Former Lionhead Developers Launch Kickstarter for New Fable CCG.
On the 29th of April 2016, following the announcement of upcoming changes at Microsoft’s UK studios, the gaming world mourned the loss one of the most iconic British game developers in history, as Lionhead Studios officially closed for business.
It was the end of an era, after 20 years of operation the small family who brought us the legendary Fable franchise had fallen victim to the modern corporate world, leaving us to believe that we would never see another Fable title again.
Thankfully three long time Lionhead members have made sure that this isn't the case, as they recently announced their latest venture, Fable Fortune, and they are heading to Kickstarter to help continue the legacy of the series.
Flaming Fowl Studios, the independent developer founded by Craig Oman, Marcus Lynn and Mike West, will continue the work they started behind closed doors at Lionhead, as they recently received Microsoft's official blessing to use the Fable license.
However, in order to complete their secret eighteen-month project, Flaming Fowl Studios will operate without a publisher and therefore they need the support of the community to help fund the final push. The official Fable Fortune crowdfunding campaign is now live!
In a video posted by IGN, the developers showed off some of the features of the game, which bears some similarity to the likes of Hearthstone. While the basis of Fable Fortune allows players to choose different heroes and battle their opponents with different creatures and spells, that is where the similarities ends. Incorporating Fable's morality system, cards and heroes can be transformed through morality choices, resulting in different choices and effects that the cards perform.
In addition to this, West also stated that the aim of the Fable Fortune is to improve the collectible card game genre, which they hope to achieve through their unique art style, a full co-op mode that allows players to fight bosses with themed decks and gifting ‘Trophy Cards’ (extra units or spells) to those who play second. As the character’s level up, they will unlock cards and help expand your deck.
Another aspect that Flaming Fowl are keen on is the community. Unlike other developers, Flaming Fowl want to involve the community with every step of the way, as they help shape Fable Fortune. Mike West even stated; “We’re looking to build this game with the fans and then potentially morph and change things about the game over time. This is our starting position - we need to find out what people want from a CCG, and we’re ready to talk to them"
As well as this, Flaming Fowl have also expressed their interest within the eSports and Twitch communities, and revealed in the IGN Gameplay video that they were in talks with eSports organisations, as well as working on a Tournament mode within Fable Fortune, in addition to a draft mode, 2v2 PvP modes and single player campaigns, with backers on their Kickstarter being allowed access to closed forums to discuss the game directly with the developers.
As it stands, the team is hoping for Fable Fortune to be ready for a closed beta during the summer, a few weeks after the campaign, an open beta on PC and Xbox One in October, with a full release to follow early in 2017. If you wish to contribute to the Kickstarter, you can do so here.
For all the latest Fable Fortune news follow @FlamingFowl on Twitter.
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