Mic dog control was axed from Fable II

Whistling to pooch was deemed too gimmicky

Fable II was originally going to include DS-style microphone input, Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has told MTV - the developer previously planning to let players control their canine side kick via mic.

Apparently, Lionhead eventually opted to kill the feature because it was too much like a gimmick, rather than a genuine enhancement to the gameplay.

"We did test it out," Molyneux reveals. "Whistling to the dog with the microphone was one of the features that we dropped."

The veteran Lionhead boss last week discussed a range of his firm's prototype ideas at GDC, urging game makers to be bold and creative in their thinking, even if at first things don't work out. Presumably the omitted dog whistle is an example of this.

By Luke Guttridge