Peter Molyneux advises Lionhead to ‘keep the dog’ in Fable Legends

Original Fable creator Peter Molyneux prefers his Fable experience with a dog at his side, and he’s not pleased with the fact that Fable Legends may not include the series’ beloved companion.

“I would keep the dog. I would make the dog love you even more, be less aggravating, more insightful,” Molyneux told IGN after Fable Legends’ Gamescom announcement. “Because any damage that’s done to the dog hurts twice as much as any damage done to you. I’d probably experiment with death mechanics again. I want to mix the casual audience and the core audience together in there. That’s the sort of stuff. It’s easy to say those lines, but how does that transfer itself into actual gameplay? That’s much, much harder.”

Molyneux, who felt it was odd that the studio didn’t go ahead with Fable 4, said he isn’t surprised that the team may be abandoning the dog, adding that it’s difficult to master the emotional feel a companion brings. Nonetheless, he believes that there’s still much to explore with the dog-human relationship, and that it would be a shame to turn away from it now.

“It’s a shame. They’re this emotional driver, this emotional engine. I mean, there was so much more that you could do with the dog, to focus on it being this thing that loved you, loved the player, and would sacrifice itself for you. I think we explored that in Fable II more than it was explored in Fable III, and you could go back to that. It’s a shame it’s not there. It doesn’t surprise me. It’s a huge amount of work, putting the dog in there.”

Lionhead has yet to confirm or deny the presence of a dog companion in Fable Legends, but the animal was left out of the game’s reveal trailer, and IGN reported that the studio turned down an inquiry to comment on the matter.

Source: [IGN]