Petition to Lionhead - RE: The Instant Respawning Death System of Fable 2

Dear Lionhead,

After witnessing the footage of Fable 2 at E3 many of us can agree it looks like it will be a fantastic hit. Many us would like to congratulate all of you on producing what may be the greatest RPG of all time and Lionhead's greatest title yet.

However one particular feature you have included is concerning many of us - namely the instant respawning death system in Fable 2. This worries us, as we fear it will make the game too easy, massively undermining the central focus of advancement in the game. i.e. Why bother with experience orbs and advancement if you can't ever die? And if experience orbs don't matter why bother trying not to die?

We, the undersigned ask you if you could please include the option for the player to decide whether to have the current 'instant respawning' death system OR to have a traditional 'game over' death system like that which appeared in Fable 1.

This optional mode could be implemented through a menu toggle during game progression, or a difficulty slider perhaps attuned at the beginning of a new game, or whatever is easiest for the development team to implement.

The 'game over' death system could result in some form of narrative ellipsis - changing of place and time. This could be done by waking up sometime in the near future in the same space, or in a safe location e.g. GTA 4. Alternatively the game could backtrack to the last game save made or the last time you slept in a bed - again whatever is easiest to implement.

If it is not possible to add this to Fable 2's current build please release a patch giving the player this option after release. The developers of Bioshock did this to much appraisal, in response to what many fans requested - the option of a traditional death system and not an instant respawn.

Many players simply feel that infinite lives and no possibility of backtracking removes any real difficulty or challenge within the game - which is why we ask if the players can be given the option to in some way control this part of the game, much like the players can turn the 'breadcrumbs' on and off.

Sincerely,
Your Loyal and dedicated fans