Fable 3
Fairy tales are still a modern form of story telling within our current era. They are still present within books, movies and especially video games. The traditional essence of a Fairytale is a story that tells of good and evil, how good prevails in the end through all the hardship, with a 'happy ever after'. Usually within a fairy tale, it involves characters who are unfortunate and desire better things within their life, whether love, fortune or fame. Regardless of any evil, the protagonist will always prevail and achieve their dreams in the end. In most fairy tales, magic is used to expand the world of the story, giving it a fictional/fantasy feel. This use of story telling is ideally used for children as it always has a happy end that is suitable, However, in more contemporary examples of media, Fairy tales are twisted in ways that the ending is not so predictable, but uses similar methods to keep the genre.
One game that sprang to mind was Fable for me, this video game through it's entire trilogy is one of the most successful fairy telling video games in our modern era. It hosts all the traditional elements, of fighting for the better, falling in love and concluding the story victorious over all foes. However, the beauty of Fable is instead of there always being the right choice, the player has freedom to make the wrong decisions, which could still lead to a happy ending...for you as the player at least ; ) Fable 3 in particular tells a tale where your twin brother is the ruler of the kingdom of Albion, However, his position as 'King' is one that is frowned upon by all. He brought suffering to many areas of Albion, killed, exiled and punished anyone who dare to appose him, apart from you his only relative. In the game you have to gain trust from different nations to overthrow your brother and bring the crown to it's rightful owner, you. How you approach this can be for the good of the nation or you can fool the them as your brother did and rule over with malicious intent. You can fall in love, have children and be the richest character in Albion, but at a price. Your nation depends on you, and with that there needs to be trust, being generous and helpful throughout the world will reward you as a good king, but betraying them will turn you as evil. In the end you become the king/queen of Albion, whether or good or bad, the nation will be happily ever after as you the player seems fit. As other common fairy tales, Fable includes a lot of fictional material that gives it that true 'fantasy' essence. There is a lot of magic use within the world, whether for combat, well being or general use, it is a primary asset that is used to add an attractive bond between player , narrative and environment. Playing a video game with this fictional genre, leaves more room for it's audience to feel immersed in the story as they are in control of the action, which choices to make and decisions to act upon. Bringing the fairy tale genre to video games invites more ways to experience them, whether in an twisted or traditional fashion.
