The answer simply put is the overall game play mode; the perspective, the interaction model, challenges imbedded within the game and the action the user must take in order to overcome these challenges. Both “Fable” and “Diablo II” share the same perspective in regards to game play having the user examine the worlds present within the game from a third person point of view. This allows the user to examine the character in which they are playing as and the aesthetics of the world around them. This particular perspective is a well designed portion of the games for the sole reason that the user’s avatar is entirely customizable, in both games, allowing the user to see the end result of their customizations. The only difference between the two games in relation to their perspective would be the fact that “Fable” works on a floating camera which gives the user the opportunity to move the camera around in relation to the avatar. “Diablo” on the other hand utilizes a fixed point camera which is mounted almost at a bird’s eye view, which intern reveals large portions of the map in a single screen, and as a result makes the exploration within the game much easier.
The interaction model of “Fable” and “Diablo II” is very different from one another. “Fable” is a platform mounted controller based game which utilizes button mashing as the primary and easiest mode of interaction within the game. By simply utilizing the “A” button a user can be relatively successful in the game; be it fighting enemies or interacting with the environments and other objects within the game. “Diablo II” on the other hand is a PC mounted game which utilizes mouse based clicking as the primary mode of interaction; a mouse click can induce character movement, character actions, and react with the environments.
Challenges present within both games are very similar, simply being the user is presented with quests which are
imbedded within the game and it is the user’s job to complete these quests. However not all quests are essential to the narrative, some quests are merely side quests which help the user gain experience or magical items but in tern offer no expansion on the story itself. Typically the methods in which the quests are completed are the same within both games; most commonly the user must kill a fowl beast or monster in order to save a town from turmoil, retrieve a sacred object and return it to a specific person or group and finally rescue a character within the game from their certain doom. However, between “Fable” and “Diablo II” solving these challenges can be solved most simply by killing everything in the user’s path.
In part it is the perspective, the interaction model, challenges and how the user overcomes said challenges; that makes up the game play mode. It is these elements present within “Fable” and “Diablo II” which make them fun and exciting for the user’s who play them.