Fable 2 will take place some 500 years after the events of the first game, and among other improvements, it will boast a number of gameplay features that were originally promised for Fable. Molyneux apparently received two death threats from Fable fans when they realized that you couldn't plant an acorn and witness it growing into a mighty oak tree over time--he didn't enjoy the experience, and so we're told that this feature will definitely be in Fable 2. To further illustrate his vision of a game in which you can influence the world in dramatic ways through simple actions, we were shown a concept image of an area called Brightwood--a small campsite tucked away in the middle of a forest.

The first time you encounter the camp, you might think that any decision you make on how to interact with it is insignificant, but according to Molyneux, the effects of even your seemingly trivial actions will be felt for decades. If you choose to trade with the camp, for example, you might find that it has developed into a small settlement when you're in the area again 10 years later. After another decade, that small settlement might grow into a village, and ultimately it could become a thriving town or city. If you decided to loot the camp and kill its inhabitants, on the other hand, the land it occupied would be reclaimed by nature, and 10 years later you'd never even know it was there. Molyneux calls this technology "dynamic regions," and it's one of several features in the game that he seems genuinely excited to talk about.

Among the features that didn't realize their full potential in Fable were the promises that you'd be able to invest in property and have a family. These somewhat gimmicky features of the original game will not only be fleshed out in the sequel, but also have the potential to occupy huge chunks of your time--perhaps even becoming an important part of your Fable 2 storyline. Regardless of whether you choose to play as a male or a female, you'll start out as a street urchin with absolutely nothing to lose. Your physical transformation as you become an adult in the game will be determined by a number of factors in addition to the requisite good/evil mechanic, including cruel/kind deeds, and whether you become rich or poor. If you manage to accrue a significant amount of wealth in the game, you'll have the option to unlock additional game content by purchasing each and every building in the world, including castles, catacombs, and the like. If you never have more than two gold pieces to rub together, your experience, your appearance, and the ways that people in the world react to you will be very different.

On the subject of family, Molyneux's goal is to introduce unconditional love to video games by giving you the ability to have children with whichever character from the world you decide to marry. After meeting the woman or man of your dreams (you can play as a woman, remember), you can marry them and then, if you're so inclined, you can opt to have protected or unprotected sex with them. If you choose the latter, we've heard nothing that leads us to believe that your hero will be at risk from infection, but there is a chance that you might become a parent nine months later. Your offspring's appearance will be determined by your spouse's characteristics and by your own at the time of conception, and regardless of what path you choose to take through the game, that child will love you unconditionally. If you've opted to play as a woman, it'll be you that gets pregnant, of course, but that's a preview topic for another day.