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I've asked Ted Timmins for an interview - got any questions?

Steve

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Hello gang,

As alluded to in the title: I've asked the fabulous Ted Timmins of Lionhead Studios if he'd be up for an intarvoo. In the event that he might say 'Aye, go one then,' I thought it might be best to preempt his hopefully-positive response and get some questions in ready from you guys, the so-obviously sexiest gathering of Fable fans evarr.

Sure, he might refuse us an interview, but he might just agree to one. So, stay positive you big silly.

Is there anything you'd like to know about Fable Anniversary that the folks over at Lionhead haven't yet addressed? Anything require clarification? Let's get creative, lads (and lasses).

Aaaaaaand... fire away!
 
Awesome.

I have tons of questions about a PC release and possible support for the modding community, like tool releases. But those would be bad questions if you want him to say yes.

You may consider asking fluffy and non-threatening questions. Ask about the people behind the scenes on the re-release of Fable: TLC, what kind of work they want to do to both retain the brilliance that made the game so great yet change and add bells and whistles to please the gamers of 2013.

Ask about what future he has in mind for Fable 4, what direction he'd like to see it go. As long as it's about what he wants and hopes for, he won't end up effectively saying "this is what's going to happen" and get egg on his face when it doesn't happen, nor will he be as likely to flat out refuse to answer as the questions will be less threatening.

Edit: Want to add.

Wanted to explain why the need for fluffy questions. There are a lot of people here who have low faith in the franchise and people behind it. Having you talk to him and establishing some kind of dialog would be a great way to reconnect them to this community, and the first time is not the time for hardball questions that push people away. Just, you know, my two cents for whatever that's worth.
 
Too tired to quote specific chunks of text, but suffice it to say: I'm not looking for 'fluffy' questions per se; I'm looking for the sort of questions that you guys would genuinely like to learn the answers to. Timmins and Lionhead have been presented with plenty of PR-friendly questions since Fable Anniversary was first announced, and it wouldn't do us any good to ask the same bum-kissing questions that they've already answered -- likely-- a dozen or more times.

Personally, I'd love to see some more pressing questions put to them. Why isn't a PC version release a dead cert? If DLC is being considered (read: DLC so is happening, c'mon), then are we talking about something substantial, ie: additional areas, missions or characters?

That's not to say we can't be respectful about it. A respectful grilling would be nice.
 
"The Lionhead community has been asking for a Fable remake for quite a few years now Ted and you guys have finally delivered! It was quite possibly the most prevailing request of all the loyalist Fable fans out there but through my/our travels of browsing and playing through the various Fable games & communities out there I/we always find another notorious request of the fans. That being "Will there ever be a Fable prequel?" I.E set anytime before Fable 1 usually this indicates to the Old Kingdom era of Albion could there likely ever be a Old Kingdom Fable in the future? And if any what other popular and or mad requests have you heard of from the fans?"

I do my best for you Steve! But tis late I'm hot and tired, I'll come up with more if you'd like. Also I'm sure he'll agree to it he did one for Froggy afterall!
 
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Regarding the future of Fable, will we have another main installment rather than more spin-offs like the Journey? If so, could you hint at what the next installment might be like?

How much new content will be included in Fable Anniversary, and what types of things are going to be added? Characters? Story line quests? Side Quests? Weaponry? Armor? Other items? Locations? Etc.

Aside from the new saving method and SmartGlass integration, what new mechanics will be included in the game? Will things such as combat, leveling up, money, titles, or equipment and item usage change at all?

Will there be any surprising achievements that players might not expect to be in the game? If so, could you hint at what those achievements might involve?

That's all I have right now. I might post another question or two if I think of anything else I want to know about.
 
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"-So Ted we really have some interesting and extremely important questions to ask you and the team at Lionhead so we thought we'd get right down to it and ask the most important vital question of all first, what is your favourite colour?

-Chesty was an extraordinarily popular character in Fable II & III could we possibly see the origins of this mad trunk of wood in the near future of any possible DLC for Fable: Anniversary?

-Quite a simple question which we're positive you get asked alot will we ever see Scythe & the Oracle again in future installments?

-This really isn't a question but we'd love to see more stupid little things like, blue mushrooms, witches, hermits, books & quirky npcs along the way to each region.

-There was alot of hidden content not accesible to console owners but available to PC modders Whispers bombs & Dragoncliff for example, could we by any chance have access to these secret buried treasures?

-The NPCs of Snowspire always seemed to weird me out I always found it odd that their ethnicity didn't match their climate, was this intentional or just a way to spread more diversity among the populace of the world?

-You mentioned in your interview with Matthew from The Dead Hamster that we're able to change the settings for Weaver(The Guildmaster) to avoid his beloved near meme'd catchphrases will we also have the choice to turn off or slow the aging progress of our heroes?

-You guys have always tried to make a tournament out of everything in each game Fable I&TLC had the Arena, Fable II had the crucible and Fable III had Reaver's Mansion. Could we by any chance have some integration of DLC or another quest to be able to re-play through the Arena as many times as we wish? I think for most of us hardcore Fable TLC fans we were quite disappointed in not being able to relive that challenging section of the game more than once or twice throughout the return to the Arena in TLC's hunt for the souls quest.

-Fable games aside now many other video game series like to occasionally take a break from the storylines to release unique single player DLCs based around new stories and new or old characters. Could we ever see any episodes of Fable where we might star as our favourite NPC heroes & villains such as Scarlet Robe, Thunder, Maze, Nostro or Garth & Reaver to name a few for their own unique adventures? I/we personally think this would be an extremely big hit with the community, could we ever see something along these lines from Lionhead.

-Since Peter left the team to go on to more original solo projects how has it affected you and the team? Has it had any major turnarounds or changes in development of each game? What is the environment like around the office without Lionhead's own personal 'guildmaster'? If by any chance could we see a memorial or a reference to Peter in some strange surreal DLC?"

Ok I'm out of fumes now Steve-oh! I'll try and come up with some more! I know I'm just coming up with these for your sake but while writing these I actually found I really want to know the answers to these :P
 
"-By now the Fable universe is quite large you guys Have done Fable, TLC, FII, FIII, F-Heroes & The Journey amongst others have you got any plans to further build onto this universe with any other sequels, standalones or spin offs in the case of (as mentioned in an earlier question) Episodes, or maybe even a gladiatorial-esque multiplayer Arena or Crucible matches, which could all add deeper new levels of entertainment branching off to various genres whilst keeping to the same franchise we've all come to know and love.

-Going Lionhead specific now could we ever see the release of any sequels and or remakes of your old hits such as Black & White, The Movies or the buried fossil known as 'B.C'? Speaking of projects dead in the water whatever happened to Milo many gamers were quite intrigued by Milo and it looked to be a one off for dedicated gamers to have a whirl at, will it make a reappearance?"
 
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Id be more tempted to ask a more personal question of his own taste rather than anything Lionhead franchise specific. Such as...

If he could work on any other game series developed by someone else who would it be & why?
If he could pick any feature from another game series to bring into the Fable universe what would it be?
 
"-Many games seem to have quite the fetish for particular animals Diablo has Cows, Sims has Llamas, and Fable has Chickens why is it that game companies tend to develop such affection and playfulness towards these kinds of themes and symbols for their games?

-What originally inspired the team to make a rpg like Fable? Where there any key influences in any of your lives, and who would you say have been your biggest heroes and inspirations during your course of making video games at Lionhead?"
 
"-As gamers we all enjoy various games but I find the truest sign of spotting a gamer is when you hear people discussing game companies and their lead developers rather than the games themselves. Some of my personal favourite developers include Peter Molyneux, Cliff Bleszinski, Sid Meier & Will Wright but who are some of yours and the teams personal favourites in the gaming industry?

-Growing up as a fan before your time as a games tester at Lionhead what were some of your favourite games out there?

-Can you explain the new engine & GUI you guys are using for Fable: Anniversary and what it means to core fans of the franchise how will it change the experience of Fable and have you guys made any other changes aside from the engine and GUI?

-You're now using a new save system based on checkpoints I believe, what made you scrap the old hero & world save to revert to this, was it simply to avoid users cheating? Or was it a technical problem?

-Will the Kinect be utilised in Fable: Anniversary or any other future titles as an optional tool to give us more ways for playability?

-The smartglass is somethin really special you've mentioned it can be used for guides, help & tips, engine comparison and even for a bit of extra fable lore which sounds great! Could we possibly see more features like concept art or our friend's heroes & stats being shown as we progress?

-The voice for Jack changed in between Fable & TLC could we ever see a reappearance from the original?

-Do you think a quest replay feature could ever be implemented?"
 
Hi Ted, a lot of guys in the community are asking this question. I know it's possibly a bit touchy, but I'm going to open with it. Say we were both on a boat, way in the middle of nowhere, with nothing around us and in shark infested waters, and you fell in. I dived in and saved you from being brutally ripped apart by sharks. Once we were back on the boat, two sharks dived out of the water and bit off both my arms. I'm bleeding, cant do anything for myself, and am probably going to die within the next half hour, before any rescue boats arrive. I ask you, as my dying request and as a reward for saving your life, to give me a blow job. Would you do it?
 
Quick update: we're on for an interview. If you guys want to submit some fresh questions, know that it seems that we're not limited to asking Fable Anniversary-only questions. If anyone fancies getting some Fable 4 questions in (which they likely won't be able to answer), then it's at least worth a try.

We'll give it a week, then I'll get the questions sent off for answering. Please do stuck in and start submitting any questions to this thread that you'd love to see addressed by the Lionhead gang. Keep 'em short, snappy and clear. Cheers! Let's make it a good 'en, lads!
 
- Fable TLC is to this day held in high regard by the fans. Many people, like myself, didn't feel that the sequels lived up to expectations (the elephant in the room being Fable 3). How do you intend to approach future installments in the franchise with these criticisms in mind?

- With Fable HD recently announced, can we expect anything new in terms of content, or are all of the changes purely cosmetic?
 
The only character to feature in every Fable game is Theresa. She has confused fans from day 1 with her unclear aspirations, morally contradicting actions and manipulative ways. What is your view on the character and can fans safely assume that she won't be seen in future Fable intallments?
It is learnt in Fable: The Journey that Sol, Blaze and Stone were legendary heroes of the Old Kingdom and that they managed to prevail over a major threat from the Void and were responsible for the destruction of their world and despite their temple building fanclub, their names were not once mentioned in the first three instalments of the franchise. Care to comment?
The Fable story lines have been centred on the abilities of William's bloodline and The Sword Of Aeons. With the bloodline seemingly ended and the sword lost in the void, can there still be a Fable sequal?
Fable has been imfamous for it's hilarously exaggerated "British-ness", will the withdrawel of Peter Molyneaux effect this feature?
The franchise has made obvious digs at Bathesda, most notable TES. Is their any real rivalry between the two franchises or is it all just good fun?
Will fans learn more about certain lore briefly mentioned in the franchise? Eg: The Sword Of Aeons.
What was the scene/moment/chapter in Fable that truly gave you the "goosebumps"?
The biggest question of all.... Why chickens?
 
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