|
The following information is classified as Cut Content of the Fable games, which even though not being featured in the final playable version of such games, have been found in the game's code or provided by a reliable source. |
Due to how long the development for the original Fable was, plenty of content had to be removed from the game or can still be found in the game files but ended up going unused. A lot of this cut content is either the result of the developers (Lionhead Studios) experimenting with an idea, the developers creating content and then not using it and content which was completely removed from the retail version of the game by those same developers. This could be for various reasons, ranging from things such as the developers simply deciding that they don't like the idea anymore to time constraints and engine limitations.
In order to truly understand Fable's Cut Content, we first need to learn more about the history of the game's development and how much it changed during that time frame.
The Game[]
"We wanted to create a roleplaying game like no other" - a quote from the Development Diaries by Lionhead Studios for the original Fable and is the opening for the Concept Art section.
Back in 1985, two brothers named Simon and Dene Carter made a vow to each other that some day, they would do just that. It took them about 13 years to finally put their plan into action and after 2 months of struggling to come up with a name for their new game development company, Dene simply stated "Oh bugger. I don't suppose Big Blue Box sounds too stupid, does it?" and just like that, the company Big Blue Box Studios was born. The Carter brothers also managed to form a small team of people for their company along the way, who shared their passion for a unique Roleplaying experience.
Think of this as the Primordial Soup of Fable's development. When ideas were slowly being put together, yet there was no clear vision of how they wanted to achieve those goals. Concept art was being made and people where sharing their thoughts on how they wanted to approach the project. After brainstorming a variety of ideas that they wanted to try and implement into their new game, the team over at Big Blue Box started to compile the ones that they thought were the most interesting and could help make their game stand out from the rest. Though it was still in pre-production, they named this little project of theirs "The Game."
Thingy[]
Apparently the name of "Thingy" was a joke for the game amongst the developers at Big Blue Box Studios. The texture for Wasps in Fable also use the name of Thingy but according to Co-Creator Dene Carter, it is merely a coincidence.
WishWorld[]
"Imagine playing a 3D Zelda, where the world is constantly changing for you, and where your actions alter the world for other players at the same time." - A quote from Dene Carter in the WishWorld design documents.
Before Fable, there was originally an idea by the name of WishWorld. This idea had a whole design document made for it and some of those same designs can still be felt in the world of Fable. However, the developers main focus at the time wasn't for it to be a Roleplaying Game. Instead WishWorld was meant to be more like a magical combat game, which would allow up to 4 players to battle against each other by changing the landscape of the world. It's possible that this version of the game was meant to contain some RPG elements during this peroid of time, but really the game's original vision was like a Action-packed Strategy game more than anything.
WishWorld was meant to be set in a wizards' university that was known as the Academy. The students of the Academy are said to be heroic individuals, taken from many dimensions and different walks of life. In order to ehance their magical combat skills, the university would give its students access to a number of landscapes in which they may practice their new abilities.
These are known as the WishWorlds. They start off as barren, desolate landscapes, utterly devoid of life. This allows students to 'flavour' the landscape in a manner appropriate to their character. An example given in the design document, is that Malachi the Fallen Angel can turn mountains into volcanoes and flat plains into volcanic wastes. While a character like Oberon the Faerie King would move about the world creating forests and lush vegetation where he goes. Land that is claimed by a player will grow spells and as each player claims more of the world, the spells they can collect increase in their power.
WishWorld is often referred to as the "Pre-production" for Fable, where a lot of concepts and ideas were made but never truly realised. That being said, there is a substantial amount of evidence to support that the developers had a try at this idea before it was changed into Fable. For example, plenty of assets from this peroid of the game's development can still be found in the game files for Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters. By using a modding program that allows you to open the game's archive files, you can view any one of these assets. Co-Creator Dene Carter also released a Design Document that helps explain what the original vision for the game was and dates all the way back to the late 90s.
Concept Art[]
| Theory | Image |
|---|---|
| This is pre-production concept art that was initially intended for WishWorld. It appears to be a boat dock, with a castle or tower in the distance that has some kind of red light shining above it. There are also mountains in the background and lightning striking a specific point on the mountains. It's possible that this was concept art that showed the original vision for The Academy that would train wizards. | 
|
Screenshots[]
| Theory | Image |
|---|---|
| This is a zoomed in screenshot of part of the HUD, which displays the character's available spells. The icons for each spell appears to be these strange looking crystals, which could imply that some form of object was required to cast certain spells at this point in the game's development. | 
|
| This is a zoomed in screenshot of part of the HUD, which displays the button prompts for each available action. This is very similar to the one that can be found in the retail game, but has a lot more colour and style to its design. If we compare this to a Xbox Controller layout, then: the A Button was used to make the Hero sneak. The B Button was used to make the Hero cast spells. The X Button was used to make the Hero use melee attacks and the Y Button seems to be used to interact with things like objects or NPCs. | 
|
| This appears to be a screenshot of the main character entering a town, which uses a bridge and signpost that can still be found in the game files for the retail game. Based off text that can be read on the signpost to the left, the town that can be seen in the distance could have been called Grassmere Town. | 
|
| This screenshot looks like it could be the same town shown in the previous one, but the main character is closer to the town and its buildings. There appears to be a house with smoke coming out of its chimney on the right and a small graveyard can be seen on the left. | 
|
| The area shown in this screenshot could have been a very early version of Orchard Farm or something similar to that map, as it appears to be a farm that grows crops and mushrooms. The NPCs shown in this image also bare a striking resemblence to Jenna the Farmer. | 
|
| Unfortunately, not much can be made out in this picture as the vision is obscured by nearby trees and bushes. But it appears to be a screenshot of the main character walking through a forest, with a small bridge that can be seen in the distance. | 
|
| This is a screenshot of Bowerstone in the distance, which shows how the town used to look back in the WishWorld era of Fable's development. The houses look completely different to the ones which are used in the retail game and the terrain surrounding the town looks unfinished. | 
|
| In this screenshot, the main character is walking into Bowerstone. The town's entrance is protected by a guard, who looks similar to the guards which are used in the final game, but their outfit is a different colour to any of the ones used in Fable. | 
|
| This is a zoom in screenshot of the Bowerstone Village sign that can be found near the guard at the entrance gate, which is also shown in the previous screenshot. | 
|
| Here, we have our first screenshot of how Bowerstone Village looked from the inside. It appears to use a lot of the aforementioned assets such as the Well. There is also chickens and other NPCs scattered around the map. | 
|
| A demonstration of the Hero's attack animation, against a Child NPC that can be found in Bowerstone Village. | 
|
| Another demonstration of the Hero's attack animation; along with these strange, rotating hearts that NPCs drop whenever they die. At this point in the game's development, these hearts probably acted as a way to regain health points, rather than the use of potions. | 
|
| This screenshot is showing how the Hero in this build of WishWorld looks from the front. The design is very similar to something you would expect from Guybrush Threepwood. | 
|
| The Fox and Hen Tavern, which appears to be the only building in Bowerstone Village that doesn't have a door. Which means that it probably accessible, similar to how taverns are in the retail game. | 
|
Textures[]
| Name | Theory | Image |
|---|---|---|
| The Hero | A texture of the original player character (Hero of Oakvale) can still be found in the game files. Unlike the retail game which uses a seperate texture for each limb, this version of the hero has the eyes, face and hair baked into a single texture. That being said, no model exists for it. |   ID: Graphic_Hero_Face |
| Basic Man | This seems to be a texture for some kind of farmer or some type of villager. However, the game files just refers to him as "Basic Man". It appears to only show his head, torso and shoulders. |   ID: Graphic_Basic_Man |
| Villager | It's possible to find two identical textures that were meant for villagers. They both appear to be male. The only real difference is that one has a green jacket and the other has a red jacket. |   ID: Graphic_Villager_Red |
| Sheep | Based on this texture, sheep were planned to be a type of creature in the game at one point in development. No model or animations can be found for it, though. This implies that they either never had a chance to implement them or they were once in the game, but ended up being cut from the final release. |   ID: Graphic_Creature_Sheep |
| Old Spider | Underneath the Sheep Texture in the game files, is a spider texture which doesn't have a model either. It's possible that it was meant for WishWorld, but was removed when they decided to make the other spiders that can be found in the game. |   ID: Graphic_Creature_Spider |
Objects[]
| Name | Theory | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Old Village Signpost | There is a signpost in the game files that appears to be made as a joke, when testing and designing the game. The signpost reads: "Welcome to GrassMere Town. Population: 52. Our Lord is Dene Carter. The Bat and Ball Inn has room. F* with us and we'll rip your gonads off and feed 'em to Bess our village pig. Oh and no worrying the sheep." |   ID: Object_Signpost2 |
| Old Village Bridge | A model for an old bridge can be found in the game. It's a lot smaller than any of the bridges that you would find while playing the retail game. It still has physics, so you can walk over it. Due to its object name, it was most likely used for the same village as the Old Village Signpost. |   ID: Object_Bridge |
| Barrel | There is a destructible Barrel that isn't used in the final game and is just referred to as Barrel and seems to fit the WishWorld style. It even has a different model for when it has been destroyed. |   ID: Object_Barrel1 |
| Wooden Lamp | The Wooden Lamp is one of the few WishWorld objects that is still used in the retail game for places like Oakvale. Although, their colour appears to be a lot more lighter than what can be seen in WishWorld footage and screenshots. |   ID: Object_Wooden_Lamp |
| Large Brightwood Log | There is a Large and Small version of a log that is named in such a way, as to imply that it was intended for Brightwood. A map that seems to have also been cut from the original game. The Log appears to have tree sap slathered all over it and this same sap texture can be seen from the inside of the log too. |   ID: Mesh_Oak_LargeLog |
| Wall | An older version of the walls that can be found in the retail game. Two of these can still be found in the game files and based on screenshots for WishWorld, it seems they were meant to surround a small graveyard. |   ID: Object_Wall_01 |
| ACME Flour | A bag of Flour and Grain can be found in the game files. Based on footage for WishWorld, it would have been used as clutter near houses in a place called Bowerstone Village. |   ID: Object_Floursack |
| Rusty Bucket | There is a rusty bucket that looks different to any of the buckets that are used in the retail game. Though you can't notice it when viewing the model from above, it is actually missing the bottom of its mesh. Which means you can see right through it when viewing it from the bottom of the model. |   ID: Object_Rusty_Bucket |
Not much was really known about the WishWorld era of the game's development, until a recent breakthrough was discovered by Fable's Assistant QA Tester (Charlie Edwards), who managed to find an early build of the game. This prompted him to get permission to show videos and screenshots of the build for the public to see how much Fable changed.
Magic Spells[]
As mentioned above, WishWorld was meant to be more of a magic based combat game where the player could morph the landscape around them and fight using spells. There is plenty of evidence out there based on screenshots and gameplay footage to support various spells which never got the chance to see the light of day, during this stage in the game's development.
Godslayer[]
According to Dene Carter, at one point in development, the "WishWorld" version of the game was temporarily renamed to Godslayer to appease mainstream publishers.
Heroes[]
For a brief period of time, the game was simply named "Heroes". As the name suggests, the team was inspired by the Heroes of Might and Magic series and used its font for their own design documents. Plenty of other names were being thrown around during this peroid. Most of which have never been publicly mentioned yet.
"I believe between the events of WishWorld and Project Ego, there was an idea we had called Heroes. Alot of names were being thrown around, at that time..." - A quote about Heroes from the game's Assistant QA Tester, Charlton Edwards.
Merlin[]
At one point in development, the game was called Merlin and was mainly influenced by an idea that Peter Molyneux came up with. According to a PureXbox article, Dene Carter said the following:
"Peter’s suggestion was that we focus on one wizard, Merlin, but allow players to make any kind of Merlin they want. We liked some aspects of that idea and decided to push it a little further, making it into a game where players could become any kind of heroic archetype they wanted. We had initially wanted to stay away from a morphing character as we didn’t want to cannibalise the unique selling point of Black and White, Lionhead’s first game, but Peter gave us his blessing. Two of our earliest hires – Martin Bell and Kaspar Daugaard – took these ideas and ran with them, creating an engine capable of morphing detailed characters with wrinkles, tattoos, and body morphs as well as forests, grass and a bunch of other features that were quite remarkable for the time." - A quote about Merlin from Fable's Co-Creator, Dene Carter.
Project Ego[]
After the company Big Blue Box was picked up by Microsoft they merged with Lionhead Studios, which lead to the game becoming more RPG focused. It was during this time that a lot of experimentation was being done on the game, to see what the developers could pull off.
Textures[]
| Name | Theory | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Hero Guide | This texture was intended for an older version of the Guildmaster, who is referred to as "Hero Guide" in the game files. His outfit had a totally different colour scheme and he would have worn a monocle. Unfortunately, no model for this character can be found in the game. |   ID: HeroGuide_Body2 |
| Compass (HUD) | There are screenshots for Project Ego which suggest that this Compass was meant to be a part of your HUD, instead of the minimap. |  ID: Graphic_Temp_Compass |
| Reaction (Query) | It's possible that these textures would have been used as a way for the player to know where they can find an NPC that they can talk to for quests. |  ID: Graphic_Temp_Reaction_Query |
| Reaction (Alarm 2) | Despite it being called "Reaction Alarm 2" its the only one that can be found in the game files. Which means that Reaction 1 was probably removed from the game. This texture would have most likely been used whenever an NPC was alarmed by your presence or actions. |  ID: Graphic_Temp_Reaction_Alarm2 |
Models[]
| Name | Theory | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Goblin | A model, texture and animation for an unused Goblin can still be found in the game files. The only animation that is in the game for it is a "Kick" Animation, which was most likely intended to be its method of attacking. It's assumed that this is how far the developers got, before deciding to scrap it. It could have possibly been an earlier attempt at creating Hobbes. |   ID: Mesh_Creature_Goblin |
| Mongrel Dog | Based on text entries that can be found in earlier versions of the game, at least three types of dogs were planned for the original game. However, only one of the models for these dogs still exists. Based on their naming convention, we can assume that they would look the same, but a different colour. Peter Molyneux claimed in an article with IGN, that your pet dog was supposed to be nailed to the door of your family home during the raid on Oakvale and its speculated that this is the reason why this particular model still exists in the game. |   ID: Mesh_Object_Statue_Dog_01 |
Characters[]
| Name | Theory | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Guildmaster | There are a couple of screenshots that have been released by the developers of Fable, which show the Guildmaster in a completely different outfit to what he is wearing in the final version of the game. It is said by the developers that this was how the Guildmaster was originally planned to like during the Project Ego era of the game's development. In these screenshots, he is seen having frizzy grey hair and wearing a monocle on his eye, along with a green and dark blue jacket that is modelled similarly to the one used in the final release but as mentioned before, has a different colour scheme. | 
|
| Boatman | A very old Design Document for Fable's development reveals that there was meant to be an NPC called The Boatman. According to the design document, he would have been found in the town of Hook Coast. If the player retrieved "the coin" then he would give them a boat ride to the Isle of Bones. | 
|
Maps[]
There are a whole bunch of maps which were found in the game files or are suggested or mentioned by the developers of Fable. Some were changed to become the maps that we know in the final release of the game and some were removed from the game completely, but can be hinted at in earlier builds of the game.
Heroes' Guild[]
In screenshots for the Project Ego era of Fable's development, earlier versions of the Heroes' Guild building and map can be seen. It is assumed that at this point in the game's development, the Guild was actually referred to as the Hero Centre and would have given quests that were procedurally generated to help make the experience feel unique for each player.
The Trial[]
Plenty of unused assets can be found in the game files of Fable, to support a map that was meant to be in the game called Stealth Challenge Cave. It seems the map was meant to be a cave that acted as a training facility for certain abilities. The assets which are currently available hint at the idea that you were meant to train your Strength and Skill abilities there and that it could have been linked to the Heroes' Guild in some way. This is further supported by an unused type of creature that can also be found in the game files called Rock Cube, which bare a Guild Seal at the top of their head.
Early map designs and screenshots for the game that was released by the developers of the original Fable, suggest that this map was actually meant to be called The Trial at one point in development, before it was ultimately removed from the game.
Isle of Bones[]
The Isle of Bones is the name of an unused map that was intended for the original Fable, but was removed very early in the game's development. The map is believed to be the main island where the Hero of Oakvale was meant to fight a Dragon.
Design Documents that were revealed by the developers showing the layout of Albion for an early stage in Fable's development, hint at an island that was meant to be near Hook Coast which was meant to be called the Isle of Bones. The document also goes into detail about how the Hero of Oakvale was meant to find an NPC in Hook Coast that was also cut from the game, called the Boatman. If the Hero was willing to pay the Boatman for the journey by retreiving "the coin", then he would give them a boat ride to the Isle of Bones.
Procedural Generation[]
According to the game's Co-Creator Dene Carter, the original plan was to have the world of Albion and the quests that the Hero of Oakvale would get involved in, be procedurally generated. This was to help make each player's experience feel unique to one another and add a lot more replayability to the game. Unfortunately, the developers realised the amount of time and work that would be needed to create a game of that scale for its time, so they scrapped the idea and focused on more hand crafted quests and levels to help give them more control over the player experience and save time on further development.
Fable[]
This brings us to the final stage of the game's development, which is Fable. Despite all the previous versions of the game, Fable itself had a whole bunch of content removed that almost made it into the final game.
Hero[]
Quests[]
- Feats
- Cut Quests
- Unused Cutscenes
Audio[]
In the Fable: Anniversary Prima Guide it mentions how the game's Music Composer, Russell Shaw had originally planned to make extra notes play whenever certain bosses in the game attacked, to help cause a sense of tension with-in the fight. It is not known which bosses in particular would have been effected by this, but the music that plays whenever the Wasp Queen strikes at the Hero of Oakvale is the only remnant of this feature left in the final release of the game.
Characters[]
| Name | Theory | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Maze | Unused dialogue for the character Maze suggests that he was meant to have a different voice actor at one point in development and could have possibly played a bigger role in training the Hero of Oakvale, during the Guild Training section of the game. | 
|
| Luna | There is an NPC left in the game files that goes unused, which goes by the name of Luna. She appears to wear a Kimono dress, which could imply that she was meant to be a character of Asian descent. The name of her character model also implies that she was meant to be the original Bowerstone Tailor, before it was turned into an Armour Shop for the final release of the game. | 
|
| Lamp Thief | Unused dialogue for the game mention an unused quest that Maze would task the Hero of Oakvale to do, while he is in the Guild Woods. Maze would inform him that he has hidden a Lamp somewhere in the area and it's up to the Hero to find it. Upon entering the Woods, you would be greeted by an NPC known as The Lamp Thief in the game files. The Thief would try and explain that he watched Maze hide the Lamp and that he is willing to give it to you for 50 gold pieces. Since the quest was probably not finished, it isn't made clear on if the Lamp Thief is lying as a part of the test to see how you react or if he genuinely stole the real lamp. There is however, various ways you can approach this task. You can pay him the 50 gold and he will happily give you the lamp or you can either threaten or attack him and force him to give you the lamp for free. | 
|
| Guild Wood Guard | Some text entries and dialogue that can still be found in the game files for Fable, mention a Guard that waits outside the Guild Woods and would only allow the Hero of Oakvale to access the area if he got permission from The Guildmaster. It's believed that you would gain permission to enter by completing the Melee Test first. Once you are allowed into the Guild Woods, he would follow you inside and explain what type of creatures you need to kill. This originally being Scorpions, before it was changed to Beetles. Not only that, but some of his dialogue that can be found in earlier builds of the game, suggests that some of his lines were re-used or reworked for the Guildmaster instead. This could explain why he was removed from the game. | 
|
| Green Guard Outfit | There are textures in the game files that hint at a green outfit which was meant for an Albion Guard. This is further supported by screenshots, which have been released by the developers of the game. According to Dene Carter, every town was meant to have their own sheriff and that the guards with a green outfit were most likely intended for Knothole Glade. | 
|
Creatures[]
| Name | Theory | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Trogdor | Plenty of evidence can be found for this unused Dragon in the Xbox Version of Fable, along with an unused map called Dragon Cliff. He ended up being removed from the original Fable back in 2004. This idea was replaced with Jack of Blades having a Dragon Form instead, for Fable: The Lost Chapters. | 
|
| Minion | Charlton Edwards who was Assistant Lead Tester for the original game, recently posted images of an older version of the Minion. They bare a completely different colour scheme to any of the ones we experience in the retail game and appear to be more humanoid. | 
|
| Kraken | There is a mesh that can be found in the game, which could have been used for an early version of the Kraken or as a Placeholder to create that boss fight with. | 
|
| Scorpion Queen | Despite its resemblance to the Scorpion King, the Queen was actually meant to be seen during the Guild Training segment of the game. A guard was meant to be protecting the entrance to the Guild Woods and only allows apprentices through, if they have permission from the Guildmaster first. Once inside the Guild Woods, the Guard would ask you to kill the Scorpions babies since they can't reach the Queen and her nest. | 
|
| Rock Cube | There are two creatures that can be found in the game files, which might have been associated with the Heroes Guild and the Guild Training segment of the game. One of them is a rock with faces covering each side and a Guild Seal marking at the top of it. While the other is the same kind of creature, but Lava is leaking out of its mouth and eyes. Their animations suggest that they would hover around and spin to attack. It's possible that once they were defeated, they would explode in a similar fashion to Rock Trolls. | 
|
| Lobster | A large Lobster can found in the game files which has a model, some animations and even a creature entry. This implies that the developers got it to a stage where it was tested in the game, however in the retail game it doesn't work correctly whenever you spawn it. The creature entry that was created for it was probably never finished. Killing the creature will cause it to move backwards while in a fixed position, as though it is trying to use an animation that was not designed for its character model. According to the game's managing director, Peter Molyneux - the Lobster was meant for an early quest where a guy would ask the Hero to help him kill some lobsters. Other than the lobster's themselves, no evidence of this Lobster quest remains in the game files. | 
|
| Spider | These appear to be more improved versions of spiders, that had models and a creature entry created for them. However, they don't animate even when they are killed. Spawning them into the game will cause them to be placed dialognally, which suggests that it was never finished or it acted more like a non-hostile creature such as Sparrows that would stay on the wall. There is a Black, White, Blue and Red Spider in the game files. | 
|
| Spider (hairy) | Another set of spiders can be found in the game files, which appear to be covered in hair almost like it has the characteristics of a tarantula. They are pretty much the same as the spiders shown above from a technical standpoint. It is possible to find a Black, White, Brown, Redspot and Whitespot variation of these spiders. | 
|
Maps[]
Creature Hub[]
Creature Hub is the name of an unused map in Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters. It was designed as a main hub area, which would lead to other maps that were used for testing creatures in the game. Although the Creature Hub map still remains in the game files, the other maps intended to go along with it are removed from the game. It is not possible to access the map through any legitimate means, since it was designed for testing purposes. However, using a modding program it is possible for the player to teleport into the map.
Creature Preview[]
Creature Preview is the convential name for all of the other testing maps which connect to Creature Hub. It consistents of various maps that the player can teleport to, which are designed for testing all of the different creatures and enemies in Fable. For example: there is a Creature Preview map called Creature_Wasps. This map contains all of the Wasps that the developers created for the game, including the Wasp Queen. It was most likely used as a way for them to test out their AI and how they try to attack the player.
Dragon Cliff[]
Dragon Cliff is the name of an unused map that was meant to be found in Albion, but was removed from the original Fable before its release and ended up being replaced with Archon's Folly in Fable: The Lost Chapters and Fable: Anniversary. As the name suggests, at one point in development, it was intended to act as an arena for a cut quest which involved a final battle against a Dragon in that version of the game. This map was most likely designed for the unused creature Trogdor, which can be found in the same version of the game. The appearance of the map is very similar to that of Archon's Folly, to the point were their minimaps are almost identical.
Fable II[]
Removed and Changed Maps[]
Various images of gameplay and maps for the Beta of Fable II can be found on the Unseen64 site and in the Fable II: Limited Edition Guide, which show plenty of maps that where either changed or removed from the final version of the game. This includes a removed desert area and an unknown forest that appears to be incomplete.
Ravenscar[]
This is concept art that was originally intended for a map named Ravenscar, which was then later renamed to Oakfield in the final release of Fable II. According to the developers of the game, the name of the map was changed to Oakfield because they felt that "Ravenscar" didn't really fit the atmosphere of the final version. This name was later used for the map, Ravenscar Keep in Fable III.
Dunecrest[]
Images of maps from earlier versions of Fable II, show that the region of Rookridge was originally named Dunecrest. According to the developers, the map's layout was also changed slightly before the game's release.
Deepwood[]
There are images of maps from earlier versions of Fable II that show there was a map which was removed from the game, known as Deepwood and would have been an enermous forest that was in between Wraithmarsh and Brightwood. The map was apparently removed due to a lack of creative support (not enough ideas and concept art) to justify adding it into the game.
Bowerstone Market (Beta)[]
GameReactor uploaded a video which shows the Lead Designer, Peter Molyneux explaining features for Fable II that they had originally planned to implement before its release. In this video an earlier version of the map Bowerstone Market can be seen, with far more streets to explore and even hostile NPCs such as Bandits attacking the Hero of Bower Lake. These aspects of the map were removed from the final version of the game.
Detailed Combat[]
Finishing Moves[]
In the same video by GameReactor, the Hero can be seen performing special finishing moves. While the final release of the game does contain slow-motion versions of these finishing moves, Peter explains that the area where these finishing moves are performed can result in "extra points" for the player and that there are environmental benefits to attacking opponents in certain places. Peter also goes into the 'rhythm of pressing buttons' and how your style of combat can change by pressing buttons in certain intervals. This feature appears to be somewhat watered down for the final release of Fable II.
Bar Fights[]
In another video, this time by a channel named FableInformer, Peter Molyneux can be seen explaining how the combat system was meant to work for Fable II. He did this by demonstrating a (most likely scripted) sequence where the Hero got into a bar fight with some bandits. Since it is a scene for Fable II that was strictly made for demonstration purposes, the Bar Fight heavily relies on re-using assets from the original Fable. This includes a default model of the Hero of Oakvale and three bandits using a default Bandit model.
Changed or Removed NPCs[]
Reaver's Appearance[]
A very early image of Fable II was released by a Level Designer for the game, which shows a completely different design for the character Reaver while he is inside of his Mansion in Bloodstone. He was originally meant to have long blonde hair, with a green or grey looking coat and a white bow tie. The character model also appears to be bugged out, resulting in his eyes popping out of his head.
Rose's Appearance[]
An image of the Beta for Fable II can be found on the Unseen64 site, which shows Rose with a different appearance to the final version of the game. In this image, she is only slightly taller than the Hero of Bower Lake and seems to be wearing some kind of red bandana around her head. The bandana appears to be covering a long black ponytail. The rest of her outfit seems similar to what is in the final game. Along with her height, her facial features also appear to be different, making her look more younger than she is in the final version of the game.
Dog Interactions[]
Some of the removed features which are detailed on the Unseen64 site, states that the Hero's Dog was meant to be more immersive than what we got in the final game. These removed features include voice recognition, where the dog could be called by the player and the possibility for your dog to play with other dogs. None of these features made it into the final release of Fable II or Fable III.
Gameplay[]
Rookridge's 6th Silver Key[]
As mentioned before, Rookridge went through some changes before it became the map that we know of today. There is a rare bug that can occur where Rookridge will list 5/6 Silver Keys, even though you have collected all of the keys which are available. This could be a bug caused by an earlier version of the map where you might have been able to collect 6 keys instead of 5.
Mature Themes[]
Sex Minigame[]
According to sources such as Unseen64, the infamous Peter Molyneux openly talked about wanting to add a "Sex Minigame" into Fable II. This is believed to be around the time that journalists were given the chance to try out the Beta for the game, long before its release. While not much details have been said about this feature, apparently the minigame was scrapped due to the nature of the content (most likely because it would have impacted the game's age rating). This was then replaced with a black screen, where the NPC will play dialogue that comments about it happening.
Pregnancy[]
An article by Kotaku goes into detail about the intended Pregnancy Morph for female characters in Fable II. The article states that Lead Designer, Peter Molyneux planned for pregnancy to be depicted in the game, with the characters "stomach expanding over time" to represent this. The feature was apparently cut from the game and ended up being replaced with a cutscene, which explains how the Hero of Bower Lake or their wife gave birth to a child.
Fable III[]
The Crafting Mine[]
In Fable III, the Demon Door in Mourningwood was originally meant to be a world made out of blocks called The Crafting Mine. This particular area would have contained a destructible environment that can be destroyed by using weapons or will magic. The Crafting Mine realm was meant to be a reference to the popular game Minecraft. The developers even got permission from the creator of Minecraft, Notch, to add into the game. But they weren't able to fix some of the issues with the engine handling the destructible environment, before the game was released. So it's believed that the map was then replaced with the Planet One realm for the Demon Door instead. Not much was even known about this particular Demon Door until a video showing off an early version of the map was posted by one of the game's Level Designers, Charlie Edwards.
Fable II Assets[]
A whole bunch of unused Fable II assets can be found in the game files for Fable III. This includes things like a low-poly model of Castle Fairfax and a whole bunch of models for various weapon types, such as Rusty, Iron, Steel and Master. Along with a few legendary weapons, such as Hal's Sword, The Wreckager, The Maelstrom and The Diachi. It is believed that Fable III uses an improved version of Fable II's engine, so the assets being present in the game files for the final version of Fable III could be a side effect of this fact.
The Warehouse[]
Despite there being a lot of unused assets still present in the retail versions of the game, Dene Carter who was a Co-Creator of Fable, says that something called "The Warehouse" was used as a means to store unused content and acted as a way to archive them and keep it there just incase it is needed again. According to Dene, The Warehouse and all of its cut content could be lost to time. It is possible to find a list of all these assets to get a rough idea of what was cut from the game, but we may never know what any of them looked like.
Fable's Legacy[]
A lot of the developers for Fable have moved on to different projects, working for different people in the video game industry (or in some cases, starting their own companies). Since the game was released almost 20 years ago, most of the developers for the original game openly admit that they do not remember a lot about the cut content relating to Fable, due to things like memory or not being involved with some of the content that was scrapped. Making legitimate confirmation about cut content from the developers for the original game, more scarce with each passing day.
Trivia[]
- The Old Signpost for Grassmere Town could either be referring to Co-Creator Dene Carter or an NPC that was meant to have a similar name.
- According to the Co-Creator of Fable, Dene Carter - WishWorld was prodominantly inspired by a game called Chaos.
- In an article on Fable's development, Lead Programmer Simon Carter mentions that the inspiration for WishWorld was the Ultima series of games and Jim Henson's TV series, The Storyteller.
- A lot of the screenshots that were shown to the media during Fable's development was created by the game's Assistant QA Tester Charlie Edwards.
- The Fifth Regiment Guard who is standing in front of the Guild Woods and warns you not to enter it, during the quest where you can decide to steal the soul of Nostro or the Guildmaster, also uses the name Guild Woods Guard in the game files and could possibly be a reference to the original concept that was intended for the Guild Training section of the game.
- It's assumed that Ted Timmins was pushing for unique content and quests (possibly even restoring cut content) as DLC in Fable: Anniversary, but this never happened.
- Deepwood is referenced once in the Fable III DLC Traitor's Keep when visiting one of Godwin Estate's animal exhibits, which apparently contains a red-eyed "Deepwood Devil Hampster."
- Deepwood is also referenced in Fable: Blood of Heroes as the home of the witch, Yog. She also mentions that it is next to a stretch of marshes called the Boggins and the town of Brightlodge.
