Fable Fortune Interview

Interview with Tom Wimbush, Lead Designer at Mediatonic for 'Fable Fortune'

A staple I do in all interviews in order to start things off is to ask that you elaborate a bit about your game that people might not know?

Tom: Fable Fortune is a card game, launching into Early Access and Game Preview on July 25th.

We originally started building the game with Lionhead Studios and since its closure, we’ve been working to complete the game with Flaming Fowl Studios, a team of Ex-Lionhead staff members.

One of the unique things about our game is that we’ve built it from the ground-up around Co-op play, so two players can team up to take down Epic Raid Bosses (or learn how to play).

Working with the Fable brand, what sort of key elements from the series were important to carry over to Fortune?

Tom: Fable is a game about choice and consequence and we’ve built Fable Fortune from the ground-up around this core principle.

At the start of each match, players must choose a Quest. Completing Quests gives players significant rewards, which can turn the tide of a battle. On completing a Quest, players must choose which force to align their hero with – good or evil?

Turning to good or evil changes the abilities your hero can use, but also the cards in your hand. In game terms, this means you can react to what you see your opponent doing in real-time.

Outside of this core philosophy, there are many things we’ve carried through from the Fable series such as its characters, style and sense of humour. We’re huge fans of the Fable games, so it’s been exciting to dive in and create a new game within the universe!

Fable Fortune Cards Interview

Comedy has played a big role in the games, do you feel that aspect of the series is being well represented within the cards?

Tom: We definitely don’t take ourselves too seriously. We have a range of cards in the game, from Giant Chickens and Fluffy Cats through to Hobbes and Peasants. A few examples include:

• Feral Squirrel: Gain +1 Strength after using your Hero Power
• Hearty Breakfast: Give a unit in play and a unit in your hand +2/+2
• Master of Bacon: After you summon a Peasant, gain +1 Strength
• Guard Pig: Give another friendly unit Deflect
• Big Pig: Transforms based on Hero Alignment
o [Good] Battle Swine: Summon a 3/3 Guard Pig
o [Evil] Boardoazer: Rush, Adjacent Units have +1 Strength
• Giant Egg: At the start of your turn, gain an 8/8 Chicken with Rush

Our Hero archetypes also play on these principles;for example, our ‘Knight’ archetype Marshall is a farmer riding a pig. The humour in Fable is one of the things we’ve always loved about the series, and something we have aimed to carry through into Fable Fortune.

Could you briefly describe the heroes aspect of the game and how they affect gameplay?

Tom: Players can build decks of cards around different heroes; each hero has access to unique cards and a special hero power, which changes based on whether players choose to go good or evil.

Some heroes will be recognizable to card game players, such as Crimson, our Shapeshifter, who focuses on aggressive board control with her spells, units and hero power.

We’ve been more experimental with other classes, such as Barter, our Merchant, who has a range of different cards which allow him to make short-term investments to benefit in later turns, and cards which scale in power based on how much he decides to invest in them.

At present, we have six heroes in the game and we’re working on two more unique heroes which we’ll be releasing into the game over time.

Fable Fortune Cards

Being a card game, what are the core packs that will be available when players can access the game and are there plans to expand on these afterward?

Tom: We have one set of ‘Core’ card packs in the game which contain all the game cards.

Players will start the game with 10 Packs (or 30 including the Founders Pack) and can earn 50 more Packs through levelling their Heroes, with more available on a regular basis through participating in Events, PvP and Co-op battles.

We’re planning to release new cards on a regular basis within the ‘Core’ card packs.

We don’t have any major expansions planned in the short term as all our focus is going into improving, expanding and optimizing our core game, but we’ll be turning our attention to this in the future and will likely look to release larger expansion sets.

Since there are a number of cards available, what are some of your favorites and could you tease some that might be familiar to fans?

Tom: A few familiar faces include….

• Nostro: After you play a unit, destroy it, then re-summon it
• Shroud: Deal 1 damage to an enemy unit. If you control no units, destroy it
• Jack of Blades: Last Laugh, Transform another friendly unit into a Jack of Blades
• Reaver: Draw a card, it costs 0
• The Nightcrawler: At the end of EACH turn, fill your board with 1/1 Shadows

What sort of modes will be available within the game and could you briefly describe what you feel are the key ones?

Tom: There are several core modes of play:

• PvP: Players can battle 1v1 against other players. Leagues in Fable Fortune last 1 month, with a variety of rewards for both participation and ranking. At the start of each month we’ll change the Arena, Quests and Quest rewards – meaning the meta-game is always fresh and interesting.

• Co-op: Two players team up to take down Raid bosses of varying difficulties to earn special rewards. In Co-op mode, each player takes turns to make their move against the boss; the twist being they can control each other’s units in addition to their own.

• Special Events: Players take part in an Event with unique (often strange) rules. These are designed to encourage creativity and experimentation with deck building.

Over time, we hope to add new modes of play to the game

Fable Fortune Screenshot PC

What sort of platforms/marketplaces will Fable Fortune be available on?

Tom: We’ll be launching into Game Preview on Xbox and Windows 10 and Early Access on Steam.

Lastly I would like to leave a spot for you to say something or go over anything I might have missed during the interview? Maybe about how chickens impact players?

Tom: There’s always room for a chicken!

One thing we’re keen to highlight is that we’re launching into Game Preview / Early Access because we want feedback and input from the community to make this the best card game possible.

We’re a small team, and we’ve got some big competition, but we believe that by working closely with the community we can shape something special.

Fable Hub
Fable Fortune Preview
Fable Fortune Store Page

Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner