Ex-Lionhead developers launch Kickstarter to fund Fable CCG
Set in the 'whimsical world of Albion,' Fable Fortune will feature both co-op and PVP modes, and is aiming for an early 2017 release.
"Let's bring back Fable!"
That enthusiastic rallying cry tops the Kickstarter page for Fable Fortune, a collectible card game (CCG) that recently landed on Kickstarter courtesy of Flaming Fowl Studios, a conglomerate of developers from now-defunct Fable house Lionhead Studios.
Per the Kickstarter, Fable Fortune will be free-to-play that incorporates time-tested Fable gameplay systems melded with "an array of pioneering game modes." Classic systems include the game's unique brand of morality that lets players make choices tailored to Good or Evil alignments, "hero" characters controlled by players, and spins on cooperative and competitive play.
Fable Fortune is even set in the world of Albion, though the studio is mum on whether there will be cards that players can expect to kick chickens around like loose stones.
Fable Fortune's gameplay should be immediately familiar to veterans of recent digital CCGs like Hearthstone. Players choose from a selection of heroes and cast spells to whittle away at their opponents' health points. Other game systems include the ability to level favorite cards, the ability to wield extra units and spells when certain conditions are met, and completing quests to make Good or Evil choices.
The studio reportedly made excellent progress before asking fans to crowdfund its development. "The good news is that a lot of core systems are already in-game, so we’re a handful of months away from Closed Beta. For a game with this much content, features and polish, our initial Kickstarter goal is relatively low. If successfully funded, the money we raise will be used to complete the first six heroes and two co-op bosses, as well as fund our running costs as thousands of players are brought into the closed beta."
The plan is for Flaming Fowl to get high-level backers access to Fable Fortune's beta within the next couple of months, and add backers from lower tiers in waves as time goes on. Those fans will also be instrumental in helping the game's design coalesce, since not all aspects are set in stone. "We’re looking to build this game with the fans, and then potentially morph and change things about the game over time," Flaming Fowl co-founder and ex-Lionhead developer Mike West told IGN. "This is our starting position - we need to find out what people want from a CCG, and we’re ready to talk to them."
Fable Fortune's publishing history is arguably as interesting as Flaming Fowl's plans for the game. Last we heard, Lionhead Studios went under in part due to Microsoft's refusal to part ways with the Fable license. Microsoft has given the Flaming Fowl founders its blessing to use the IP, but without a publisher, the developers had no choice but to turn to crowd-funding to finish the game.
Flaming Fowl is asking for $365,385 within the next 30 days to successfully fund the project. As of this writing, the studio has raised just over $23,140. Visit the Kickstarter page to learn more.
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replyDavid Craddock posted a new article, Ex-Lionhead developers launch Kickstarter to fund Fable CCG
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IMO if they are asking for a full development budget, they should ask for what it actually is. I dont know DarkestDungeon story, but the budget of that game would be way higher than 75k since they had 6 people and contracted sound. They somehow made it work with loans or savings and then i'm sure made their money back on launch window sales, but that's not a viable or safe route for everyone. If the product can't reach the goal, it is the best thing for that kickstarter to fail so they aren't burdened to work for many months on very little money and are freed up to get a decent paying job.
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but obviously those games weren't made by 1-2 people in a year so...
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Me thinks you don't realize how much things actually cost. Both of those games cost significantly more than 75k to make, they just self funded most of it.
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I think you would be very surprised at the size of the budgets for many CCGs.
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how many resources do you think a CCG requires in terms of man years? Hearthstone is the template now and it certainly had more than 6 man years of work done on it before release.
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6 people working for a year at ~$30-40k plus benefits is not exactly a huge budget
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I just want an actual Fable sequel...
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I just want what Fable was supposed to be
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Signed, dude. I liked Fable 1, and Fable 3 is better than most people give it credit for, but Fable 2 was and is the best. Port it to PC, slap a $19.99 price tag on that sumbitch, and TAKE MY MONEY.
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should have kickstarted a Black and White VR game.
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Seems super soon to be announcing this after the Lionhead closure. I figured we wouldn’t see anything like this for at least a year.
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Oh yeah I'm sure. I'm mostly surprised they were able to get the rights to do anything Fable related so soon after Lionhead was closed. I figured Microsoft would have a deathgrip on that, especially after the article that came out after the studio closure.
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