Peter Molyneux is really, really excited about Kingmaker bridging the gap between games and the real world.
Update: A representative from Lionhead has confirmed that Kingmaker is not coming to North America, Joystiq reported. “Kingmaker is a Europe-only digital marketing promotion. No U.S. integration,” Lionhead said. That’s upsetting, because even though I don’t own an iPhone or Android enabled phone, I was interested in how the game played out here in the States.
Speaking at the Eurogamer Expo in London this morning, Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios said that you’ll be able to use Kingmaker to “check in” at real world locations using your phone’s GPS function. Doing so will plant a virtual flag in a region and turn its allegiance to either the Royals or the Rebels. By staking your claim, you will be rewarded with gold that can be transferred to your character in Fable III. One faction will be declared the winner when Fable III releases, but it’s not clear what you get if your faction wins. You can download and start playing Kingmaker on October 4th with an Android phone or October 6th with the iPhone.
The recently released trailer shows some of the UI and that you will be given real world locations where you can “claim treasure.” The trailer seems to stop at around the 1:30 mark on youtube.
Molyneux seemed excited, as is his wont. “To be able to earn gold you can use in your Fable III game, and to check-in and claim land for your side is brilliant for both Fable III and Xbox 360,” he said. “We all love the innovation and feeling of being connected that Kingmaker brings to gamers.
“I like this really simple play, I’m really fascinated to see if the rebels win or the royalists win. I love the idea of you being able to earn gold. I love the idea of possibly having things like treasure hunts for this. It’s fantastic.”
Ok, Peter, we get it. You love it. Now just don’t say that it’s the best iPhone application ever created. Perhaps he’s forgotten that Fable‘s track record of using promotional games before release isn’t very stellar. Doesn’t anyone remember how the Pub Games on XBLA broke the Fable II economy?
The official Kingmaker website only shows an image right now but more information will be available there soon.
Source: Videogamer and Gamesindustry.biz
