Fable Fables and Early Reviews

Seems I've been a little delinquent in the "interesting links" type posts as of late. Let's see if we can't fix that.



If you didn't read Peter Molyneux's public apology for Fable you should. If you're too busy for that, here's a relevant excerpt.



"However, what happens is that we strive to include absolutely [every feature] we've ever dreamt of and, in my enthusiasm, I talk about it to anyone who'll listen, mainly in press interviews.



...



I have come to realise that I should not talk about features too early so I am considering not talking about games as early as I do. This will mean that the Lionhead games will not be known about as early as they are, but I think this is the more industry standard."



A few random thoughts on this issue:

• Will this public apology affect how much information developers are willing to give game journalists before a game's release? I doubt it. While Molyneux and a few others may like to take the high road and admit responsibility when promised features don't come to pass, most developers and PR people will continue to feed the hype-machine that usually leads to more sales and presitge for them and their game.
• Should this make the press wary of reporting on promised features too long before a game's release? I don't think so, though I do think it should be made clear to the reader, either explicitly or implicitly, that early previews do not necessarily accurately represent final versions of a game.
• This kind of thing points to the journalist's responsibility as a filter for reasonable claims. If a journalist hears a developer talking up a feature (or set of features) that sound absolutely ludicrous, they should call the developer on it, perhaps by asking about how realistic these projections are. This can be tough to do on the spot and to a developer's face, but it's this kind of thing that seperates a good journalist from a great one.

That not enough for you? OK, ravenous reader, how about this short interview with PC Gamer's Chuck Osborn, the guy who got the "world exclusive first review" of Half-Life 2. The interview is mostly about the game and not that interesting, but there's a few interesting bits on review spoilers, non-disclosure agreements, and how it feels to have the first review of a sure-fire blockbuster:



It was a mixture of excitement and trepidation, because of the responsibility of being the first one to review it.



I think I speak for all my readers when I say that's a responsibility we'd be happy to take off your shoulders, Chuck.