VIDEOGAMES!

                                                                          Fable III

For this week, I chose a game that I started weeks prior, Fable III. I found this game to be both entertaining, rewarding and ultimately, a piece of literature. This game tells a story through the choices of the individual and through these choices depends on the outcome of the story.  The game actually resembles closely to what a “choose your own adventure” story entails. Let me take a step back a bit.

            The history of this game starts with Fable, the first game in this trilogy. In the original Fable videogame, an orphaned boy is taken in by a guild and raised to become a hero. The setting takes place in Albion, a fictional place set in England. I didn’t play this game, although the next line in the series, Fable II, became a great addiction of mine.

            In this game, not only are you to become a hero again, you are in the same kingdom as before, only a much later era. In this game, you can buy a house, get married, have children, get a job, loot, steal, follow quests, help people, and kill people, among many other numerous things. With the help of your dog and magic powers given to you by the guild, you set your own destiny. It’s a role-playing game in which you, the player, decide the moral fate of your set character. If you decide to go one way or the other, certain quests and challenges are presented to you. When you make your choices, certain quests regarding your path are set in front of you.

            Now, the third Fable in the line is about a new hero. It takes place in the era of industrialization, still set in Albion, only years later. As always, you are allowed to buy and sell houses and businesses and get married, same as the two before it. The real difference between the first two and the third is clear. You don’t start off poor in this game, or orphaned even. You are a princess. Also, they have a revolutionary new addition, holding hands. But that’s for another day.

In the beginning of Fable III, you discover what a tyrant your brother has become as king. Therefore, your character starts a rebellion. Throughout the game, you earn the trust and following of each kingdom by proving your leadership and strength. Eventually, you get all the colonies to follow you and you face your brother in combat. You overthrow your brother and become Queen (or king, depending on who’s playing). This is where the tricky part comes in. You, as queen discover that a force, an evil force you actually barely escape from earlier, is coming for the kingdom in a year.

            The brother, a tyrant by reputation knows this and has only been raising the taxes to prepare an army for such an event. This made him unpopular with the kingdom to say the least. In your attempt to be queen, you must keep all your promises that you kept with the colonies, or risk being a tyrant. The problem being, there isn’t enough money to protect the people AND keep all the promises.

            Fable III is a perfect example of literature, a new type of literature even. The story is undeniably defined throughout, with minor changes. When you make a choice, it submerges the character into a different series of events. The video game has all of what a traditional book has, and then some. It has a defined setting, quests, obstacles, with a climax and ending. The best part of the whole experience is this: If you don’t like your character, you can change it. If you don’t enjoy where you’re heading, you can change directions at any time. I think because of these things it makes the story so much more enjoyable and a cornerstone in the development of literature.