twangs of self-doubt and moral confusion. And make them count; being good feels nice, but often hurts and makes things harder. Being evil makes many things easier, but also makes other things increasingly difficult or outright impossible. And depending on when the game is set, being evil should actually hinder your overall goal.
That being said, some should still be harmless, IE: Picking what breed your dog is at the start of the game, etc.
Step 5: Have actual Boss Fights Again
This crap of "bosses" just being moderately harder enemies needs to stop. Bosses need to be real bosses; IE: Be unique, have patterns and attacks that need to be known/learned, and a mastery of the techniques presented so far in order to beat them. "Spam Sword/Shoot/Magic" should not be an acceptable strategy to beat a boss, even in SP, much less Co-Op.
Step 6: Make Combat Harder
Combat needs to be drastically harder. Spamming an attack should not work past the initial few areas. Knowing how to dodge, when to strike, remove enemy shields etc. should be the key to winning, not "Press X Repeatedly to Win Fight". This ties into the next point.....
Step 7: Remove the Jack of All Trades
Heroes should no longer be able to be a "Jack-Of-All-Trades" character. Either through gameplay or a conscious decision at the start of the game, Heroes must be forced to be a Hero of Strength, Skill or Will; choosing one precludes you from gaining any amount of serious ability in either of the other two areas. That being said, each "tree" must go farther, and give you a far greater different style of play than the other two areas.
In addition, what kind of Hero you are should make an impact on the world; a Hero of Skill cannot do the same things a Hero of Strength can, likewise a Hero of Will. Depending on what you are, different things happen; dungeons change slightly, or become unavailable because you can't handle them etc.
Step 8: Make Character Development be more like an RPG
Within each Hero area, make it so that there is the ability to uniquely shape your character. Go back to the "Enemies give EXP system" and let us decide how we move forward, rather than making it linear. For example, Heroes of Strength could choose to improve their Sword+Shield skills, or to become a mad beserker. Heroes of Skill could work on their Arrow/Crossbow abilities, or work on their Rogue-ish Dual-Dagger and Stealth abilities. Heroes of Will could become the noble Holy mage lighting the way for the world, or the bitter Frost mage for whom the very ground shudders and freezes in his presence, etc.
Step 9: Item Variety
More of it. Thats it. Lots more.
Step 10: Property
Make there be a point to owning property, besides making obscene amounts of money. Also, make property more customizable; IE You can add rooms, change more decor, etc.
Step 11: Length
The main questline should take 15-20 hours to complete, ignoring any sidequests. One should'nt be able to complete the whole game in one afternoon sit-down.
Step 12: Bring back the Menu
All of our items, stats etc. should go in a centralized one-button pause menu, like any other game out there. Make it so that we can add on to our house or something a trophy/treasure room where we can go gawk at our awesomeness, but for out in-the world exploring, a simple menu is all we need or want.
Step 13: No More Fast Travel
No more fast travel. Unless its to warp back to our house, we're walking there. With as few loading screens as possible; and make the transitions believable please; Albion is a big place. There is more than enough room to space out towns and such in the world.
on't allow the Hero to use all Abilities - More than anything else here, YES. Not only would this make the game more challenging, but it would make playing more interesting as well.