Arulan
Cipher
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2014
- Messages
- 313
After a few years hiatus it was time to return to Fallout. Just thought I'd create a thread here for my musings.
Among the many things Fallout does so well, one that I don't hear often enough is the organic nature in which you begin to discover what's going on in your corner of the wasteland. Specifically the Super Mutant threat and all connections to it. The feeling is that of discovering the narrative for yourself, rather than just being fed it.
This includes realizing that the seemingly dimwitted Super Mutants you discovered in Necropolis are actually being led by this Master figure, and somehow also involved in what appears to be a sophisticated operation to attack trade caravans and capture human specimens. The Nightkin are Super Mutants. The cult you paid no mind to at first also appear to be involved in his plot. The existence and eventual details to the Mariposa Military Base. The connection to Harold's story, Grey, and the Master.
A big component to why this works is the Tell Me About dialogue feature. Your suspicions and intuition will lead to asking relevant queries, and when NPCs affirm those connections, even if sometimes subtle, it's very rewarding. This extends to the exploration as well. Despite the lack of explicit direction, there is plenty of information if you only care to ask for you to make informed decisions about where to travel to next (based on your immediate needs; e.g. the Water Chip). There are certainly shortcomings with NPC information consistency however.
The pacing and experience here are subject to your own choices naturally. Your first experience may have led you to discovering the details in a different order, or during the key revelation moments. You may have been captured by Harry at the Watershed and made the connections then. Or you paid no mind to anything until the very end.
I think for all of Fallout's greatest strengths, the quality of the experience can vary greatly depending on your commitment with the pact the game asks of you -- that is that this place is real, treat it as such. The simulation, the world-building, and all of the reactivity are all in service to holding up their side of the arrangement, but it still requires you to actually believe in it. That's what makes little details like being rewarded for being skeptical to share information about your vault (reinforced by hearing about Vault 15's history) so incredible. Or realizing that Super Mutants are using radios for their operations and keeping one in your inventory for the moment to use it against them (though arguably there should have been other uses for this).
When a game can sufficiently convince you to believe in its setting, and continue to reward you for that investment it elevates the experience greatly. Failure to uphold that belief however and it all comes crashing down.
Among the many things Fallout does so well, one that I don't hear often enough is the organic nature in which you begin to discover what's going on in your corner of the wasteland. Specifically the Super Mutant threat and all connections to it. The feeling is that of discovering the narrative for yourself, rather than just being fed it.
This includes realizing that the seemingly dimwitted Super Mutants you discovered in Necropolis are actually being led by this Master figure, and somehow also involved in what appears to be a sophisticated operation to attack trade caravans and capture human specimens. The Nightkin are Super Mutants. The cult you paid no mind to at first also appear to be involved in his plot. The existence and eventual details to the Mariposa Military Base. The connection to Harold's story, Grey, and the Master.
A big component to why this works is the Tell Me About dialogue feature. Your suspicions and intuition will lead to asking relevant queries, and when NPCs affirm those connections, even if sometimes subtle, it's very rewarding. This extends to the exploration as well. Despite the lack of explicit direction, there is plenty of information if you only care to ask for you to make informed decisions about where to travel to next (based on your immediate needs; e.g. the Water Chip). There are certainly shortcomings with NPC information consistency however.
The pacing and experience here are subject to your own choices naturally. Your first experience may have led you to discovering the details in a different order, or during the key revelation moments. You may have been captured by Harry at the Watershed and made the connections then. Or you paid no mind to anything until the very end.
I think for all of Fallout's greatest strengths, the quality of the experience can vary greatly depending on your commitment with the pact the game asks of you -- that is that this place is real, treat it as such. The simulation, the world-building, and all of the reactivity are all in service to holding up their side of the arrangement, but it still requires you to actually believe in it. That's what makes little details like being rewarded for being skeptical to share information about your vault (reinforced by hearing about Vault 15's history) so incredible. Or realizing that Super Mutants are using radios for their operations and keeping one in your inventory for the moment to use it against them (though arguably there should have been other uses for this).
When a game can sufficiently convince you to believe in its setting, and continue to reward you for that investment it elevates the experience greatly. Failure to uphold that belief however and it all comes crashing down.