The Fable franchise has stood as a staple of the Xbox catalog since the original game debuted in 2004. Serving as Xbox's first-party action RPG, the series helped define the brand and provide a unique experience for the console and the genre. When Xbox 360 came about, Fable evolved into the next generation with Fable 2 and Fable 3. There were even a few spin-offs, Fable Heroes and Fable: The Journey, before the franchise saw its unfortunate downfall with the closure of developer Lionhead Studios in April 2016. However, after years of rumors and speculation, the Fable franchise is finally set to make its return with the new entry from developer Playground Games.

The new Fable is seemingly a reboot of sorts, however, there is little information surrounding the story at this time. Developer Playground Games, best known for the Forza Horizon franchise, calls the upcoming Fable "a new beginning for the legendary franchise", suggesting this new game may be separate from the story of the original trilogy. With many of the game's details still uncertain, fans are left to wonder what story elements, features, and mechanics of the previous games will make a return in this new entry. Although there are many elements that accumulated to make previous Fable games so special, one specific feature would be interesting to see with a modern-day twist.

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Reviving the Villager Maker in Fable 4

Among all the fan-favorite details that players would love to see make a return in the new Fable is one lesser-known feature from the Fable 3 era. The Villager Maker in Fable 3 was a pre-order bonus that allowed players to customize their own unique villager that would come complete with special quests. As with any villager in the game, players were able to marry, kill, and simply converse with their individually created NPC. Players were able to customize everything from the look of the villager to their voice, personality, and their home.

The quest that the player's custom villager would offer them was different depending on the personality given to them. Good-aligned villagers would offer the quest called The Search whereas evil-aligned villagers offered How to Get Ahead in Academia. They were both fairly short quests but offered unique objectives and rewards. After each quest, the customer villager became a regular NPC in Fable 3's world, and players could do with them whatever they saw fit. Each of these quests also came with a gift of 1,000 gold found in the Sanctuary.

It would be interesting to see an adaptation of this concept in the modern day, either as a bonus feature like the original Villager Maker or as a core option inside the game itself. Perhaps a system akin to Dragon's Dogma's pawns would allow players to share their custom villagers with their friends and have them return with knowledge and experience from another player's game world. A re-designed Villager Maker also has the opportunity to feature longer quest lines that expand depending on how players interact with them, for instance, if players marry them.

The ability to create a unique villager was one of the many innovative features throughout the Fable franchise. Allowing players to contribute an NPC to the overall game world is something not usually seen in many RPGs, but helps give a sense of contribution to the legacy of the game. As the element of choice is always the largest factor in Fable, giving players more freedom and customization is always appreciated. What features will be returning and what features will be new is still uncertain at this time, but the return of the Fable franchise will definitely be something to pay attention to.

Fable is in development for PC and Xbox Series X|S.

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