Fable III 'Villager Maker' creation tool launches

Persuading gamers to preorder titles by offering collectible items, early access, or day-one advantages is not a new idea. Last week, Electronic Arts announced it will pack an exclusive beta code for Battlefield 3 into the limited edition of the upcoming Medal of Honor reboot, and Halo: Reach's $150 Legendary Edition includes blazing cranium gear, a statue, and more.

Today, Lionhead Studios launched the Villager Maker, a Web-based tool aimed at encouraging gamers to preorder Fable III by allowing them to create a character and have him or her imported into the full game.

The Villager Maker tool launched today on Xbox.com in the United States and United Kingdom. The Web-based Silverlight application lets excited Fable gamers create a character and design not only his or her physical attributes, but also the person's backstory and decision-making thought process.

The tool is free and available to anyone, but those who wish to have their character imported into Fable III need to preorder the game. For those who reserve it, the created character will appear in the title as a quest-giving character who will deliver a task as well as 1,000 gold (Fable III's in-game currency). Those looking only to tinker around with the software can share their creations on social media hubs Twitter and Facebook and can also download an image of their character for use as a desktop background.

Fable III is the third chapter in the Fable franchise. Developed by Lionhead Studios, the game is due out on the Xbox 360 October 26. Unlike its predecessors, it will cast players as the king or queen of Albion, tasking them with commanding their realm, keeping peace, waging war, and enjoying the game's 47 hours of dialogue.

For more on Fable III, check out GameSpot's most recent preview.