IGN presents the history of Fallout
IGN presents the history of Fallout
Editorial - posted by DarkUnderlord on Fri 30 January 2009, 00:42:37
Tags: Fallout 3IGN presents the history of Fallout:
Brian Fargo was an unapologetic RPG fan. He founded Interplay Productions in 1984, and the following year blew away the gaming industry with a Dungeons and Dragons-inspired role playing adventure, published by three-year-old Electronic Arts. Tales of the Unknown, Volume I: The Bard's Tale instantly put Interplay on the map as a major player.
Two years later, none of their follow-ups projects approached the potential they'd shown in their first release. Fargo, however, had ideas for a post-apocalyptic RPG, possibly something modeled after Russia-invades-America flick Red Dawn. Even better, he knew a programmer who'd developed several impressive new coding tricks. Alan Pavlish only had two credits on his resume - one a mere VIC-20 port of Galaxian - but Fargo was sold on what Pavlish had to offer, and soon brought the creators of two highly respected pen-and-paper RPGs on board. Michael A. Stackpole's Mercenaries, Spies, and Private Eyes was largely regarded as an unsung gem, and Ken St. Andre's enduring Tunnels & Trolls, the second modern RPG ever published, advanced the old D&D gaming mechanics. That made them perfect casting for what Fargo had in mind: an RPG that broke rules, starting with the non-fantasy setting. That neither Stackpole nor St. Andre had ever worked on a video game before didn't seem pertinent.
[...]
And gamers had options for what kind of footprint they left. Every problem had multiple solutions, whether it was locked door (equally susceptible to lockpicks and rocket fire) or a hostile robot. NPCs could hire onto the team, and they could refuse orders they didn't like... or even decide to leave if your leadership failed to inspire confidence. Saving progress meant rewriting the game's 5-1/4" floppy disks, so players were directed to copy the originals first; copy-protection came down to a clue-filled booklet players were supposed to read only when and as directed. Red herrings abounded for those who skipped ahead.It's 8 pages and covers everything from Wasteland through Van Buren to Fallout 3. As you might've guessed (it is IGN afterall) it kind of falls a bit flat when it gets to Fallout 3:
Bethesda's take might've been the first non-isometric, fully 3D-rendered Fallout with real-time combat and a strong whiff of first-person shooter, but it felt completely familiar to long-time fans.
[...]
But with the addition of mini-nukes, degrading (but repairable) weaponry, radio stations, a de rigor character creator and junk-built weapons, nothing felt like it was missing. Plus, you could decapitate raiders with teddy bears. That trumped everything.
[...]
Released in October 2008, Fallout 3 ended a ten-year wait for a true franchise sequel. It was ambitious on a scale matching its namesakes, scaled to seventh generation hardware, made by people who truly understood both RPGs and Fallout itself.
[...]
Interplay, meanwhile, continues to talk a good game. A press release claimed development began on the Fallout MMO in April 2008 [...] The launch deadline is April 4, 2011. Fans are certainly pulling for them, particularly since the announcement that Chris Taylor, the seminal lead designer on Fallout 1, is on board.Still, all the bits before that are worth reading.
Spotted @ RPGWatch
Brian Fargo was an unapologetic RPG fan. He founded Interplay Productions in 1984, and the following year blew away the gaming industry with a Dungeons and Dragons-inspired role playing adventure, published by three-year-old Electronic Arts. Tales of the Unknown, Volume I: The Bard's Tale instantly put Interplay on the map as a major player.
Two years later, none of their follow-ups projects approached the potential they'd shown in their first release. Fargo, however, had ideas for a post-apocalyptic RPG, possibly something modeled after Russia-invades-America flick Red Dawn. Even better, he knew a programmer who'd developed several impressive new coding tricks. Alan Pavlish only had two credits on his resume - one a mere VIC-20 port of Galaxian - but Fargo was sold on what Pavlish had to offer, and soon brought the creators of two highly respected pen-and-paper RPGs on board. Michael A. Stackpole's Mercenaries, Spies, and Private Eyes was largely regarded as an unsung gem, and Ken St. Andre's enduring Tunnels & Trolls, the second modern RPG ever published, advanced the old D&D gaming mechanics. That made them perfect casting for what Fargo had in mind: an RPG that broke rules, starting with the non-fantasy setting. That neither Stackpole nor St. Andre had ever worked on a video game before didn't seem pertinent.
[...]
And gamers had options for what kind of footprint they left. Every problem had multiple solutions, whether it was locked door (equally susceptible to lockpicks and rocket fire) or a hostile robot. NPCs could hire onto the team, and they could refuse orders they didn't like... or even decide to leave if your leadership failed to inspire confidence. Saving progress meant rewriting the game's 5-1/4" floppy disks, so players were directed to copy the originals first; copy-protection came down to a clue-filled booklet players were supposed to read only when and as directed. Red herrings abounded for those who skipped ahead.
Bethesda's take might've been the first non-isometric, fully 3D-rendered Fallout with real-time combat and a strong whiff of first-person shooter, but it felt completely familiar to long-time fans.
[...]
But with the addition of mini-nukes, degrading (but repairable) weaponry, radio stations, a de rigor character creator and junk-built weapons, nothing felt like it was missing. Plus, you could decapitate raiders with teddy bears. That trumped everything.
[...]
Released in October 2008, Fallout 3 ended a ten-year wait for a true franchise sequel. It was ambitious on a scale matching its namesakes, scaled to seventh generation hardware, made by people who truly understood both RPGs and Fallout itself.
[...]
Interplay, meanwhile, continues to talk a good game. A press release claimed development began on the Fallout MMO in April 2008 [...] The launch deadline is April 4, 2011. Fans are certainly pulling for them, particularly since the announcement that Chris Taylor, the seminal lead designer on Fallout 1, is on board.
Spotted @ RPGWatch
There are 11 comments on IGN presents the history of Fallout
