Fallout (franchise): Difference between revisions
→Fallout 3: Corrected the reviews to having been "highly positive". |
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{{Short description|Video game seriеs}} |
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{{refimprove|date=July 2008}} |
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{{Other uses|Fallout (disambiguation)}} |
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{{In-universe|date=February 2011}} |
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{{Use American English|date=June 2018}} |
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{{Infobox VG series |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} |
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| title = Fallout Series |
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{{Infobox video game series |
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| image = [[File:Fallout logo.PNG|256px]] |
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| title = Fallout |
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| developer = [[Interplay Entertainment]]<br/>[[Black Isle Studios]]<br/>[[Micro Forte]]<br/>[[Bethesda Game Studios]]<br/>[[Obsidian Entertainment]]<br/>[[Masthead Studios]] |
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| image = [[File:Fallout logo.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert]] |
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| publisher = [[Interplay Entertainment]]<br/>[[14 Degrees East]]<br/>[[Bethesda Softworks]] |
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| caption = |
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| first release version = ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' |
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| creator = {{ubl|[[Tim Cain]]|[[Leonard Boyarsky]]}} |
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| first release date = September 30, {{vgy|1997}} |
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| genre = {{ubl|{{small|'''1997–2004:'''}}|[[Role-playing video game|Role-playing]]|{{small|'''since 2004:'''}}|[[Action role-playing]]}} |
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| latest release version = ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' |
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| developer = {{ubl|[[Interplay Entertainment]]|[[Black Isle Studios]]|[[Micro Forté]]|[[Bethesda Game Studios]]|[[Obsidian Entertainment]]|[[Fantasy Flight Games]]|[[Modiphius Entertainment]]|Gaea Mobile}} |
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| latest release date = October 19, {{vgy|2010}} |
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| publisher = {{ubl|[[Interplay Entertainment]]|{{small|(1997–2004)}}|[[14 Degrees East]]|{{small|(2001)}}|[[Bethesda Softworks]]|{{small|(since 2004)}}}} |
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| platforms = [[DOS]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Mac OS X]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox]], [[Xbox 360]] |
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| first release version = ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' |
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| website = http://fallout.bethsoft.com/ |
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| first release date = October 10, 1997 |
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| latest release version = ''[[Fallout 76]]'' |
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| latest release date = November 14, 2018 |
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| platforms = {{ubl|[[DOS]]|[[Microsoft Windows]]|[[Classic Mac OS|Mac OS]]|[[Mac OS X]]|[[Nintendo Switch]]|[[PlayStation 2]]|[[PlayStation 3]]|[[PlayStation 4]]|[[PlayStation 5]]|[[Xbox (console)|Xbox]]|[[Xbox 360]]|[[Xbox One]]|[[Xbox Series X/S]]|[[iOS]]|[[Android (operating system)|Android]]}} |
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}} |
}} |
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'''''Fallout''''' is a |
'''''Fallout''''' is a media franchise of [[post-apocalyptic]] [[role-playing video game]]s created by [[Tim Cain]] and [[Leonard Boyarsky]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Middler |first1=Jordan |title=Fallout creator Tim Cain is consulting on The Outer Worlds 2 |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/fallout-creator-tim-cain-is-consulting-on-the-outer-worlds-2/ |access-date=April 16, 2024 |work=VGC |date=January 4, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dransfield |first1=Ian |title=The History of Fallout |journal=Retro Gamer |date=October 4, 2018 |issue=186 |page=21}}</ref> at [[Interplay Entertainment]]. The series is set during the first half of the 3rd millennium, and its [[cyberpunk derivatives#Atompunk|atompunk]] [[retrofuturistic]] setting and artwork are influenced by the [[post-war]] [[United States in the 1950s|culture of the 1950s United States]], with its combination of hope for the promises of technology and the lurking fear of [[nuclear annihilation]]. ''Fallout'' is regarded as a [[spiritual successor]] to ''[[Wasteland (video game)|Wasteland]]'', a 1988 game developed by [[Interplay Productions]]. |
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The series' first title, ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'', was developed by [[Black Isle Studios]] and released in 1997, and its sequel, ''[[Fallout 2]],'' the following year. With the [[tactical role-playing game]] ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel]]'', development was handed to [[Micro Forté]] and [[14 Degrees East]]. In 2004, Interplay closed Black Isle Studios,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6086046.html |title=Q&A: Feargus Urquhart, Part One |publisher=GameSpot.com |date=October 28, 2008 |access-date=September 8, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122144642/http://www.gamespot.com/news/6086046.html |archive-date=January 22, 2009}}</ref> and continued to produce ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]'', an [[action game]] with role-playing elements for the [[PlayStation 2]] and [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]], without Black Isle Studios. ''[[Fallout 3]]'', the third entry in the main series, was released in 2008 by [[Bethesda Softworks]], and was followed by ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', developed by [[Obsidian Entertainment]] released on October 19, 2010. ''[[Fallout 4]]'' was released in 2015, and ''[[Fallout 76]]'' released on November 14, 2018. |
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An inspiration for the game Fallout is a game titled "Wasteland" published by EA games on the Commodore 64, Apple II & later on the PC. Although the game worlds are strictly speaking different, the background story, the inhabitants, locations and characters draw many parallels from this landmark game. It is said that the Fallout series is the spiritual successor to this old game. |
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Bethesda Softworks owns the rights to the ''Fallout'' [[intellectual property]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Contract between Bethesda and Interplay Entertainment Corp |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1057232/000117091807000324/0001170918-07-000324.txt |date=April 9, 2007 |access-date=May 16, 2007}}</ref> After acquiring it, Bethesda licensed the rights to make a [[massively multiplayer online role-playing game]] (MMORPG) version of ''Fallout'' to Interplay. The MMORPG got as far as beta stage under Interplay,<ref>{{cite web |title=Beta Status for ''Fallout Online'' |url=http://www.betawatcher.com/game.aspx?gameid=417 |publisher=Betawatcher.com |access-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> but a prolonged legal battle between Bethesda Softworks and Interplay disrupted the development of the game, eventually resulting in its cancellation. Bethesda argued in court that Interplay had failed to fulfill the terms and conditions of the licensing contract. The case reached a resolution in early 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bethesda acquires Fallout MMO rights |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/09/bethesda-settles-lawsuit-over-fallout-license.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111030547/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/09/bethesda-settles-lawsuit-over-fallout-license.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |publisher=Gameinformer.com |access-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> |
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The first two titles in the series (''[[Fallout (computer game)|Fallout]]'' and ''[[Fallout 2]]'') were developed by [[Black Isle Studios]]. [[Micro Forte|Micro Forté]] and 14 Degrees East's ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' of 2001 was a [[tactical role-playing game]]{{Clarify|date=May 2010}}. In 2004, Interplay closed Black Isle Studios,<ref>[http://www.gamespot.com/news/6086046.html Q&A: Feargus Urquhart] Gamespot's interview with the founder of Black Isle</ref> and continued to produce an [[action game]] with RPG elements for [[PlayStation 2]] and [[Xbox]], ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' without Black Isle Studios. A third entry in the main series, ''[[Fallout 3]]'', was released in 2008 by Bethesda Softworks. ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' was developed by [[Obsidian Entertainment]] with many former Black Isle employees who created ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2''. Bethesda made it clear that New Vegas was not a direct sequel to Fallout 3, but an addition to the franchise.<ref>[http://topnews.us/content/227888-fallout-new-vegas-not-direct-sequel-main-fallout-series Fallout: New Vegas is not a direct sequel to Fallout 3]</ref> |
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== Origins == |
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Bethesda Softworks now owns the rights to make all ''Fallout'' games,<ref>{{cite web | title=Contract between Bethesda and Interplay Entertainment Corp | url=http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1057232/000117091807000324/0001170918-07-000324.txt | date=2007-04-09 | accessdate=2007-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Fallout license changes hands | url=http://www.nma-fallout.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35621 | date=2007-04-09}}</ref> and has conditionally licensed the rights to make a [[massively multiplayer online role-playing game]] version of ''Fallout'' to Interplay. Interplay's rights to developing and publishing ''[[Fallout Online]]'' have been the subject of a legal dispute between Bethesda Softworks, the current owner of the Fallout franchise, and Interplay. The current legal status of the game is unknown however it is in active development, with a projected release date of 2012.<ref>{{cite web | title=Beta Status for ''Fallout Online'' | url=http://www.betawatcher.com/game.aspx?gameid=417}}</ref> |
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The ideas of the ''Fallout'' series began with [[Interplay Productions]]' ''[[Wasteland (video game)|Wasteland]]'', released in 1988. At that time, Interplay was not a publisher and used [[Electronic Arts]] for distribution of the game. According to Interplay's founder, [[Brian Fargo]], they wanted to explore a post-apocalyptic setting and created ''Wasteland'' for that. Sometime after release, Interplay decided to shift focus and become a publisher while still developing games. Fargo wanted to continue to use the ''Wasteland'' [[intellectual property]] but could not negotiate the rights back from [[Electronic Arts]]. Still wanting to do something in a post-apocalyptic setting, Fargo and his team decided to make a new setting and game. They determined what aspects of ''Wasteland'' were positives and wrote and developed a new game around them. The result was the first ''Fallout'' games, which were released nearly ten years after ''Wasteland''.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-complete-history-of-fallout/ |title=The complete history of Fallout |first=Ian |last=Dranfield |date=April 4, 2019 |access-date=April 4, 2019 |magazine=[[PC Gamer]]}}</ref> |
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== |
== Games == |
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{{Timeline of release years |
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===Background=== |
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| range1 = 1997 |
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| range1_color = #3e95fb #faef71 <!-- colors are based on the series' logos --> |
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The background story of ''Fallout'' (the first of the series) involves a [[United States]] [[alternate history]] scenario which diverges from reality following [[World War II]]. The [[transistor]] was invented just before the Great War (the nuclear war that creates the post-apocalyptic setting), while [[vacuum tube]]s and [[atomic physics]] became the cornerstones to scientific progress, eventually achieving the technological aspirations of the early [[Atomic Age]] and locking society into a [[1950s]] cultural stasis. Thus, in this alternative "Golden Age", a bizarre socio-technological status quo emerges, in which advanced [[robot]]s, [[nuclear propulsion|nuclear-powered]] cars, [[directed-energy weapon]]s and other futuristic technologies are seen alongside 1950s-era computers, telephones and typewriters, and the aesthetics and [[Cold War]] paranoia of the 1950s continue to dominate the American lifestyle well into the 21st century. |
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| compressempty = yes |
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| 1997 = '''''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]''''' |
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Tensions rise over the next century due to an increasing [[energy crisis]] caused by the depletion of [[petroleum]] reserves, leading to the "Resource Wars": a series of events over the next few decades which included a [[Europe]]-[[Middle East]] war, the disbanding of the [[United Nations]], the U.S. [[annexation]] of [[Canada]] and a [[People's Republic of China|Chinese]] [[invasion]] and [[military occupation]] of [[Alaska]]. These eventually culminated in the 2077 [[World War III|Great War]], a cataclysmic [[nuclear warfare|nuclear exchange]] that lasted for only two hours, and subsequently created the [[apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|post-apocalyptic]] setting of ''Fallout''. |
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| 1998 = '''''[[Fallout 2]]''''' |
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| 2001 = ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel|Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' |
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====Vaults==== |
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| 2004 = ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel|Brotherhood of Steel]]'' |
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Having foreseen this outcome decades earlier, the U.S. government had begun a nationwide project, "Project Safehouse" in 2054 to build [[fallout shelter]]s known as "Vaults". The Vaults were ostensibly designed by the [[government contractor]] Vault-Tec as public shelters, financed by [[high-yield debt|junk bonds]] and each able to support up to a thousand people. Since each Vault is self-sufficient, they could in theory sustain their inhabitants indefinitely. However, the Vault project was never intended as a viable method of repopulating the United States in case of a nuclear holocaust. For that purpose, around 400,000 vaults were needed, but only 122 were commissioned and constructed. Each of the Vaults, as hallmarks of a massive, secret and unethical social experiment, were designed to determine the effects of different environmental and [[Psychology|psychological]] conditions on its inhabitants. These tests ranged from being plausibly practical (Vault 13, for example, was designed to keep its inhabitants isolated for far longer than necessary while Vault 27 had twice the standard number of residents to study the effects of [[overcrowding]]) to being bizarrely esoteric (Vault 106 had [[psychoactive drugs]] released into the air ten days after being sealed while Vault 77 had a single resident and a crate of [[puppets]]). A few [[Scientific control|control]] Vaults were made to function as advertised (such as Vault 8) to contrast with the data from the Vaults with intentional flaws. Of the 122 vaults commissioned only 17 of these were control Vaults. Nevertheless, many Vaults had their experiments derailed due to unexpected events (Vault 13 for example, was opened much earlier than expected due to a defective water chip). |
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| 2008 = '''''[[Fallout 3]]''''' |
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| 2009 = |
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===Post-war conditions=== |
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| 2010 = ''[[Fallout: New Vegas|New Vegas]]'' |
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In the years following the Great War, the United States has devolved into a post-apocalyptic wasteland commonly dubbed "The Wasteland" (or "Capital Wasteland" in the case of Washington, D.C., and "The Mojave Wasteland" in the case of the post-apocalyptic version of Las Vegas). The war and subsequent nuclear fallout severely depopulated the country, leaving large expanses of property decaying from neglect. In addition, virtually all food and water is irradiated to some degree, and radiation exposure has caused mutation in nearly all forms of life. |
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| 2011 = |
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| 2015a = ''[[Fallout Shelter|Shelter]]'' |
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With a large portion of the country's infrastructure in ruins, basic necessities are scarce. Barter is the common method of exchange, with bottlecaps providing a more conventional form of currency. Most cities and towns are empty, having been looted and deserted in favor of smaller, makeshift communities scattered around the Wasteland. |
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| 2015b = '''''[[Fallout 4]]''''' |
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| 2016 = ''[[Fallout Pinball|Pinball]]'' |
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| 2018 = ''[[Fallout 76]]'' |
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| 2019 = ''[[#Fallout Shelter Online (2019)|Shelter Online]]'' |
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| TBA = '''''[[Fallout 5]]''''' |
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}} |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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Several factions exist in the Fallout series. The Brotherhood of Steel are a group dedicated to the collection and preservation of pre-war knowledge and technology. They are a techno-religious organization, and descendants of survivors from the the American military. Despite their good intentions, the Brotherhood are mostly xenophobic, and see themselves as the sole heirs to pre-war technology, bringing them into conflict with other survivors. The Enclave are the main antagonists for the second and third games, and are the remnants of the pre-war government. They have access to the best technology available before the war, although they often use their own, self-designed technology instead of pre-war weapons. This is most notable in their power-armor, which is far superior to the best pre-war armor available, the T-51b, and usage of plasma weaponry which would have been in the prototype stage pre-war. Their main aim was to wipe out all mutation in the Wasteland (which, given the pervasive radiation, is every living thing on the surface). As of ''New Vegas'', the only Enclave left in the Core region are a group of aging expatriates who were ousted from the outpost at Navarro. The player also encounters the New California Republic, which is the biggest faction in post apocalyptic America, both by population and landmass. The NCR is the only group which resembles a pre-war country, with a professional military and working industry. Finally, there are the Super Mutants, humans that have been mutated by the Forced Evolutionary Virus into towering sterile mutants with incredible strength and, typically, diminished intelligence. The games also feature smaller factions, but these represent some of the main factions in each game. |
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! rowspan="2" style=width:40px; |Year |
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! rowspan="2" style=width:230px; |Title |
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==Main series== |
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! rowspan="2" style=width:100px; |Developer |
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! colspan="4" |Platform(s) |
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{| style="float:right; margin:0 0 0.5ex 1em; font-size:80%; line-height:90%;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" |
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|+'''Timeline of release years''' |
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|- |
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! colspan="2" style=width:200px;|Computer |
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| 1997 – |
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! style=width:200px; | Home console |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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! style=width:100px; | Mobile |
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| – ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' |
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|- |
|- |
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! colspan="8" |Main series |
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| 1998 – |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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| – ''[[Fallout 2]]'' |
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|- |
|- |
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|1997 |
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| 1999 – |
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|''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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|[[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay]] |
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| |
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| style="background:#dfd;" rowspan="1" |[[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[MS-DOS]] |
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| style="background:#dfd;" rowspan="2" |[[Classic MacOS]], [[Mac OS X]] |
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| style="background:#fdd;" colspan="2"| |
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|- |
|- |
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|1998 |
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| 2000 – |
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|''[[Fallout 2]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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|[[Black Isle Studios|Black Isle]] |
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| |
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| style="background:#dfd;" rowspan="3" |[[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] |
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| style="background:#fdd;" colspan="2"| |
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|- |
|- |
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|2008 |
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| 2001 – |
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|''[[Fallout 3]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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| rowspan="3" |[[Bethesda Game Studios|Bethesda]] |
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| – ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' |
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| style="background:#fdd;" | |
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| style="background:#dfd;" |[[PlayStation 3|PS3]], [[Xbox 360]] |
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| style="background:#fdd;" | |
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|- |
|- |
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|2015 |
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| 2002 – |
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|''[[Fallout 4]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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| style="background:#fdd;" | |
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| |
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| style="background:#dfd;" |[[PlayStation 4|PS4]], [[Xbox One]], [[PlayStation 5|PS5]], [[Xbox Series X and Series S|Xbox X/S]] |
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| style="background:#fdd;" | |
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|- |
|- |
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|{{TBA}} |
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| 2003 – |
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|''[[Fallout 5]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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! colspan="5" style="background:#DDF;" |{{nobold|{{abbr|TBA|To be announced}}}} |
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| |
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|- |
|- |
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! colspan="8" |Spin-offs |
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| 2004 – |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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| – ''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' |
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|- |
|- |
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|2001 |
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| 2005 – |
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|''[[Fallout Tactics]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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|[[Micro Forté]] |
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| |
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| colspan="2" style="background:#dfd;"| [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] |
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| colspan="2" style="background:#fdd;"| |
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|- |
|- |
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|2004 |
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| 2006 – |
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|''[[Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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|[[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay]] |
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| |
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| colspan="2" style="background:#fdd;"| |
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|style="background:#dfd;"| [[PlayStation 2|PS2]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] |
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| style="background:#fdd;"| |
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|- |
|- |
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|2010 |
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| 2007 – |
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|''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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|[[Obsidian Entertainment|Obsidian]] |
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| |
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| style="background:#dfd;" colspan="2" rowspan="2" |[[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] |
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| style="background:#dfd;"| [[PlayStation 3|PS3]], [[Xbox 360]] |
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| style="background:#fdd;"| |
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|- |
|- |
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|2015 |
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| 2008 – |
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|''[[Fallout Shelter]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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|[[Bethesda Game Studios|Bethesda]] |
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| – ''[[Fallout 3]]'' |
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| style="background:#dfd;"| [[PlayStation 4|PS4]], [[Xbox One]], [[Nintendo Switch|Switch]] |
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| rowspan="2" style="background:#dfd;"|[[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]] |
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|- |
|- |
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|2016 |
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| 2009 – |
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|''[[Fallout Pinball]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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|[[Zen Studios]] |
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| |
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| style="background:#fdd;" colspan="3"| |
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|- |
|- |
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|2018 |
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| 2010 – |
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|''[[Fallout 76]]'' |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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|[[Bethesda Game Studios|Bethesda]] |
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| – ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' |
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| style="background:#dfd;" colspan="2"|[[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] |
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|- |
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| style="background:#dfd;"|[[PlayStation 4|PS4]], [[Xbox One]] |
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| 2011 – |
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| style="background:#fdd;"| |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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| |
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|- |
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| 2012 – |
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! width="10px" style="background:orange; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black;" | |
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| – ''[[Fallout Online]]'' |
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|- |
|- |
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|2019 |
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|''Fallout Shelter Online'' |
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|Gaea Mobile |
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| colspan="3" style="background:#fdd;"| |
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| rowspan="1" style="background:#dfd;"|[[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]] |
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|} |
|} |
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=== |
=== Main series === |
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====''Fallout''==== |
==== ''Fallout'' (1997) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout (video game)}} |
{{Main|Fallout (video game)}} |
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Released in 1997, ''Fallout'' takes place in a post-apocalyptic [[Southern California]], beginning in the year 2161. The protagonist is tasked with recovering a water chip in the Wasteland to replace the broken chip in his or her home, Vault 13. |
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''Fallout'' was originally intended to run under the [[GURPS]] [[role-playing game system]] However, a disagreement with the creator of GURPS, [[Steve Jackson (US game designer)|Steve Jackson]], over the game's violent content required Black Isle Studios to develop |
Released in October 1997, ''Fallout'' takes place in a post-apocalyptic [[Southern California]], beginning in the year 2161. The protagonist, referred to as ''the Vault Dweller'', is tasked with recovering a water chip in the Wasteland to replace the broken one in their underground shelter home, Vault 13. Afterwards, the Vault Dweller must thwart the plans of a group of [[mutants]], led by a grotesque entity named ''the Master''. ''Fallout'' was originally intended to run under the ''[[GURPS]]'' [[role-playing game system]]. However, a disagreement with the creator of ''GURPS'', [[Steve Jackson (US game designer)|Steve Jackson]], over the game's violent content required [[Black Isle Studios]] to develop the new SPECIAL system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/07/21/ign-presents-the-history-of-fallout |title=IGN Presents the History of Fallout |date=June 4, 2020 |work=[[IGN]] |access-date=August 6, 2021}}</ref> ''Fallout''{{'}}s atmosphere and artwork are reminiscent of post–[[World War II]] United States during the [[Cold War|Cold War era]] and the fear that the country was headed for [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]] in the real world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 21, 1997 |title=Fallout Review |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/fallout-review/1900-2535953/ |access-date=October 25, 2022 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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====''Fallout 2''==== |
==== ''Fallout 2'' (1998) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout 2}} |
{{Main|Fallout 2}} |
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''Fallout 2'' was released in 1998. The game featured several improvements over the first game, including an improved game engine, the ability to set attitudes of non-player character (NPC) party members and the ability to push people who are blocking doors. Additional features included several changes to the game world, including significantly more pop culture jokes and parodies, such as multiple [[Monty Python]]-referencing special random encounters, and self-parodying dialogue that broke the [[fourth wall]] to mention [[game mechanics]]. |
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''Fallout 2'' takes place |
''Fallout 2'' was released in October 1998, with several improvements over the first game, including an improved [[Game engine|engine]], the ability to set attitudes of [[non-player characters]] (NPC) party members and the ability to push people who are blocking doors. Additional features included several changes, including significantly more pop culture jokes and parodies, such as multiple special random encounters referencing [[Monty Python]] and ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', and self-parodying dialogue that broke the [[fourth wall]] to mention [[game mechanics]]. ''Fallout 2'' takes place eighty years after ''Fallout'', and centers around a descendant of the Vault Dweller, the protagonist of ''Fallout''. The player assumes the role of ''the Chosen One'' (Vault Dweller's actual grandchild) as they try to save their village, Arroyo, from famine and droughts. After saving the village, the Chosen One must fight the Enclave, the remnants of the pre-war United States government (as well as the shadow government in charge of the vault project). |
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==== ''Fallout 3'' (2008) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout 3}} |
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[[File:Fallout 3 Banner Ad 2.jpg|thumb|left|"Prepare for the Future" promotional campaign at the [[Metro Center (WMATA station)|Metro Center]] station in Washington, D.C.]] |
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''Van Buren'' was the code-name for the cancelled version of ''Fallout 3'' developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay. It featured an improved engine with real 3D graphics as opposed to sprites, new locations, vehicles and a modified version of the SPECIAL system. The story disconnected from the Vault Dweller/Chosen One bloodline in ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2''. Plans for the game included the ability to influence the various factions. The game was cancelled in December 2003 when the budget cuts forced Interplay to dismiss the [[PC game|PC]] development team. Interplay subsequently sold the ''Fallout'' [[intellectual property]] to [[Bethesda Softworks]], who began development on their own version of ''Fallout 3'' unrelated to ''Van Buren''. |
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''Fallout 3'' was developed by [[Bethesda Game Studios]] and released on October 28, 2008. The story picks up thirty years after the setting of ''Fallout 2'' and 200 years after the nuclear war that devastated the game's world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/info/faq.html |title=FAQ |publisher=[[Bethesda Softworks]] |date=May 5, 2008 |access-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> The player-character is a Vault dweller in Vault 101 who is forced to flee when the Overseer tries to arrest them in response to their father leaving the Vault. Once out, the player is dubbed the Lone Wanderer and ventures into the Wasteland in and around [[Washington, D.C.]], known as the Capital Wasteland, to find their father. It differs from previous games in the series by utilizing [[3D computer graphics|3D graphics]], a free-roam gaming world, and real-time combat, in contrast to previous games' [[2D computer graphics|2D]] [[isometric projection|isometric]] graphics and [[Turn-based game|turn-based]] combat. It was developed for the [[Personal computer|PC]], [[Xbox 360]] and [[PlayStation 3]] using the [[Gamebryo]] [[Game engine|engine]]. It received highly positive reviews, garnering 94 out of 100,<ref name="metacritic-fo3">{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/fallout3 |title=Fallout 3 PC Reviews at Metacritic |access-date=November 7, 2008 |website=Metacritic}}</ref> 92 out of 100,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps3/fallout3 |title=Fallout 3 PS3 Reviews at Metacritic |access-date=November 7, 2008 |website=Metacritic |archive-date=September 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913023712/http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/fallout-3 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and 93 out of 100<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/fallout3 |title=Fallout 3 Xbox 360 Reviews at Metacritic |access-date=November 7, 2008 |website=Metacritic |archive-date=May 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523222640/http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/fallout-3 |url-status=dead }}</ref> averages scores on [[Metacritic]] for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, respectively. It won [[IGN]]'s 2008 Overall Game of the Year Award, Xbox 360 Game of the Year, Best RPG, and Best Use of Sound, as well as [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3]]'s Best of the Show and Best Role Playing Game. |
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''Van Buren'' is considered to be a part of the main ''Fallout''-series, however it is considered semi-canon. Some parts of the game were incorporated into ''Fallout 3'' and its add-ons as well as "Fallout: New Vegas".<ref>[http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_canon#Semi-canon_works] Fallout canon on The Vault - The Fallout wiki</ref> |
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==== ''Fallout 4'' (2015) ==== |
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NOTE TO EDITORS: PLEASE DO NOT MOVE THIS SUB-SECTION INTO THE "SPINOFFS" SECTION. IT IS CONSIDERED A PART OF THE MAIN SERIES. SUCH EDITS WILL BE CONSIDERED VANDALISM. PLEASE SEE THE TALK PAGE FOR MORE DISCUSSION. |
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{{Main|Fallout 4}} |
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''Fallout 4'', developed by Bethesda Game Studios, was released on November 10, 2015. The game was released for [[Microsoft Windows]], [[PlayStation 4]] and [[Xbox One]] and takes place in [[Boston]], Massachusetts, of the in-game New England Commonwealth and features voiced protagonists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fallout-4-officially-confirmed-for-pc-xbox-one-ps4/1100-6427776/ |title=Fallout 4 Officially Confirmed for PC, Xbox One, PS4 |last=Hussain |first=Tamoor |date=June 3, 2015 |access-date=June 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/03/fallout-4-officially-revealed-by-teaser-site |title=FALLOUT 4 OFFICIALLY REVEALED BY TEASER SITE |last=Karmali |first=Luke |date=June 3, 2015 |access-date=June 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2BkLqMef4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603141618/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2BkLqMef4&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=June 3, 2015 |url-status=dead |title=Fallout 4 – Official Trailer |publisher=Bethseda Softworks |date=June 3, 2015 |access-date=June 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Fallout 4's Protagonists Have Voices – IGN |date=June 22, 2015 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/22/why-fallout-4s-protagonists-have-voices |access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref> The [[Xbox One]] version has been confirmed to have [[Mod (video gaming)|mods]] {{as of|2016|lc=y}}. Bethesda also confirmed mods for PlayStation 4, after lengthy negotiations with Sony.<ref>{{cite web |title=E3 2015: Fallout 4 to Support PC Mods on Xbox One – IGN |date=June 15, 2015 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/15/e3-2015-fallout-4-to-support-mods-on-xbox-one |access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref> A virtual reality version of the game was released on December 11, 2017, available on [[SteamVR]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vrheads.com/fallout-4-vr |title=VR |publisher=vrheads.com |access-date=May 12, 2018 |date=December 22, 2017 |archive-date=May 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522112714/https://www.vrheads.com/fallout-4-vr |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Fallout 4'' takes place in the year 2287, ten years after the events of ''Fallout 3''. ''Fallout 4''{{'}}s story begins on the day the bombs dropped: October 23, 2077. The player's character (voiced by either [[Brian T. Delaney]] or [[Courtenay Taylor]]), dubbed as the Sole Survivor, takes shelter in Vault 111, emerging 210 years later, after being subjected to [[suspended animation]]. The Sole Survivor goes on a search for their son who was taken away from the Vault. |
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==== ''Fallout 5'' (TBA) ==== |
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In June 2022, [[Todd Howard]] stated in an interview that ''Fallout 5'' would begin development after the completion of ''[[The Elder Scrolls VI]]'', with an unspecified release window.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Skrebels |first=Joe |date=June 14, 2022 |title=Todd Howard Confirms Fallout 5 Is Coming After Elder Scrolls 6 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/todd-howard-bethesda-fallout-5-elder-scrolls-6-starfield |access-date=June 14, 2022 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> |
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====''Fallout 3''==== |
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{{Main|Fallout 3}} |
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=== Spin-offs === |
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''Fallout 3'' was developed by [[Bethesda Softworks]] and released on October 28, 2008. The story picks up 30 years after the setting of ''[[Fallout 2]]'' and 200 years after the nuclear war that devastated the game's world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/info/faq.html|title=FAQ|publisher=[[Bethesda Softworks]]|date=2008-05-05}}</ref> The player is a vault-dweller in Vault 101 who is forced to flee when the Overseer tries to arrest him/her in response to the player's father leaving the vault. Once free, the player is dubbed the Lone Wanderer, and ventures into the Wasteland in and around [[Washington, D.C.]], known as the Capital Wasteland, to find him. It differs from previous games in the series by utilizing [[3D computer graphics|3D graphics]], a free-roam gaming world, and real-time gameplay, in contrast to previous games' [[2D computer graphics|2D]] [[isometric projection|isometric]], [[Turn-based game|turn-based]] gameplay. It was developed simultaneously for the [[Personal computer|PC]], [[Xbox 360]] and [[PlayStation 3]] using the [[Gamebryo]] [[Game engine|engine]]. On release it received highly positive reviews, garnering 94/100,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/fallout3 |title=Fallout 3 PC Reviews at Metacritic |accessdate=2008-11-07 |publisher=Metacritic }}</ref> 92/100,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps3/fallout3 |title=Fallout 3 PS3 Reviews at Metacritic |accessdate=2008-11-07 |publisher=Metacritic }}</ref> and 93/100<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/fallout3 |title=Fallout 3 Xbox 360 Reviews at Metacritic |accessdate=2008-11-07 |publisher=Metacritic }}</ref> averages scores on [[Metacritic]] for the [[Personal computer|PC]], [[PlayStation 3]], and [[Xbox 360]] versions of the game, respectively. |
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==== ''Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel'' (2001) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel}} |
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''Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel'' is the first ''Fallout'' game not to require the player to fight in a [[turn-based]] mode, and the first to allow the player to customize the skills, perks, and combat actions of the rest of the party. ''Fallout Tactics'' focuses on [[turn-based tactics|tactical]] combat rather than [[Role-playing video game|role-playing]]; the new combat system included different modes, stances, and modifiers, but the player had no dialogue options. Most of the criticisms of the game came from its incompatibility with the story of the original two games, not from its gameplay. ''Fallout Tactics'' includes a multiplayer mode that allows players to compete against squads of other characters controlled by other players. Unlike the previous two games, which are based in California, ''Fallout Tactics'' takes place in the [[Midwestern United States]]. The game was released in early 2001 to generally favorable reviews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel Review |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/fallout-tactics-brotherhood-of-steel-review/1900-2699080/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/fallout-tactics-brotherhood-of-steel/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=Metacritic |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, [[Emil Pagliarulo]] stated that elements and lore from ''Fallout Tactics'' have been used in [[Bethesda Softworks]]' subsequent entries in the series.<ref>{{cite AV media| people = Emil Pagliarulo| title = Willkommen zu #BGC2020 - unser Gamescom Streaming-Format für euch!| medium = Stream| publisher = Bethesda Softworks DE| year = 2020|url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/725149480?t=01h06m23s}}</ref> |
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==== ''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel'' (2004) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel}} |
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''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel'' became the first ''Fallout'' game for [[video game console|consoles]] when it was released in 2004. It follows an initiate in the [[Brotherhood of Steel]] who is given a suicidal quest to find several lost Brotherhood Paladins. ''Brotherhood of Steel'' is an [[action role-playing game]], representing a significant break from previous incarnations of the ''Fallout'' series in both gameplay and aesthetics. The game does not feature [[non-player character]]s that accompany the player in combat and uses [[heavy metal music]], including [[Slipknot (band)|Slipknot]], [[Devin Townsend]], and [[Killswitch Engage]], which stands in contrast to the music of the earlier ''Fallout'' games, performed by [[The Ink Spots]] and [[Louis Armstrong]]. It was the last ''Fallout'' game developed by [[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay]]. |
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====''Fallout: New Vegas''==== |
==== ''Fallout: New Vegas'' (2010) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout: New Vegas}} |
{{Main|Fallout: New Vegas}} |
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[[File:E3 2010 Bathesda games Fallout New Vegas booth.jpg|thumb|Exposition for ''Fallout: New Vegas'' at [[E3 2010]]]] |
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''Fallout: New Vegas'' was developed by [[Obsidian Entertainment]] and released on October 19, 2010, in North America and October 22, 2010, in Europe.<ref>[http://news.filefront.com/fallout-new-vegas-release-date-announced Fallout: New Vegas Release Date Announced]</ref> |
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''Fallout: New Vegas'' is not a direct sequel to ''[[Fallout 3]]''.<ref name="Josh Sawyer GameSpot Interview">{{cite web|title=Fallout: New Vegas Interview: Josh Sawyer|url=http://au.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/falloutnewvegas/video/6261040/fallout-new-vegas-interview-josh-sawyer|last=Tong|first=Sophia|work=GameSpot|date=May 4, 2010|format=Video}}</ref><ref name="usatoday">{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20100216/fallout16_st.art.htm|title=What happens in 'Fallout: New Vegas'|last=Snider|first=Mike|work=USATODAY.com|date=February 16, 2010|accessdate=February 16, 2010}}</ref> Rather, it is a stand-alone product.<ref name="Josh Sawyer GameSpot Interview"/> Events in game follow four years after ''Fallout 3'' and offer a similar role-playing experience, however, no characters from that game appear.<ref name="usatoday" /> |
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''Fallout: New Vegas'' was developed by [[Obsidian Entertainment]] and released on October 19, 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.filefront.com/fallout-new-vegas-release-date-announced |title=Fallout: New Vegas Release Date Announced |date=June 13, 2010 |publisher=News.filefront.com |access-date=January 19, 2012 |archive-date=November 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103231726/http://news.filefront.com/fallout-new-vegas-release-date-announced/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The development team included developers who previously worked on ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20100216/fallout16_st.art.htm |title=USATODAY.com |website=usatoday30.usatoday.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/20/fallout-new-vegas-coming-to-consoles-next-year/ |title=Fallout: New Vegas coming to consoles next year}}</ref> ''Fallout: New Vegas'' is not a direct sequel to ''Fallout 3''.<ref name="Josh Sawyer GameSpot Interview">{{cite web |url=http://au.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/falloutnewvegas/video/6261040/fallout-new-vegas-interview-josh-sawyer |title=Fallout: New Vegas Interview: Josh Sawyer |last=Tong |first=Sophia |date=May 4, 2010 |format=Video |work=GameSpot |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626031730/http://au.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/falloutnewvegas/video/6261040/fallout-new-vegas-interview-josh-sawyer |archive-date=June 26, 2010}}</ref><ref name="usatoday">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20100216/fallout16_st.art.htm |title=What happens in 'Fallout: New Vegas' |last=Snider |first=Mike |date=February 16, 2010 |work=USA Today |access-date=February 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/05/29/is-bethesda-teasing-a-fallout-remaster-or-a-new-new-vegas |title=Is Bethesda Teasing a Fallout Remaster or a New New Vegas? |website=IGN |author=Dan Stapleton |date=May 29, 2018 |access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> Events follow four years after ''Fallout 3'' and offer a similar experience, but no characters from that game appear.<ref name="usatoday" /> The player assumes the role of a courier in the post-apocalyptic world of the [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]] Wasteland. As the game begins, the Courier is shot in the head and left for dead shortly before being found and brought to a doctor in the nearby town of Goodsprings, marking the start of the game and the Courier's search for their would-be murderer. The city of New Vegas is a post-apocalyptic interpretation of [[Las Vegas]]. |
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NOTE TO EDITORS: PLEASE DO NOT MOVE THIS SUB-SECTION INTO THE "SPINOFFS" SECTION. IT IS CONSIDERED A PART OF THE MAIN SERIES. SUCH EDITS WILL BE CONSIDERED VANDALISM. PLEASE SEE THE TALK PAGE FOR MORE DISCUSSION. |
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-->In ''New Vegas'' the player assumes the role of a courier in the post apocalyptic world of the Mojave Wasteland. As the game begins, the courier is shot in the head and left for dead shortly before being found and brought to a doctor in the nearby town of Goodsprings, marking the start of the game and the courier's search for his or her would be murderer. The city of New Vegas is a post apocalyptic interpretation of [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] with only four standing casinos. |
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====''Fallout |
==== ''Fallout Shelter'' (2015) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout Shelter}} |
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Pete Hines of Bethesda Softworks said: "The whole reason we went out and acquired the license and that we now own ''Fallout'' is that we clearly intended to make more than one. This is not something we're going to do once and then go away and never do it again. When that will be or how long that will be God only knows, but we acquired it specifically because we wanted to own it and develop it and work on it like we do with ''[[The Elder Scrolls]].''"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.totalvideogames.com/Fallout-3/news/Fallout-4-Planned-13049.html |title=TVG: Fallout MMO Planned |publisher=Totalvideogames.com |date= |accessdate=2010-02-04}}</ref> |
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''Fallout Shelter'' is a [[construction and management simulation|simulation]] game for [[Microsoft Windows]], [[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Xbox One]], [[PlayStation 4]] and [[Nintendo Switch]]. The player acts as the Overseer, building and managing their Vault and its dwellers, sending them into the Wasteland on scouting missions and defending the Vault from attacks. Unlike the main entries in the franchise, this game has no ending and mostly revolves around attempting to keep the people who live in the vault, an intricate fallout shelter, alive. The game uses [[microtransaction]]s, a form of in-game purchases, that take the form of [[Nuka-Cola]] quantum, the game's "premium" currency; lunch boxes, an item that would give a random mixture of in-game items; pet carriers, something that would contain a pet, which can boost a single dweller's stats; and "Mister Handys" or "Snip-Snips" (same thing different skin), robots who can harvest the games materials or be assigned to outside the vault to harvest bottle caps, the game's currency. ''Fallout Shelter'' was released for iOS on June 14, 2015, Android on August 13, 2015, and for PC on July 15, 2016. On February 7, 2017, Bethesda launched ''Fallout Shelter'' on Xbox One. On June 10, 2018, Bethesda announced and launched ''Fallout Shelter'' on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. |
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==Spin-offs== |
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===''Fallout: Tactics''=== |
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{{Main|Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel}} |
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''Tactics'' is the first ''Fallout'' game not to require the player to fight in a [[turn-based]] mode, and it is also the first to allow the player to customize the skills, perks, and combat actions of the rest of the party. ''Fallout Tactics'' focuses on [[turn-based tactics|tactical]] combat rather than role-playing; the new combat system included different modes, stances, and modifiers, but the player had no dialogue options. Most of the criticisms of the game came from its incompatibility with the story of the original two games, not from its gameplay. ''Fallout: Tactics'' includes a multi-player mode that allows players to compete against squads of other characters controlled by other players. Unlike the previous two games, which are based in California, ''Fallout: Tactics'' takes place in the [[Midwestern United States]]. ''Fallout: Tactics'' was released in early 2001 to mixed reviews. Although it was given high scores by reviewers (''[[PC Gamer]]'' gave it an 85%<ref>{{cite web | title=PC Gamer review | url=http://www.pcgamer.com/archives/2005/07/fallout_tactics.html | accessdate=2007-05-16}}</ref>), many fans were disappointed by the game. |
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===''Fallout |
==== ''Fallout Pinball'' (2016) ==== |
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In late 2016, [[Zen Studios]] developed a [[Pinball#Computer pinball simulation|virtual]] [[pinball]] game based on the ''Fallout'' universe as part of the ''Bethesda Pinball'' collection, which became available as part of ''[[Zen Pinball 2]]'', ''[[Pinball FX 2]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coppock |first1=Mark |date=December 6, 2016 |title=Now you can play pinball versions of Doom, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/bethesda-pinball-released-for-pinball-fx2/ |access-date=November 24, 2018 |website=DigitalTrends}}</ref> and ''[[Pinball FX 3]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last=Fahey |first=Mike |date=August 17, 2017 |title=Pinball FX 3 Is All About Cross-Platform Competition |url=http://kotaku.com/pinball-fx-3-is-all-about-cross-platform-competition-1797931064 |access-date=August 17, 2017 |work=[[Kotaku]]}}</ref> as well as a separate [[free-to-play]] app for [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] mobile devices.<ref>{{cite web |last1=BarbieBobomb |date=December 6, 2016 |title=Bethesda and Zen Studios Team Up for an Epic Pinball Pack |url=https://blog.zenstudios.com/?p=6672 |access-date=November 24, 2018 |website=[[Zen Studios]] |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117035942/https://blog.zenstudios.com/?p=6672 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The pinball adaptation is based on ''[[Fallout 4]]'' while containing elements from previous installments as well. |
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{{Main|Fallout: Warfare}} |
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''Fallout: Warfare'' is a [[tabletop wargame]] based on the ''Fallout Tactics'' storyline, using a simplified version of the SPECIAL system. The rulebook was written by [[Christopher Taylor (game designer)|Christopher Taylor]], and was available on the ''Fallout Tactics'' bonus CD, together with cut-out miniatures. ''Fallout: Warfare'' features five distinct factions, vehicles, four game types, and thirty-three different units. The rules only require ten-sided dice. The modifications to the SPECIAL system allow every unit a unique set of stats and give special units certain skills they can use, including piloting, doctor, and repair. A section of the ''Fallout: Warfare'' manual allows campaigns to be conducted using the ''Warfare'' rules. The game is currently available for free online from [[fansite]] No Mutants Allowed and several other sources. |
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===''Fallout |
==== {{Anchor|Fallout 76}}''Fallout 76'' (2018) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout |
{{Main|Fallout 76}} |
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[[File:FANDOM-Gamescom-2018-Wednesday-040 (30350020708).jpg|thumb|"Our Future Begins" promotion for ''Fallout 76'' at [[Gamescom]] 2018]] |
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''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel'' became the first ''Fallout'' game for [[video game console|consoles]] when it was released in 2004. It follows an initiate in the Brotherhood of Steel who is given a suicidal quest to find several lost Brotherhood paladins. An [[action role-playing game]], BoS is a significant break from previous incarnations of the ''Fallout'' series, in both gameplay and style. ''BoS'' takes place in three locations: The towns of Carbon, Los, and a Vault. ''BoS'' also does not feature [[non-player character]]s that accompany the player in combat. ''BoS'' is generally not considered to be canon due to its stark contrasts and outright contradictions with the storyline of ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2''.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} The game features music from [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] musicians, including [[Slipknot (band)|Slipknot]], [[Devin Townsend]] and [[Killswitch Engage]], which stands in contrast to the music of the first two games, performed by [[The Ink Spots]] and [[Louis Armstrong]]. ''BoS'' was the last ''Fallout'' game to be developed by Interplay. |
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''Fallout 76'' is the first online [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer game]] in the franchise. It is set in [[West Virginia]], with a majority of monsters and enemies based on regional folklore. When the game was originally released, there were no human [[non-player character]]s, although it received NPCs and character dialogue with the "Wastelanders" update. It was released for [[Microsoft Windows]], [[PlayStation 4]], and [[Xbox One]] on November 14, 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.polygon.com/e3/2018/6/10/17405448/fallout-76-multiplayer-trailer-bethesda-e3-2018 |title=Fallout 76 is the first multiplayer game set in the Fallout universe |last=Hall |first=Charlie |date=June 10, 2018 |work=Polygon |access-date=June 10, 2018}}</ref> |
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===''Fallout Online''=== |
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==== ''Fallout Shelter Online'' (2019) ==== |
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''Fallout Shelter Online'' is a sequel to ''Fallout Shelter'' developed by [[Chinese companies|Chinese]] company Gaea Mobile.<ref name="PreReg">{{cite web |date=March 11, 2020 |title=Update: Pre-Registrations for the English Version of 'Fallout Shelter Online' Are Now Live |url=https://toucharcade.com/2020/03/10/fallout-shelter-online-english-release-pre-registrations-ios-android-free/ |access-date=May 30, 2023 |website=[[TouchArcade]] |archive-date=March 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318151504/https://toucharcade.com/2020/03/10/fallout-shelter-online-english-release-pre-registrations-ios-android-free/}}</ref> It expands on the original games' mechanics while also introducing multiplayer capabilities such as [[PvP]] and the ability to play online, as well as [[Gacha game]] mechanics.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 11, 2020 |title=Fallout Shelter's Sequel Could Be Launching Globally |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/03/fallout-shelter-online-english-launch/ |access-date=May 30, 2023 |website=[[Kotaku]] |archive-date=March 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312085537/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/03/fallout-shelter-online-english-launch/}}</ref> It was released in June 2019 exclusively in [[China]].<ref>{{cite web |date=June 3, 2019 |title='Fallout Shelter' sequel adds PvP, but it's only available in China |url=https://www.engadget.com/2019-06-03-fallout-shelter-online-china-exclusive.html?guccounter=1 |access-date=May 30, 2023 |website=[[Engadget]] |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530025217/https://www.engadget.com/2019-06-03-fallout-shelter-online-china-exclusive.html?guccounter=1}}</ref> On March 18, 2020, pre-registration for [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Philippines]], [[Thailand]], [[Singapore]], [[South Korea]], and [[Japan]] was opened.<ref name="PreReg" /> On June 1, 2020, it was released in the former territories on iOS and Android devices.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 1, 2020 |title='Fallout Shelter Online' Has Now Launched in Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, and More on iOS and Android |url=https://toucharcade.com/2020/06/01/fallout-shelter-online-english-release-asia-ios-android-free/ |access-date=May 30, 2023 |website=[[TouchArcade]] |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609201819/https://toucharcade.com/2020/06/01/fallout-shelter-online-english-release-asia-ios-android-free/}}</ref> |
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=== Tabletop games === |
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==== ''Fallout: Warfare'' (2001) ==== |
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{{seealso|Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel}} |
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''Fallout: Warfare'' is a [[Miniature wargaming|tabletop wargame]] based on the ''Fallout Tactics'' storyline, using a simplified version of the SPECIAL system. The rulebook was written by [[Christopher Taylor (game designer)|Christopher Taylor]], and was available on the ''Fallout Tactics'' bonus CD, together with cut-out miniatures. ''Fallout: Warfare'' features five distinct factions, vehicles, four game types and 33 different units. The rules only require ten-sided dice. The modifications to the SPECIAL system allow every unit a unique set of stats and give special units certain skills they can use, including piloting, doctor, and repair. A section of the ''Fallout: Warfare'' manual allows campaigns to be conducted using the ''Warfare'' rules. It has been chosen for many awards and won [[game of the year]].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} |
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==== ''Fallout: The Board Game'' (2017) ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout: The Board Game}} |
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''Fallout: The Board Game'' was announced by [[Fantasy Flight Games]] on August 8, 2017.<ref name="FBG">{{cite web |title=Fallout: The Board Game |url=https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/8/8/fallout/ |website=[[Fantasy Flight Games]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=August 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110131802/https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/8/8/fallout/ |archive-date=November 10, 2020}}</ref> In ''Fallout: The Board Game'', up to one to four players are able to explore the locations of ''Fallout 3'', ''Fallout 4'' and their associated downloadable content.<ref name="FBG" /> Pre-orders were opened on October 2, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wasteland Survival Guide |url=https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/10/2/wasteland-survival-guide/ |website=[[Fantasy Flight Games]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=October 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104010620/https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/10/2/wasteland-survival-guide/ |archive-date=January 4, 2020}}</ref> It was released and made available to purchase online and at retailers on November 30, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Post-Nuclear Gift Guide |url=https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/11/30/post-nuclear-gift-guide/ |website=[[Fantasy Flight Games]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=November 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616003805/https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/11/30/post-nuclear-gift-guide/ |archive-date=June 16, 2019}}</ref> |
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An expansion titled ''Fallout: New California'' was announced on July 13, 2018, which explores the area of New California featured in ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2''.<ref>{{cite web |title=New California |url=https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/7/13/new-california/ |website=[[Fantasy Flight Games]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=July 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817095926/https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/7/13/new-california/ |archive-date=August 17, 2018}}</ref> Pre-orders were opened on October 2, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Makes You S.P.E.C.I.A.L.? |url=https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/10/8/what-makes-you-special/ |website=[[Fantasy Flight Games]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=October 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104005617/https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/10/8/what-makes-you-special/ |archive-date=January 4, 2020}}</ref> It was released and made available to purchase online and at retailers on October 25, 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to New California |url=https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/10/25/welcome-to-new-california/ |website=[[Fantasy Flight Games]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=October 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421113641/https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/10/25/welcome-to-new-california/ |archive-date=April 21, 2019}}</ref> |
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==== ''Fallout: Wasteland Warfare'' (2018) ==== |
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The [[Miniature wargaming|tabletop wargame]] ''Fallout: Wasteland Warfare'' was announced by [[Modiphius Entertainment]] in April 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geekandsundry.com/fallout-wasteland-warfare-bring-the-narrative-dystopia-to-the-tabletop |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624000938/http://geekandsundry.com/fallout-wasteland-warfare-bring-the-narrative-dystopia-to-the-tabletop/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 24, 2017 |title='Fallout: Wasteland Warfare' brings narrative dystopia to the tabletop |date=May 11, 2017}}</ref> It was released in March 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.modiphius.com/fallout.html |title=Modiphius Entertainment |access-date=October 5, 2017 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130161429/https://www.modiphius.com/fallout.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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A virtual tabletop version was released on [[Fantasy Grounds]] April 26, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Ruleset for Fantasy Grounds |url=https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.php?id=MUH052191FG |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=Fantasy Grounds Website |language=en}}</ref> |
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==== ''Fallout: The Roleplaying Game'' (2021) ==== |
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The [[tabletop role-playing game]] ''Fallout: The Roleplaying Game'', also by [[Modiphius Entertainment]], was released digitally on March 31, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.modiphius.net/pages/fallout-the-roleplaying-game|title='Modiphius Entertainment - Fallout, The Roleplaying Game'|access-date=March 19, 2023}}</ref> The game features a modified version of the SPECIAL system, including the seven SPECIAL stats, skills, tag skills, and perks. Its core mechanic is Modiphius's "2d20" system, a [[dice pool]] system in which any given action is resolved by rolling two twenty-sided dice and counting the number of "successes", which are any result equal to or below the character's combined SPECIAL attribute plus their skill rank for a particular action. Players can roll additional dice by spending "Action Points", a resource shared by all active players in the game, which are generated and spent continuously over the course of a game session. |
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The game's default setting is the Commonwealth, the same as in ''Fallout 4'', at the same period in time. [[Flavor text]] throughout the rulebook describe characters featured in ''Fallout 4'' and suggest that events are set to occur the same way they are at the beginning of the videogame, such as the arrival of the ''Prydwen'' airship. The rulebook contains descriptions of locations, fictional corporations, factions, and events specific to the default greater Boston area. Support for regions that appeared in other Fallout videogames, such as New California, Midwest, Capital Wasteland, Mojave Wasteland or the Appalachia, were not included in the core rulebook. |
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On May 13, 2020, a supplement-sized questbook expansion titled ''Winter of Atom'' was announced.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fallout Friday May 2022 |url=https://www.modiphius.net/blogs/news/fallout-friday-may-2022 |website=[[Modiphius Entertainment]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513164820/https://www.modiphius.net/blogs/news/fallout-friday-may-2022 |archive-date=May 13, 2022}}</ref> The expansion is set within the Commonwealth before the events of ''Fallout 4'' during a harsh winter, with the conflict involving defending settlements against the Last Son of Atom, the leader of a rogue sect of the Children of Atom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Did You Wish For a Nuclear Winter? |url=https://www.modiphius.net/blogs/news/did-you-wish-for-a-nuclear-winter |website=[[Modiphius Entertainment]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=January 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131203607/https://www.modiphius.net/blogs/news/did-you-wish-for-a-nuclear-winter |archive-date=January 31, 2023}}</ref> Four new factions are also introduced,<ref>{{cite web |title=New Fallout RPG Factions: Beatniks, Big Tops, Traveling Casinos and Sisters of Mechanical Worship |url=https://www.modiphius.net/blogs/news/new-fallout-rpg-factions-beatniks-big-tops-traveling-casinos-and-sisters-of-mechanical-worship |website=[[Modiphius Entertainment]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=February 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217231550/https://www.modiphius.net/blogs/news/new-fallout-rpg-factions-beatniks-big-tops-traveling-casinos-and-sisters-of-mechanical-worship |archive-date=February 17, 2023}}</ref> as well as additional player character origins for Synth, Protectron and Child of Atom players.<ref>{{cite web |title=Synth, Protectron, and Children of Atom Player Characters in Fallout |url=https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/blogs/news/synth-protectron-and-children-of-atom-player-characters-in-fallout |website=[[Modiphius Entertainment]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408024716/https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/blogs/news/synth-protectron-and-children-of-atom-player-characters-in-fallout |archive-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref> Physical pre-orders for ''Winter of Atom'' were opened in May 2023, which included a digital copy in PDF form upon purchasing.<ref name="Ship">{{cite web |title=Fallout fans can return to the Commonwealth in the Winter of Atom campaign book |url=https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/23688240/fallout-roleplaying-game-winter-of-atom-campaign-book |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |access-date=May 30, 2023 |date=April 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420140321/https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/23688240/fallout-roleplaying-game-winter-of-atom-campaign-book |archive-date=April 20, 2023}}</ref> Physical copies were slated to ship in July 2023.<ref name="Ship" /> |
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====''Magic: The Gathering: Fallout'' (2024)==== |
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A set of four pre-constructed decks for ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' based on all previous ''Fallout'' video games was released by [[Wizards of the Coast]] under license from Bethesda on March 8, 2024, as part of the ''Universes Beyond'' program of cross-over Magic products. These decks were designed for the Commander format of multiplayer Magic and represent different factions: Survivors, Legions, Scientists, and Mutants. The set contains a total of 146 new cards, representing characters, equipment, vaults, and other elements of the Fallout games, along with reprints of older cards all with new art depicting the post-apocalyptic setting.<ref>[https://bethesda.net/en/article/5qFaNh5eCdjvudypJL8xn2/magic-the-gathering-fallout-march-8-2024 Bethesda]</ref><ref>[https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/fallout Wotc ]</ref> |
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====''Fallout Factions'' (2024)==== |
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The tabletop skirmishing wargame, ''Fallout Factions'', was announced by Modiphius Entertainment on September 10, 2022, during their online event, ModCon 2022.<ref>{{cite AV media| people = [[Modiphius Entertainment]]| title = Fallout: Wasteland Warfare - Wave 7 / Forged in the Fire - Every Mini Revealed! - ModCon 2022| medium = Stream VOD| publisher = Modiphius Entertainment| year = 2020|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=V4tDkvMPp4CnRRU2&t=3173&v=Y1CGbUW-UWM}}</ref> The game's first release, ''Fallout Factions: Nuka World'', is played using miniatures of three Raider gangs: the Operators, the Pack, and the Disciples, which were originally introduced in ''Fallout 4'''s ''Nuka-World'' add-on.<ref name="Mini">{{cite web |title=Fallout 4 is getting a new skirmish miniatures game from former Warhammer designer |url=https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/fallout-factions-nuka-world/news/fallout-factions-nuka-world-announced-skirmish-miniatures |website=[[Dicebreaker]] |access-date=September 15, 2023 |date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915200554/https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/fallout-factions-nuka-world/news/fallout-factions-nuka-world-announced-skirmish-miniatures |archive-date=September 15, 2023}}</ref> The game's miniatures were also announced to be compatible with ''Fallout: Wasteland Warfare''.<ref name="Mini" /> On September 15, 2023, it was announced via newsletter that the game would be released in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Modiphius Newsletter - Round-Up #167 - ModCon 2023, Fallout Factions, Cohors Cthulhu! |url=https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?u=3a03f2f0abc7da8e538e00cb4&id=0ee81f4927 |website=[[Modiphius Entertainment]] |access-date=September 15, 2023 |date=September 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915222258/https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?u=3a03f2f0abc7da8e538e00cb4&id=0ee81f4927 |archive-date=September 15, 2023}}</ref> |
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=== Cancelled games === |
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==== ''Fallout Extreme'' ==== |
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''Fallout Extreme'' was in development for several months in 2000 but was canceled before leaving the concept stage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/01/27/no-more-than-words-fallout-extreme/ |title=No More Than Words: Fallout Extreme |website=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]] |last=Gillen |first=Kieron |date=January 27, 2010 |access-date=June 20, 2010}}</ref> It was intended to be a squad-based, [[First-person shooter|first]] and [[Third-person shooter|third-person]] tactical shooter to be released on [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]]<ref>{{Cite web |title='Fallout Extreme' revealed as another nuked project |url=https://www.engadget.com/2010-01-27-fallout-extreme-revealed-as-another-nuked-project.html |access-date=August 8, 2020 |website=Engadget |date=January 27, 2010 |language=en}}</ref> and built on [[Unreal Engine]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fallout Extreme – kolejny Fallout, którego nie było {{!}} Polygamia |date=January 27, 2010 |url=https://polygamia.pl/fallout-extreme-kolejny-fallout-ktorego-nie-bylo/ |access-date=August 8, 2020 |language=pl-PL}}</ref> |
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==== ''Fallout Tactics 2'' ==== |
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''Fallout Tactics 2'' was proposed as a sequel to ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel]]'', although it was originally conceived as a sequel to ''[[Wasteland (video game)|Wasteland]]'', the video game that inspired the ''Fallout'' series. It was developed by [[Micro Forté]], but the production was canceled in December 2001 after the poor sales of ''[[Fallout Tactics]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unseen64.net/2010/03/26/fallout-tactics-2-pc-cancelled/ |title=Fallout Tactics 2 [PC – Cancelled] – Unseen64 |date=March 26, 2010}}</ref> |
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====''Van Buren'', Black Isle Studios' ''Fallout 3''==== |
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{{main|Van Buren (video game){{!}}''Van Buren'' (video game)}} |
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''Van Buren'' is the codename for the canceled version of ''Fallout 3'' developed by [[Black Isle Studios]] and to be published by [[Interplay Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Patrick|last=Klepek|url=https://kotaku.com/that-time-someone-else-was-making-fallout-3-1744268228|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124010109/https://kotaku.com/that-time-someone-else-was-making-fallout-3-1744268228|title=That Time Someone Else Was Making Fallout 3|website=[[Kotaku]]|archivedate=November 24, 2015|date=November 23, 2015|accessdate=January 21, 2024}}</ref> It featured an improved engine with 3D graphics as opposed to sprites, new locations, vehicles, and a modified version of the SPECIAL system. The story disconnected from the Vault Dweller/Chosen One bloodline in ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2''. Plans for the game included the ability to influence the various factions. The game was canceled in December 2003 when budget cuts forced Interplay to dismiss the PC development team. Interplay subsequently sold the ''Fallout'' [[intellectual property]] to [[Bethesda Softworks]], who began development on their own version of ''Fallout 3'' unrelated to ''Van Buren''. Main parts of the game were incorporated into ''Fallout 3'' and its add-ons as well as ''Fallout: New Vegas''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} |
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==== ''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2'' ==== |
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''Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2'' is the canceled sequel to ''Brotherhood of Steel''. The development of the game started before the completion of the original, and its development caused the cancellation of the ''[[Van Buren (video game)|Van Buren]]'' project. Like its predecessor, the game would have used the [[Dark Alliance Engine]]. It featured fourteen new weapons and ten new enemies. The game would have used a simplified [[reputation system]] based on previous entries; depending on whether the player was good or evil, the game would play out differently. Each of the four characters that were playable had a different fighting style, therefore every new play-through would have been a different experience. It had two player co-op action for players to experience the game with their friends. The Dark Alliance Engine would be fleshed out to refine player experience. A new stealth system would have been added to the game. This system would have allowed players to stalk enemies or stealthily assassinate them with a sniper rifle. For characters that could not use the sniper rifle, Interplay added a turret mode allowing those characters to use turrets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://planetfallout.gamespy.com/articles/news/650/Brotherhood-of-Steel-2-design-documents |title=BOS2 Gameplay |access-date=July 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324002505/http://planetfallout.gamespy.com/articles/news/650/Brotherhood-of-Steel-2-design-documents |archive-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref> |
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While the main quest of the game would have been linear, how the player reach the conclusion would have been their choice. The main character would have been a Latino girl named Lilith, who was said to have a short temper with short black hair, green eyes and a sexy body. She would have worn a sports bra and jeans. Three other characters would be Maxus, the son of Cyrus, and Jaffe, a Brotherhood R&D worker who was pulled from duty due to Brotherhood/NCR tensions. Scarlet is a character that is completely albino, was raised by Harold, and inspired by the stories of Dweller, the main character of the original ''Fallout''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atomicgamer.com/files/76426/fallout-brotherhood-of-steel-2-design-doc |title=Lilith, the main character of Fallout: BOS2 |access-date=July 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001012449/http://www.atomicgamer.com/files/76426/fallout-brotherhood-of-steel-2-design-doc |archive-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> |
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==== ''Fallout Online'' ==== |
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{{Main|Fallout Online}} |
{{Main|Fallout Online}} |
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On November 30, 2006, Interplay filed a [[Form 8-K]] filing to the [[United States Securities and Exchange Commission|SEC]] regarding a potential ''Fallout'' [[massively multiplayer online game]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Herve Caen |title=Interplay |version=November 2006 |publisher=SEC [[EDGAR]] |date=2006-11-30 |url=http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1057232/000117091806001092/0001170918-06-001092-index.htm |format=[[Form 8-K]] |accessdate=2006-12-13 }}</ref> The Form 8-K contained a [[prospectus (finance)|prospectus]] stating that Interplay will be issuing [[common stock]] on [[Euronext]] to raise capital for developing a ''Fallout MMORPG''. The report stated that the production and launch processes will require an estimated [[US$]]75 million in capital. The report also stated that production may start as early as January 2007 and the game may launch as early as July 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4384&Itemid=2 |title=Interplay Proposes $75M Fallout MMO?|first=Kris |last=Graft |publisher=Next-gen.biz |date=2006-12-12 |accessdate=2006-12-12}}</ref> |
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''Fallout Online'' (previously known as ''[[Project V13]]'') is a canceled project by Interplay and [[Masthead Studios]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6207361.html?tag=result;title;0 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717011533/http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6207361.html?tag=result;title;0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 17, 2012 |title=Earthrise studio arming Fallout MMORPG |publisher=Gamespot.com |first=Tor |last=Thorsen |date=April 3, 2009 |access-date=April 10, 2009}}</ref> to develop a ''Fallout''-themed [[massively multiplayer online game]]. It entered production in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stuffwelike.com/stuffwelike/2008/04/09/interplay-returns-brings-fallout-mmo/ |title=Interplay returns; brings Fallout MMO |publisher=StuffWeLike.com |first=Garbled |last=Zombie |date=April 10, 2008 |access-date=April 10, 2008}}</ref> In 2009, Bethesda filed a lawsuit against Interplay regarding ''Project V13,'' claiming that Interplay has violated their agreement as development had not yet begun on the project.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.massively.com/2009/09/11/bethesda-and-interplay-lock-legal-horns-over-fallout-mmo/ |title=Bethesda and Interplay lock legal horns over Fallout MMO |publisher=Massively.com |first=Colin |last=Brennan |date=September 11, 2009 |access-date=September 12, 2009}}</ref> On January 2, 2012, Bethesda and Interplay reached a settlement, the terms of which include the cancellation of ''Fallout Online'' and transfer of all rights in the franchise to Bethesda.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Great Fallout Legal Battle Ends Without a Fallout MMO |date=January 9, 2012 |url=http://kotaku.com/5874561/the-great-fallout-legal-battle-ends-without-a-fallout-mmo |publisher=Kotaku |access-date=January 10, 2012}}</ref> Since then, ''Project V13'' has been revived as a completely different project called [[Project V13#Development|Mayan Apocalypse]], unrelated to ''Fallout''. |
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In April 2007, SEC filings were made showing the transfer of the [[Intellectual property|IP]] for the ''Fallout MMORPG'' to ''Fallout 3'' developer Bethesda for US$5.75 million. While Bethesda now owns the rights to the ''Fallout MMORPG'' IP, clauses in the purchase agreement allow Interplay to license the rights to the development of the MMORPG, provided that development begins within 24 months of the date of the agreement (which was April 4, 2007), and that Interplay must secure $30 million within that time frame or forfeit its rights to license. Interplay must furthermore launch the MMORPG within four years of the beginning of development, and pay Bethesda 12 percent of sales and subscription fees for the use of the IP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13515 |title=Fallout IP Sold to Bethesda |publisher=Gamasutra.com |first=Brandon |last=Boyer |date=2007-04-13 |accessdate=2007-04-04}}</ref> |
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== Gameplay == |
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=== SPECIAL === |
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SPECIAL is a [[character creation]] and statistics system developed for use in the ''Fallout'' series. "SPECIAL" is an [[acronym]], representing the seven [[attribute (role-playing games)|attributes]] used to define characters': '''S'''trength, '''P'''erception, '''E'''ndurance, '''C'''harisma, '''I'''ntelligence, '''A'''gility and '''L'''uck. SPECIAL is heavily based on [[GURPS]], which was originally intended to be the character system used in the game. |
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The SPECIAL system involves the following sets of key features: |
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* [[Attribute (role-playing games)|Attributes]] (listed above) represent a character's core, innate abilities. Attributes stay largely constant throughout the game, though they can be temporarily affected by [[medication|drugs]], altered indefinitely by conditions such as the usage of Power Armor, the presence of certain NPCs, eye damage received from a critical hit, or permanently changed at certain points in the game through use of certain items or perks. |
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* [[skill (role-playing)|Skills]] represent a character's chance of successfully performing a group of specific tasks (such as firing a gun, or picking a lock). They are represented as [[percentage]]s, though these percentages can extend well beyond the expected maximum of 100%, at increased cost for skills over 100%. The SPECIAL stats continually add bonuses to skills. This is done passively, i.e. if the SPECIAL stats change, the bonuses are automatically and instantly adjusted. Skill Points that are earned each time the character [[Experience level|levels up]] can be used to raise skill percentage. At [[character creation]], the player selects three "tag skills"—skills which can be increased at multiples of the normal rate, starting at one skill point per 2% skill at under 101% skill. |
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The SPECIAL system was used in ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'', ''[[Fallout 2]]'', and ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel]]''. A modified version of the system was used in ''[[Fallout 3]]'', ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', ''[[Fallout 4]]'', ''[[Fallout 76]]'' and ''[[Fallout Shelter]]''. |
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Aside from ''Fallout'' games, modified versions of SPECIAL were also used in ''[[Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader]]'' (also referred to as ''Fallout Fantasy'' early in production), a fantasy [[role-playing video game]] that involved spirits and magic in addition to the traditional SPECIAL features, as well as the canceled project ''[[Black Isle's Torn]]''. |
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{{Anchor|pipboy}}{{Anchor|vaultboy}} |
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=== The Pip-Boy and Vault Boy === |
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[[File:Bloody Mess.jpg|thumb|The ''Fallout'' series' aesthetic is represented in the user interface of the Pip-Boy computer, and the frequent occurrences of the Vault Boy character, illustrating perks and mechanics.]] |
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{{Main|Pip-Boy|Vault Boy}} |
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The [[Pip-Boy]] (Personal Information Processor-Boy) is a wrist-computer given to the player early in ''Fallout'', ''Fallout 2'', ''Fallout 3'', ''Fallout: New Vegas'', ''Fallout 4'', and ''Fallout 76'' which serves various roles in quest, inventory, and battle management, as well as presenting player statistics. The model present in ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2'' is identified as a Pip-Boy 2000, and both games feature the same unit, used first by the Vault Dweller and later inherited by the Chosen One. ''Fallout Tactics'' contains a modified version of the 2000 model, called Pip-Boy 2000BE, while ''Fallout 3'' and ''Fallout: New Vegas'' uses a Pip-Boy 3000. ''Fallout: New Vegas'' has a golden version of it, called the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion that is given to the player as a reward for completing a quest in a certain way. ''Fallout 4'' contains a modified version of the 3000, called the Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV. ''Fallout 76'' contains a modified version of the Pip-Boy, called the Pip-Boy 2000 Mark VI, which is another version of the Pip-Boy 2000. |
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The [[Vault Boy]] character is Vault-Tec's [[mascot]], and is a recurring element in Vault-Tec products in the game world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bethblog.com/index.php/2008/06/25/papercraft-vault-boy-now-online/ |title=Papercraft Vault Boy now online |publisher=Official Bethesda Softworks Blog |date=July 25, 2008 |access-date=November 23, 2008}}</ref> This includes the Pip-Boy, where the Vault Boy illustrates all of the character statistics and selectable attributes. From Bethesda's ''Fallout 3'' onward Vault Boy models all of the clothing and weaponry as well.<ref name="Bethesda">{{cite web |url=http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/vault/diaries_diary5-6.6.08.html |title=Creating Collectibles |publisher=Fallout.bethsoft.com |date=2008 |access-date=February 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607104050/http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/vault/diaries_diary5-6.6.08.html |archive-date=June 7, 2008}}</ref> The character was originally designed by [[Leonard Boyarsky]], based partly on [[Rich Uncle Pennybags]]' aesthetic from the ''Monopoly'' board game. |
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=== Power armor === |
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[[File:PAX 08 (2837169733).jpg|thumb|A replica of T-45 power armor, which first appears and is prominently featured in ''Fallout 3'']] |
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Powered combat infantry armor, or power armor, is a type of [[powered exoskeleton]] featured in every game in the ''Fallout'' series. It allows for protection from enemy fire and enables the wearer to carry extremely heavy weapons and other objects with ease. It is considered an iconic part of the ''Fallout'' universe, an effective marketing tool for a faceless protagonist, and a prominent symbol within the game's lore.<ref name=":2"/> |
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The final design of the power armor in the original ''Fallout'' was created by artist Leonard Boyarsky from a helmet rendering made to showcase "something more detailed to show (on) the cover and in the cinematics" of the game. The design of the helmet and eyepiece was stated by Cain to be partly inspired by the film ''[[The City of Lost Children]]'', with its "tubing and vents" serving as "very inspirational" to the overall aesthetic of the game.<ref>{{cite web|website=Tweak Town|last=Strickland|first=Derek|date=June 9, 2023|title=Tim Cain reveals the books, films, games & real-life influences that inspired the first Fallout|url=https://www.tweaktown.com/news/91806/tim-cain-reveals-the-books-films-games-real-life-influences-that-inspired-first-fallout/index.html}}</ref> Leonard Boyarsky stated that he was inspired by the "very industrial...very hardcore mechanical" design of the helmet and "loved it so much" that he revised the initial in-game design of the power armor to reflect the concept art that he had made.<ref>{{cite web|website=YouTube|title=A Chat With Leonard Boyarsky|author=Timothy Cain|date=May 29, 2023|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egh2p8ajb3w}}</ref> |
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The power armor's recurring appearances in subsequent titles following the acquisition of the ''Fallout'' intellectual property by Bethesda Softworks represents a crucial visual motif used to establish continuity with earlier works in the franchise. Lead art director Istvan Pely stated that the power armor was the first asset developed for ''[[Fallout 3]]'' because the "iconic element of the series...seemed like a great place to start" and was a "useful exercise in finding a balance between staying true to the original game's vibe and introducing a fresh aesthetic for the new game".<ref name=Art/> |
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In ''Fallout: New Vegas'', power armor is depicted as an equippable form of clothing, similar to other armors, without any unique animations. ''PCGamesN'' reported that some noteworthy fan-created mods introduced aesthetic changes to the game's power armor design to make it seem more imposing and added animations to reflect their weight and heft.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=Will |date=October 30, 2022 |title=Fallout: New Vegas mod revamps power armour to mirror the older games |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/fallout-new-vegas/mod-power-armour |access-date=July 14, 2023 |website=[[PCGamesN]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Evan Lafleuriel observed that ''New Vegas'' is the only game in the series to eschew the use of power armor to advertise the game, which did not leave a lasting impression in his view.<ref name=":2"/> |
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In ''[[Fallout 4]]'', power armor is notably more heavily integrated into gameplay, with suits becoming customizable, interactable objects in the game world that the player climbs into rather than typical clothing and requiring fusion cores to use.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Martin|first=Matt|date=November 17, 2015|title=Fallout 4 players are building very cool Power Armor collections|url=https://www.vg247.com/2015/11/17/fallout-4-best-power-armor/|access-date=October 30, 2020|website=VG247}}</ref> The studio initially began a "reimagining" of the classic design during the development of ''Fallout 4'' but created a new and revised design that was "bigger, more imposing, more realistic and fully functional" to create the impression of the power armor feeling less like a suit and more like a vehicle that a player would operate,<ref name=Art>{{cite book|title=The Art of Fallout 4|publisher=Dark Horse Books|author=Bethesda Game Studios|editor=Aaron Walker|url=https://archive.org/details/the-art-of-fallout-4.-official-artbook-libgen.li_202306}}</ref> which resonated with some commentators of ''Fallout 4''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Lafleuriel |first=Erwan |title=Fallout: A Tale of Mutation |publisher=Third Editions |year=2019}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Hernandez|first=Patricia|date=November 12, 2015|title=Fallout 4's Power Armor Is Better Than Ever|url=https://kotaku.com/fallout-4s-power-armor-is-better-than-ever-1742184183|access-date=October 30, 2020|website=[[Kotaku]]|language=en-us}}</ref> In addition, players are capable of creating collections of power armor in concert with the game's base-building features.<ref name=":0" /> |
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====Lore==== |
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Within series lore, it was developed before the Great War by a group of [[United States]] [[defense contractors]] called West Tek in response for the need for a "walking tank" for the United States mechanized cavalry. From 2065 to 2067, several failed prototypes were created, though this research led to the creation of a compact [[Fusion power|fusion]] cell. The fusion cells worsened relations with China, which was already facing an [[energy crisis]] due to over-dependence on [[fossil fuel]]s. China soon invades Alaska, and the Power Armor is deployed in 2067, proving extremely effective in battle. 2077 represents the pinnacle of Power Armor technology, with units capable of cutting a swath through the Chinese forces.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Chris Avellone |url=http://archive.org/details/falloutbiblecomplete |title=Fallout Bible |year=2002}}</ref> Their success on the battlefield ultimately prompts the Great War, a last-ditch [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear exchange]] between America and China later in 2077 that annihilates most of modern civilization, save for irradiated [[Ghoul (Fallout)|ghouls]] and those sheltering in the Vault Network. |
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The 2019 publication ''Fallout: A Tale of Mutation'' explained that within the context of series lore, the Power Armor represents pre-war [[North America]]n power, since every battle against the Chinese was fought by soldiers wearing the armor. Additionally, it is a reminder of how powerless the United States was to prevent its destruction at the hands of [[nuclear weapon]]s.<ref name=":2"/> |
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Post-war, Power Armor is most widely used by the [[Brotherhood of Steel]], a cult-like organization that collects and preserves technology.<ref name=":4" /> |
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====Merchandise==== |
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A Power Armor [[figurine]] made by [[Japan]]ese toymaker ThreeZero was released in 2016 for nearly $400 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US|value=400|start_year=2016}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Matulef|first=Jeffrey|date=January 23, 2016|title=Fallout 4 14.5 inch power armour figurine costs £279|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-01-23-fallout-4-14-5-inch-power-armour-figurine-costs-279|access-date=October 30, 2020|website=Eurogamer|language=en}}</ref> A $200 version of ''[[Fallout 76]]'' known as the Power Armor Edition was bundled with a replica Power Armor [[helmet]]. While its appearance was praised as "top notch", aspects such as the paint job and voice box were criticized as "cheap", and the visor as difficult to see through.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Machkovech|first=Sam|date=November 13, 2018|title=We unbox the $200 "power armor" Fallout 76 version so you don't have to|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/11/we-unbox-the-200-power-armor-fallout-76-version-so-you-dont-have-to/|access-date=October 30, 2020|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us}}</ref> While not part of the Power Armor Edition, red "Nuka-Cola" helmets sold at [[GameStop]] were recalled due to mold contamination, said to be part of a "comedy of errors" surrounding the game's release.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gonzalez|first=Oscar|title=Fallout Power Armor helmet recalled due to mold|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/fallout-power-armor-helmet-recalled-due-to-mold/|access-date=October 30, 2020|website=CNET|language=en}}</ref> |
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== Series overview == |
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=== Setting === |
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[[File:Flag of the United States (Fallout).svg|thumb|Fallout's [[Flag of the United States|U.S. flag]] shown here is inspired by the [[Cowpens flag]], but with the center star enlarged to represent the nation as a whole.]] |
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[[File:Nuka-Cola logo.svg|thumb|Logo of the Nuka-Cola Corporation]] |
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The series is set in a fictionalized United States in an [[alternate history]] scenario that diverges from reality after 1945, following [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/major-events-in-the-fallout-timeline/ |title=Major events in the Fallout timeline |first=Jody |last=Macgregor |date=July 28, 2018 |access-date=August 14, 2018 |magazine=[[PC Gamer]]}}</ref> In this alternative [[atompunk]] "golden age", [[vacuum tubes]] and [[atomic physics]] serve as the foundations of scientific progress, while [[transistors]] are not as scientifically important in this world.{{efn|A popular myth is that the transistor was never invented throughout the series; this myth has been debunked by the developers.}} As such, a bizarre socio-technological status quo emerges, in which advanced robots, [[nuclear propulsion|nuclear-powered]] cars, [[directed-energy weapon]]s, and other futuristic technologies are seen alongside 1950s-era computers and televisions. The United States divides itself into 13 [[Commonwealth (U.S. state)|commonwealths]] and the aesthetics and [[Cold War]] [[McCarthyism|paranoia of the 1950s]] continue to dominate the American lifestyle well into the 21st century. |
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More than a hundred years before the start of the series, an [[energy crisis]] emerged as a result of [[oil depletion]], leading to a period called the "Resource Wars" starting in April 2052 – a series of events caused by global resource scarcity which included a war between the European Commonwealth and the [[Middle Eastern]] states which led to the collapse of both regions, the disbanding of the [[United Nations]], the U.S. invasion of [[Mexico]] and hostile [[annexation of Canada]], and a [[China|Chinese]] invasion and subsequent military occupation of [[Alaska]] in 2066 leading to the decade-long "Sino-American War" between China and the U.S. coupled with the emergence of a disease known as the "New Plague" that devastated the American mainland. As global situations worsened, the American government became increasingly [[jingoism|jingoistic]] and authoritarian, going as far as having political dissidents and Chinese-American citizens arrested and sent off to [[Political indoctrination|re-education]] camps where they were abused and even experimented on. By 2077 the tension between the United States and China had grown to critical levels as the U.S. retook Alaska and invaded mainland China, eventually culminating in the "[[World War III|Great War]]" on the morning of October 23, 2077, eastern daylight time, a two-hour long global [[nuclear warfare|nuclear exchange]] on an apocalyptic scale, which subsequently created the [[apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|post-apocalyptic]] United States, the setting of the ''Fallout'' world. |
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=== Vaults === |
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[[File:Vault-Tec Corporation logo.svg|thumb|Logo of the Vault-Tec Corporation]] |
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Having foreseen this outcome decades earlier, the U.S. government began a nationwide project in 2054 to build [[fallout shelter]]s known as "Vaults". The Vaults were ostensibly designed by the [[Vault-Tec Corporation]] as public shelters, each able to support up to a thousand people. Around 400,000 Vaults would have been needed, but only 122 were commissioned and constructed. Each Vault is self-sufficient, so they could theoretically sustain their inhabitants indefinitely. However, the Vault project was not intended as a viable method of repopulating the United States in these deadly events. Instead, most Vaults were secret, unethical social experiments and were designed to determine the effects of different environmental and [[Psychology|psychological]] conditions on their inhabitants. Seventeen [[Scientific control|control]] Vaults were made to function as advertised, in contrast with the Vault experiments, but were usually shoddy and unreliable due to most of the funding going towards the experimental ones. Many Vaults remained sealed as part of their respective experiments even after the radiation had reached safe levels. |
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Experiments were widely varied and included: a Vault filled with [[Cloning|clones]] of an individual; a Vault where its residents were frozen in [[suspended animation]]; a Vault where its residents were exposed to psychoactive drugs; a Vault where one resident, decided by popular vote, is sacrificed each year; a Vault with only one man and puppets; a Vault where its inhabitants were segregated into two hostile factions; two Vaults with disproportionate ratios of men and women; a Vault where the door never fully closed, exposing the inhabitants to the dangerous nuclear fallout; a Vault with limited space where all its dwellers had access to firearms; a deliberately overcrowded Vault and a number of Vaults where the inhabitants were exposed to the mutagenic Forced Evolutionary Virus (F.E.V.), creating [[posthuman]] and human/animal hybrid mutants including the monstrous ''Super Mutants''. Ultimately, many of the experiments had disastrous results usually leading to their derailment and the Vault's collapse. Several Vaults became occupied by raiders, Super Mutants, or other mutated creatures following their abandonment. |
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=== Post-War conditions === |
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[[File:Flag of the New California Republic.svg|thumb|Flag of the New California Republic|200px]] |
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[[File:Enclave symbol.svg|thumb|Symbol of the Enclave|200px]] |
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In the years after the Great War, the United States has devolved into a post-apocalyptic environment commonly dubbed "the Wasteland". The Great War and subsequent nuclear Armageddon had severely depopulated the country, leaving large expanses of property decaying from neglect. In addition, virtually all food and water is irradiated and most lifeforms have mutated due to high radiation combined with mutagens of varied origins. Despite the large-scale devastation, some areas were fortunate enough to survive the nuclear apocalypse relatively unscathed, even possessing non-irradiated water, flora, and fauna. However, these areas are exceedingly rare. With a large portion of the country's infrastructure in ruins, basic necessities are scarce. Barter is the common method of exchange, with bottle caps providing a more conventional form of currency. Most cities and towns are empty, having been looted or deserted in favor of smaller, makeshift communities scattered around the Wasteland. |
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Many humans who could not get into the Vaults survived the atomic blasts, but many of these, affected by the radiation, turned into so-called "[[Ghoul (Fallout)|ghouls]]". While their lifespans are greatly extended, their bodies develop widespread [[necrosis]] or rot; many lose their hair, their voices take on a raspy tone, and otherwise have permanently deformed physical features. Ghouls often resent normal human beings, either out of jealousy or in response to discrimination. Ghouls typically resent any comparison to zombies, and being called a zombie is viewed as a great insult. If ghouls continue to be exposed to high radiation levels, their brains experience irreversible damage, which can cause them to become "feral" and attack almost anything on sight, having lost their minds. |
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Creatures known as "Deathclaws" roam the wilderness. They were deliberately created by humans as [[biological weapons]] prior to the Great War. Escaping into the wild afterwards, they went on to thrive in the nuclear wasteland, becoming [[apex predator]]s. Known as one of the ''Fallout'' series' most recognizable and iconic elements, Deathclaws were praised by critics for their design and the fear they induce in the player due to their immense power. As a result of their popularity, numerous [[Mod (video games)|mods]] were created for ''Fallout'' series games with the Deathclaw as a central theme, either to tame the creatures as a pet or use them in combat, concepts which were later added as an official feature. |
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Various factions of humans would later form in the Wasteland, with three of the most prominent being the [[Brotherhood of Steel]], the [[New California Republic]] (NCR), and the Enclave. The Brotherhood came together when a group of soldiers led by [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] Captain Roger Maxson started a mutiny after finding out about the Forced Evolutionary Virus experiments. Declaring themselves independent from the U.S. government, their rebellion never got off the ground due to the Great War beginning. The defectors, safe in the underground confines of the base, survived and came to the surface and reconnected with other survivors, then headed to the Lost Hills bunker to start anew. The NCR was formed by a group of Vault 15 dwellers who would go on to found the town of Shady Sands. Over time under the leadership of their elder Aradesh and his daughter Tandi, Shady Sands became a major economic power in the [[Southwest United States|southwest]] and united with other major hubs of civilization in the area to found the New California Republic. The Enclave was a secret cabal of wealthy industrialists, members of the military, and influential politicians who operated in the shadows and held a great degree of control over the United States' government. This enigmatic alliance of private interests eventually subverted and developed from the [[continuity of government]] protocol to ensure its survival as the real United States, laying claim to the North American mainland. |
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In April 2008, Interplay announced that the ''Fallout MMORPG'' had entered production<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stuffwelike.com/stuffwelike/2008/04/09/interplay-returns-brings-fallout-mmo/ |title=Interplay returns; brings Fallout MMO |publisher=StuffWeLike.com |first=Garbled |last=Zombie |date=2008-04-10 |accessdate=2008-04-10}}</ref> and in April 2009 announced that it would be working with [[Masthead Studios]], a [[Bulgaria]]n based game developer who are currently working on ''[[Earthrise (video game)|Earthrise]]'', to assist in the development of the game.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6207361.html?tag=result;title;0|title=Earthrise studio arming Fallout MMORPG|publisher=Gamespot.com |first=Tor |last=Thorsen |date=2009-04-03 |accessdate=2009-04-10}}</ref> |
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=== Influences === |
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In June 2009, ''[[Game Informer]]'' reported that Interplay may have lost the Fallout MMORPG rights.<ref>{{cite journal|month=June |year=2009|page=19 |title=The Good, The Bad, The Ugly |journal=[[Game Informer]]}}</ref> |
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''Fallout'' satirizes the 1950s' and 1960s' fantasies of the United States' "post-nuclear-war-survival",<ref name=Canavan>Canavan, Gerry & Stanley, Kim (April 15, 2014). "Green Planets: Ecology and Science Fiction" Wesleyan University Press. p. 278. {{ISBN|9780819574282}}</ref><ref name=ReFu>Tringham, Neal Roger (September 10, 2014). "Science Fiction Video Games." CRC Press. p. 154. {{ISBN|9781482203899}}. Quote: "Its visual design has a strong "retro futurist style, drawing on cinematic influences ranging from ''Forbidden Planet'' (1956) to the Flash Gordon serials. Fallout's tone is often satirical, and on occasion cheerfully brutal."</ref><ref>Tom Bissell, Tom. (June 8, 2010) "Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter." Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 4-5. {{ISBN|9780307379283}}. Quote: "The first ''Fallout'' games, which were exclusive to the personal computer, were celebrated for their clever satire and often freakishly exaggerated violence."</ref><ref>David G. Embrick, Talmadge J. Wright, Andras Lukacs (March 1, 2012). "Social Exclusion, Power, and Video Game Play: New Research in Digital Media." Lexington Books. p. 235. {{ISBN|9780739138625}}</ref> thus draws from 1950s [[pulp magazine]] science fiction and [[superhero]] comic books, all rooted in [[Atomic Age]] optimism of a nuclear-powered future, though gone terribly awry by the time the events of the game take place. The technology is [[retro-futuristic]], with various [[Raygun Gothic]] machines such as laser weaponry and boxy ''[[Forbidden Planet]]''-style robots.<ref name=ReFu /> Computers use [[vacuum tubes]] instead of transistors (of which only a few exist), the architecture of ruined buildings feature [[Art Deco]], [[Streamline Moderne]], and [[Googie]] designs, direct-energy weapons resemble those used by [[Flash Gordon]], and what few vehicles remain in the world are all 1950s-styled. ''Fallout''{{'}}s other production designs, such as menu interfaces, are similarly designed to resemble advertisements and toys of the Atomic Age. Advertising in the game such as billboards and brochures has a distinct 1950s motif and feel. The lack of retro-stylization was a common reason for criticism in spin-off games, as well as modern features on weapons and other models. |
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A major influence was ''[[A Boy and His Dog]]'', where the main character Vic and his dog Blood scavenge the desert of the Southwestern United States, stealing for a living and evading bands of marauders, berserk androids, and mutants. It "inspired ''Fallout'' on many levels, from underground communities of survivors to glowing mutants."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_211/6283-Junktown-Dog.2 |title=Junktown Dog |publisher=The Escapist |date=July 21, 2009 |access-date=July 29, 2011 |author=Fiegel, Michael |archive-date=January 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120191317/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_211/6283-Junktown-Dog.2 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Other film influences include the [[Mad Max (franchise)|''Mad Max'']] series, with its depiction of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In the first game, one of the first available armors is a one-sleeved leather jacket that resembles the jacket worn in ''[[Mad Max 2]]''.<ref>{{citation |title=Fallout: New Vegas designer Josh Sawyer on post-apocalyptic games |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2010/nov/10/fallout-new-vegas-interview |publisher=guardian.co.uk |access-date=May 4, 2011 |date=November 10, 2010}}</ref> |
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On September 8, 2009, Bethesda filed a lawsuit against Interplay regarding Project V13, claiming that Interplay has violated their agreement as development has not yet begun on the project.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.massively.com/2009/09/11/bethesda-and-interplay-lock-legal-horns-over-fallout-mmo/|title= |
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Bethesda and Interplay lock legal horns over Fallout MMO|publisher=Massively.com |first=Colin |last=Brennan |date=2009-09-11 |accessdate=2009-09-12}}</ref> However Interplay is countersuing Bethesda stating that interrupting is against their contract of the sale of the franchise thus making the sale obsolete. |
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== |
==Other media== |
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===Canceled films=== |
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''Fallout'' games feature well-known actors as [[Non-player character|NPC]] voice-talent. Notable appearances include: |
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In 1998, [[Interplay Entertainment]] founded the film division Interplay Films to make films based on its properties, and announced that a ''Fallout'' film was one of their first projects, along adaptations of ''[[Descent (video game)|Descent]]'' and ''[[Redneck Rampage]]''. In 2000, Interplay confirmed that a film based on the original ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' game was in production with ''[[Mortal Kombat Annihilation]]'' screenwriter Brent V. Friedman attached to write a [[film treatment]] and with [[Dark Horse Entertainment]] attached to produce it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nma-fallout.com/content.php?page=news-archive-08-2000 |title=August 2000 |website=No Mutants Allowed |access-date=November 17, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919183426/http://www.nma-fallout.com/content.php?page=news-archive-08-2000 |archive-date=September 19, 2015}}</ref> The division was later disbanded without any film produced, but Friedman's treatment was leaked on the Internet in 2011. |
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In 2009, [[Bethesda Softworks]] expressed its interest in producing a ''Fallout'' film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77663852&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |title=Trademark Status & Document Retrieval |website=tsdr.uspto.gov}}</ref> After four extensions of the trademark without any use, Bethesda filed a "Statement of Use" with the USPTO in January 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn77663852&docId=SOU20120127150953USPTO |title=USPTO TSDR Case Viewer |website=tsdr.uspto.gov}}</ref> In the next month, instead of a ''Fallout'' film, a special feature was made, entitled "Making of ''[[Fallout 3]]'' DVD",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn77663852&docId=ASU20120222054751#docIndex=2&page=1 |title=USPTO TSDR Case Viewer |website=tsdr.uspto.gov}}</ref> which was accepted as a film on March 27 of the same year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn77663852&docId=ORC20120327001013#docIndex=0&page=1 |title=USPTO TSDR Case Viewer |website=tsdr.uspto.gov}}</ref> This action removed the requirement to continue to re-register that mark indefinitely. In the DVD commentary of ''[[Mutant Chronicles (film)|Mutant Chronicles]]'', voice actor [[Ron Perlman]] stated that if a ''Fallout'' film was made, he would like to reprise his role as the Narrator. In 2016, Todd Howard stated that Bethesda had turned down the offers of making a film based on ''Fallout'', but that he did not rule out the possibility.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-03-10-kneel-before-todd-bethesdas-howard-on-a-lifetime-of-achievement |title=Kneel before Todd: Bethesda's Howard on a lifetime of achievement|date=March 10, 2016 }}</ref> |
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===Series=== |
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* [[Ron Perlman]] as '''The Narrator''' |
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=== |
===Television series=== |
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{{Main|Fallout (American TV series)}} |
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* [[Richard Dean Anderson]] as '''Killian Darkwater''' |
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A ''Fallout'' television series based on the franchise was announced in July 2020 for [[Amazon Prime Video]]. The series was written, created and executive produced by [[Lisa Joy]] and [[Jonathan Nolan]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2, 2020 |first=Lesley |last=Goldberg |title='Fallout' TV Series From 'Westworld' Creators in the Works at Amazon |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fallout-tv-series-westworld-creators-works-at-amazon-1301570 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=April 19, 2024 }}</ref> In January 2022, Amazon officially moved forward with the series, with Nolan directing the pilot episode and [[Geneva Robertson-Dworet]] and Graham Wagner joining as [[showrunner]]s. Filming was completed on March 28, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=January 6, 2022 |title='Fallout': Kilter Films' TV Series Based On Games Moving Forward At Prime Video With Jonathan Nolan Directing |url=https://deadline.com/2022/01/fallout-series-games-prime-video-jonathan-nolan-geneva-robertson-dworet-graham-wagner-kilter-1234905676/ |access-date=January 6, 2022 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> The show is canonical to the games, with its 2296 setting, making it the furthest along the timeline in the franchise.<ref name="russell20240411">{{Cite web |date=April 11, 2024 |last=Russell |first=Bradley |title=Is the Fallout TV show canon? Here's what Bethesda's Todd Howard and the showrunners have to say |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/is-the-fallout-tv-show-canon-bethesda-games-todd-howard/ |website=[[Total Film]] |access-date=April 19, 2024 }}</ref> [[Ella Purnell]] and [[Walton Goggins]] were cast in lead roles as an inexperienced vault dweller venturing to the surface and a ghoul mercenary, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/fallout-tv-series-amazon-cast-walton-goggins-1235185964/ |title='Fallout' TV Series at Amazon Casts Walton Goggins |date=February 18, 2022 |access-date=February 19, 2022 |work=Variety}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 30, 2022 |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |title='Fallout': Ella Purnell Joins Walton Goggins In Prime Video Series Based On Games |url=https://deadline.com/2022/03/ella-purnell-cast-fallout-walton-goggins-prime-video-series-games-1234990995/ |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=April 19, 2024 }}</ref> The eight-episode series premiered on April 10, 2024. |
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* [[Clancy Brown]] as '''Rhombus''' |
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* [[Keith David]] as '''Decker''' |
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* [[Jim Cummings]] as '''The Master''' |
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* [[Tony Jay]] as '''The Lieutenant''' |
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* [[Richard Moll]] as '''Cabbot''' |
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* [[Ron Perlman]] as '''Butch Harris''' |
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* [[CCH Pounder]] as '''Vree''' |
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* [[Tony Shalhoub]] as '''Aradesh''' |
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* [[Cree Summer]] as '''Tandi''' |
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* [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]] as '''Morpheus''' |
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===The Vault Dweller's Official Cookbook=== |
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===''Fallout 2''=== |
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The Vault Dweller's Official Cookbook contains recipes for food items found within the Fallout universe, such as Nuka-Cola, [[Macaroni and cheese|BlamCo Mac N' Cheese]], and various others. It was written by Laurie Ulster and Victoria Rosenthal, and was published on October 23, 2018, to coincide with the release of Fallout 76, and the in-game date of the Great War.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}{{ISBN needed}} |
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* [[Michael Dorn]] as '''Marcus the Mutant''', '''Special Agent Frank Horrigan''' |
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* [[Jeffrey Jones]] as '''President Dick Richardson''' |
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* [[Dwight Schultz]] as '''Hakunin''' |
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* [[Cree Summer]] as '''Lynette''' |
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==='' |
===''Fortnite: Battle Royale''=== |
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The T-60 Power Armor appeared in [[Fortnite]], in the ''[[Fortnite Battle Royale|Battle Royale]]'' gamemode, as a cosmetic outfit in the Chapter 5 Season 3 Battle Pass, alongside a pickaxe tool attaining to the Assaultron, an emote depicting a Mister Handy robot, and many other cosmetic items bearing reference to the series. Nuka Cola also appeared as a consumable,<ref>{{Cite web |author=The Fortnite Team |date=May 24, 2024 |title=Crash the Party in Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 5 Season 3: Wrecked! |url=https://www.fortnite.com/news/crash-the-party-in-fortnite-battle-royale-chapter-5-season-3-wrecked |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524070724/https://www.fortnite.com/news/crash-the-party-in-fortnite-battle-royale-chapter-5-season-3-wrecked| archive-date=May 24, 2024|access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=[[Fortnite]]}}</ref> as did the laser rifle as an in-game weapon, in a later update. |
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* [[Malcolm McDowell]] as '''President John Henry Eden''' |
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* [[Liam Neeson]] as '''James''', the player character's father |
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* [[Odette Yustman]] as '''Amata Almodovar''' |
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==='' |
===''Super Smash Bros Ultimate''=== |
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During the summer of 2020, the mascot of Vault-Tec, Vault Boy, appeared as a [[Mii|Mii Gunner]] costume for the Nintendo Switch title ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''.{{Cn|date=May 2024}} |
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* [[Rene Auberjonois]] as '''Robert "Mr." House''' |
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* [[Zoë Bell]] as '''Melissa Lewis''' |
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* [[Rob Corddry]] as '''Billy Knight''' |
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* [[Felicia Day]] as '''Veronica Santangelo''' |
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* [[Barry Dennen]] as '''Dean Domino''' |
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* [[John Doman]] as '''Caesar''' |
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* [[Michael Dorn]] as '''Marcus the Mutant''' |
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* [[Dave Foley]] as '''"Yes Man"''' |
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* [[Richard Herd]] as '''Father Elijah''' |
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* [[Michael Hogan (Canadian actor)|Michael Hogan]] as '''Doc Mitchell''' |
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* [[Kris Kristofferson]] as '''Chief Hanlon''' |
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* [[Zachary Levi]] as '''Arcade Gannon''' |
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* [[Jason Marsden]] as '''Craig Boone''' |
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* [[Wayne Newton]] as '''Mr. New Vegas''' |
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* [[Matthew Perry]] as '''Benny''' |
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* [[Alex Rocco]] as '''Big Sal''' |
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* [[William Sadler (actor)|William Sadler]] as '''Victor the Securitron''' |
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* [[Danny Trejo]] as '''Raul Tejada''' |
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* [[Wil Wheaton]] as '''Robobrain''' |
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=== |
===''Call of Duty''=== |
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On June 18, 2024, [[Activision]] announced a collaboration between the ''[[Call of Duty]]'' franchise and ''Fallout'', which saw the addition of a cosmetic bundle for purchase in ''[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023 video game)|Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III]]'' and ''[[Call of Duty: Warzone (2022 video game)|Call of Duty: Warzone]]''. The bundle contains "Vault 141" outfits for four operator characters Soap, Price, Ghost, and Gaz, in addition to Vault-themed weapon skins and other items based on ''Fallout''. The bundle was released on June 20, 2024, in addition to a free in-game event where players can earn other ''Fallout''-themed cosmetic items, including a Nuka-Cola Quantum weapon camouflage.<ref name="COD">{{Cite web|date=June 18, 2024|title=Call of Duty x Fallout Sees Task Force 141 Join the Vault Dwellers, Available June 20 |url=https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2024/06/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-iii-warzone-wzm-fallout-141-bundle|website=Call of Duty Blog|access-date=June 18, 2024}}</ref> |
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* [[Tony Jay]] as '''Attis''' (''Fallout: BoS'') |
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* [[R. Lee Ermey]] as '''General Simon Barnaky''' (''Fallout Tactics'') |
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Kurtwood Larson Smith as General Dekker |
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== |
== Reception and legacy == |
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{{Video game series reviews|seriesQid=Q167835}} |
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The ''Fallout'' series has been met with mostly positive reception. The highest rated title is ''Fallout 3'' and the lowest is ''Fallout 76'' according to review aggregator [[Metacritic]].<ref name="metacritic-fo3" /> |
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[[Image:Bloody Mess.jpg|thumb|250 px|The ''Fallout'' series' look and feel is well represented in the user interface of the Pip-Boy computer, and the frequent occurrences of the Vault Boy character, here illustrating the Bloody Mess Trait.]] |
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=== |
=== Controversy and fandom === |
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Some fans have expressed dismay at the direction the ''Fallout'' series has taken since its acquisition by [[Bethesda Softworks]]. Notorious for their vehement support of the series' first two games, ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2'',<ref name="escapist_fringe">{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/issues/issue_102/565-Gaming-s-Fringe-Cults.2 |title=Gaming's Fringe Cults |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107014659/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/issues/issue_102/565-Gaming-s-Fringe-Cults.2 |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |url-status=dead |last1=BLANCATO |first1=JOE |date=June 19, 2007 |website=The Escapist |publisher=Defy Media LLC |access-date=December 20, 2015}}</ref><ref name="kotaku_relent" /> members centered around one of the oldest ''Fallout'' [[fansite]]s, ''No Mutants Allowed'', have complained over departures from the original games' stories, gameplay mechanics and setting.<ref name="kotaku_relent" /> Minor criticisms include the prevalence of unspoiled food after 200 years, the survival of wood-framed dwellings after a nuclear blast, and the ubiquity of Super Mutants at early levels in the game.<ref name="kotaku_relent" /> More serious criticisms involve the quality of the game's writing, lack of verisimilitude, the switch to a first-person action game format, and the reactiveness of the surrounding game world to player actions.<ref name="kotaku_relent">{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/the-relentless-champions-of-classic-fallout-1715984448 |title=The Relentless Champions Of Classic Fallout |last1=Winkie |first1=Luke |date=September 29, 2015 |website=Kotaku |access-date=December 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/01/08/games-for-2008-fallout-3/ |title=Games for 2008: Fallout 3 |last1=Gillen |first1=Kieron |date=January 8, 2008 |website=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]] |access-date=December 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/fallout-4-for-pc-ps4-xbox-one |title=Vault-111 Opens in Boston: Fallout 4 is Coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One |last1=Williams |first1=Mike |date=June 3, 2015 |website=US Gamer |publisher=Gamer Network |access-date=December 21, 2015 |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905184803/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/fallout-4-for-pc-ps4-xbox-one |url-status=dead }}</ref> In response, [[James Stephanie Sterling]] of ''[[Destructoid]]'' has called fan groups like ''No Mutants Allowed'' "selfish" and "arrogant"; stating that a new audience deserves a chance to play a ''Fallout'' game; and that if the series had stayed the way it was back in 1997, new titles would never have been made and brought to market.<ref name="destructoid_shutup">{{cite web |url=http://www.destructoid.com/videogame-fans-need-to-shut-up-about-everything-164476.phtml |title=Videogame 'fans' need to shut up about everything |last1=Sterling |first1=Jim |date=February 20, 2010 |website=Destructoid |access-date=December 20, 2015 |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222142227/http://www.destructoid.com/videogame-fans-need-to-shut-up-about-everything-164476.phtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> Luke Winkie of ''[[Kotaku]]'' tempers these sentiments, saying that it is a matter of ownership; and that in the case of ''Fallout 3'', hardcore fans of the original series witnessed their favorite games become transformed into something else and that they are "not wrong" for having grievances.<ref name="kotaku_relent" /> |
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The PIP-Boy (Personal Information Processor-Boy) is an iconic wrist-computer given to the player early in ''Fallout'', ''Fallout 2'', ''Fallout 3'' and ''Fallout: New Vegas'' which serves various roles in quest, inventory, and battle management, as well as presenting player statistics. The model present in ''Fallout'' and ''Fallout 2'' is identified as a PIP-Boy 2000 and is the same computer which has been inherited by the Chosen One from the Vault Dweller. ''Fallout Tactics'' contains a modified version of the 2000 model, called PIP-Boy 2000BE, while ''Fallout 3'' and ''Fallout: New Vegas'' uses a PIP-Boy 3000. |
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The redesigned dialogue interface featured in ''Fallout 4'' received mixed reception by the community.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/fallout-4-s-full-dialogue-mod-makes-the-game-way-better-1750181929 |title=Fallout 4's 'Full Dialogue' Mod Makes The Game Way Better |last1=Hamilton |first1=Kirk |date=December 29, 2015 |website=Kotaku |access-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gameskinny.com/ups3n/fallout-4s-dialogue-wheel-bringing-a-good-game-down |title=Fallout 4's dialogue wheel: bringing a good game down? |last1=Adamczyk |first1=John |date=November 10, 2015 |website=GameSkinny |access-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref> Unsatisfied fans created mods for the game, providing subtitles and allowing the player to know what their character would say before choosing it as it was in previous games in the franchise such as in ''Fallout 3'' and ''Fallout: New Vegas''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.polygon.com/fallout-4/2015/11/18/9756972/fallout-4-dialogue-mod-pc-xbox-playstation |title=Fallout 4 mod reveals all of the game's dialogue, before you say it |last1=Good |first1=Owen |date=November 18, 2015 |website=Polygon |access-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/11/fallout-4-mod-replaces-simplified-dialogue-with-full-subtitles/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119142832/http://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/11/fallout-4-mod-replaces-simplified-dialogue-with-full-subtitles/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 19, 2015 |title=Fallout 4 Mod Replaces Simplified Dialogue With Full Subtitles |last1=Walker |first1=Alex |date=November 19, 2015 |website=Kotaku |access-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref> Though even taking the mods into account, Patricia Hernandez of Kotaku still criticized the writing of the game in her review, describing it as "thin", "You never have particularly long or nuanced conversations with the other characters. I like to play a Charisma-focused character, and I was disappointed."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://kotaku.com/fallout-4-the-kotaku-review-1743410637 |title=Fallout 4: The Kotaku Review |last1=Hernandez |first1=Patricia |date=November 19, 2015 |website=Kotaku |access-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref> |
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The Vault Boy character<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bethblog.com/index.php/2008/06/25/papercraft-vault-boy-now-online/ |title=Papercraft Vault Boy now online |publisher=Official Bethesda Softworks Blog |date=2008-07-25 |accessdate=2008-11-23}}</ref> is Vault-Tec's mascot, and is a frequently recurring element in Vault-Tec-related items in the world. This includes the PIP-Boy, where Vault Boy models all of the clothing and weaponry, and illustrates all of the character statistics and selectable attributes.<ref name="Bethesda">{{cite web|url=http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/vault/diaries_diary5-6.6.08.html |title=Fallout: Welcome to the Official Site |publisher=Fallout.bethsoft.com |date= |accessdate=2010-02-04}}</ref> |
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Upon release, ''Fallout 76'' became the lowest rated title.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://segmentnext.com/2018/11/20/fallout-76-is-lowest-rated-fallout-game-in-history-fallout-4-dlcs-have-higher-scores/ |title=Fallout 76 is the Lowest Rated Fallout Game in History, Fallout 4 DLCs Have Higher Scores |first=Sarmad |last=Lillah |date=November 20, 2018 |work=SegmentNext}}</ref> It has been the subject of [[List of video games notable for negative reception#Fallout 76 (2018)|several controversies]] since its release. ''IGN'' gave the game a five out of ten rating, criticizing the game for its lackluster graphics, poor use of multiplayer, and bugs, "Fallout 76 fails to do any of it well enough to form an identity. Its multiplayer mindset robs its quests of all the moral decision making that makes the series great, and all that's left is a buggy mess of systemic designs that never seems to work (culminating) in an aggravating endgame that's more busywork than satisfying heroics. Bethesda missed the mark with Fallout 76...because it seems it could never decide what it was aiming for." The magazine, ''PC Gamer'', rated the game a six out of ten, praising it for its evocative and beautiful setting, large world, and combat but also criticizing the game for its bugs, poor UI, and repetitiveness, "the world retains a lot of what I love about Bethesda's previous RPGs with finely crafted environments, enjoyable weapons and crafting, and surprising little scraps of story to uncover and investigate. Like Valley Galleria, though, it doesn't take long to for the shine to fade, the once-fascinating areas to lose their wonder among the mobs of identical enemies I've killed there time and time again."<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Christopher Livingston |date=November 21, 2018 |title=Fallout 76 review |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-review/ |access-date=October 25, 2022 |website=pcgamer |language=en}}</ref> |
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===Influences=== |
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{{refimprove|date=May 2011}} |
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== Legal action == |
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''Fallout'' draws from 1950s [[pulp magazine]]s, [[science fiction]], and [[superhero]] [[comic books]], all rooted in [[Atomic Age]] optimism of a nuclear-powered future, though gone terribly awry by the time the events of the game take place. The technology is [[retro-futuristic]], with various [[Raygun Gothic]] machines such as laser weaponry and boxy ''[[Forbidden Planet]]''-style robots. Computers use [[vacuum tubes]] instead of [[transistors]], architecture of ruined buildings feature [[Art Deco]] and [[Googie]] designs, energy weapons resemble those used by [[Flash Gordon]], and what few vehicles remain in the world are all 1950s-styled. |
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Interplay was threatened with bankruptcy and sold the full ''Fallout'' franchise to Bethesda, but kept the rights to the ''Fallout'' MMO through a back license in April 2007 and began work on the MMO later that year. Bethesda Softworks sued Interplay Entertainment for [[copyright infringement]] on September 8, 2009, regarding the ''[[Fallout Online]]'' license and selling of ''Fallout Trilogy'' and sought an injunction to stop development of ''Fallout Online'' and sales of ''Fallout Trilogy''. Key points that Bethesda were trying to argue is that Interplay did not have the right to sell ''Fallout Trilogy'' on the Internet via [[Steam (service)|Steam]], [[Good Old Games]] or other online services. Bethesda also said that "full scale" development on ''Fallout Online'' was not met and that the minimum financing of 30 million of "secured funding" was not met. Interplay launched a counter suit claiming that Bethesda's claims were meritless and that it did have the right to sell ''Fallout'' Trilogy via online stores via its contract with Bethesda. Interplay also claimed secure funding had been met and the game was in full scale development by the cut off date. Interplay argued to have the second contract that sold ''Fallout'' voided which would result in the first contract that licensed ''Fallout'' to come back into effect. This would mean that ''Fallout'' would revert to Interplay. Bethesda would be allowed to make ''Fallout 5''. Bethesda would have to pay 12% of royalties on ''Fallout 3'', ''Fallout: New Vegas'', ''Fallout 4'' and expansions plus interest on the money owed. On December 10, 2009, Bethesda lost the first injunction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/09/11/bethesda-softworks-files-lawsuit-against-interplay-over-fallout/ |title=Bethesda-Fallout Lawsuit |access-date=June 21, 2011 |archive-date=January 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114010413/http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/09/11/bethesda-softworks-files-lawsuit-against-interplay-over-fallout |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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Bethesda shortly afterward tried a new tactic and fired its first lawyer, replacing him and filing a second injunction, claiming that Interplay had only back-licensed the name ''Fallout'' but no content. Interplay has countered showing that the contract states that they must make ''Fallout Online'' that has the look and feel of ''Fallout'' and that in the event Interplay fails to meet the requirements (30 million minimum secure funding and "full scale" development by X date) that Interplay can still release the MMO but they have to remove all ''Fallout'' content. The contract then goes on to list all ''Fallout'' content as locations, monsters, settings and lore.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} Bethesda has known that Interplay would use ''Fallout'' elements via internet emails shown in court documents and that the contract was not just for the name.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35494/Interplay_Bethesda_Knew_Fallout_MMO_Was_About_More_Than_The_Name.php |title=New Turn in Interplay-Bethesda Lawsuit |access-date=June 28, 2011}}</ref> The second injunction by Bethesda was denied on August 4, 2011, by the courts. Bethesda then appealed the denial of their second preliminary injunction. Bethesda then sued Masthead Studios and asked for a restraining order against the company. Bethesda was denied this restraining order before Masthead Studios could call a counter-suit.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/37428/Bethesda_Denied_Restraining_Order_Against_Fallout_MMO.php |title=Bethesda's Restraining Order Denied |access-date=September 25, 2011}}</ref> Bethesda lost its appeal of the second injunction.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1210805p1.html?_ |title=Bethesda Appeal Denied |last=Goldfarb |first=Andrew |date=October 26, 2011 |access-date=October 29, 2011}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> |
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Other film influences include: [[A Boy And His Dog]], where the main character Vic and Blood scavenges the desert of the Southwestern United States, stealing for a living and evading bands of marauders, berserk androids and mutants. The [[Terminator (franchise)|''Terminator'']] series of films, from its vision of a post apocalyptic view on humanity, and the use of robots in every day life, hostile robots, and cyborgs, as well as [[Mad Max (franchise)|''Mad Max'']], with its depiction of a post apocalyptic nuclear wasteland. In the first game, one of the first available armors is a one-sleeved leather jacket that resembles the jacket worn by Mel Gibson in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. A player wearing this jacket can get a dog, named Dogmeat, after Mad Max’s dog, to join the party in Junktown.<ref>{{citation|year=20010|title=Fallout: New Vegas designer Josh Sawyer on post-apocalyptic games|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/nov/10/fallout-new-vegas-interview|publisher=guardian.co.uk|accessdate=2011-05-04}}</ref> |
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Bethesda filed [[motion in limine]] against Interplay. Interplay filed a motion in limine against Bethesda the day after. The [[Jury trial|trial by jury]] which Bethesda requested on October 26, 2010, was changed to a trial by court because the APA contract stated that all legal matters would be resolved via a trial by court and not a trial by jury. The trial by court began on December 12. In 2012, in a press conference Bethesda revealed that in exchange for 2 million dollars, Interplay gave to them full rights for ''Fallout Online''. Interplay's rights to sell and merchandise ''Fallout'', ''Fallout 2'' and ''Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel'' expired on December 31, 2013. |
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''Fallout'''s other production design, such as menu interfaces, are similarly designed to resemble advertisements and toys of the Atomic Age. Advertising in the game such as billboards and brochures has a distinct 1950s motif and feel. The lack of retro-stylization was one of the things the ''Fallout'' spin-offs were criticized for, as [[retro-futurism]] is a hallmark of the ''Fallout'' series. |
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== See also == |
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===Possible media adaptations=== |
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*''[[Exodus (role-playing game)|Exodus]]'', a role-playing game previously associated with the ''Fallout'' intellectual property during its development. |
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In April 2009, Bethesda Softworks trademarked the ''Fallout'' brand for both "entertainment services in the nature of an on-going television program" and also "motion picture films about a post-nuclear apocalyptic world". However, nothing yet has been confirmed as being in production.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gilbert |first=Ben |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/17/bethesda-trademarks-fallout-name-for-film-and-television/ |title=Bethesda trademarks Fallout name for film and television |publisher=Joystiq.com |date=2009-04-17 |accessdate=2010-02-04}}</ref> |
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*''[[Fallout: Equestria]]'', a crossover fan-fiction novel by pseudonymous author Kkat that applies the premise of ''Fallout'' to the setting of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]''. |
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== Notes == |
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A short film, ''Fallout: Nuka Break'', was made and released by fans in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldman |first=Tom |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107236-Fallout-Fan-Film-Virally-Markets-Nuka-Cola/ |title=Fallout Fan Film Virally Markets Nuka Cola |publisher=escapistmagazine.com |date=2011-01-24 |accessdate=2011-03-26}}</ref> |
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{{Notelist}} |
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==References== |
== References == |
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{{Reflist |
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== Further reading == |
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==External links== |
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{{Refbegin}} |
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* {{Cite web |last1=Marshall |first1=Cass |title=The Fallout franchise has had a risky roller coaster of a decade |work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |date=November 8, 2019 |url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/11/8/20937599/fallout-76-4-new-vegas-shelter-bethesda-obsidian |language=en-US |access-date=November 10, 2019}} |
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{{Refend}} |
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{{Refbegin}} |
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* {{Cite magazine |last1=Gervais |first1=Noah |title='Fallout 4' DLC 'Nuka World' Proves Nothing Matters Anyway|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=September 7, 2016 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/fallout-4-dlc-nuka-world-proves-nothing-matters-anyway-115194/ |language=en-US |access-date=April 13, 2024}} |
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{{Refend}} |
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== External links == |
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Latest revision as of 13:41, 20 December 2024
Fallout | |
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Genre(s) |
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Developer(s) | |
Publisher(s) |
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Creator(s) | |
Platform(s) | |
First release | Fallout October 10, 1997 |
Latest release | Fallout 76 November 14, 2018 |
Fallout is a media franchise of post-apocalyptic role-playing video games created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky,[1][2] at Interplay Entertainment. The series is set during the first half of the 3rd millennium, and its atompunk retrofuturistic setting and artwork are influenced by the post-war culture of the 1950s United States, with its combination of hope for the promises of technology and the lurking fear of nuclear annihilation. Fallout is regarded as a spiritual successor to Wasteland, a 1988 game developed by Interplay Productions.
The series' first title, Fallout, was developed by Black Isle Studios and released in 1997, and its sequel, Fallout 2, the following year. With the tactical role-playing game Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, development was handed to Micro Forté and 14 Degrees East. In 2004, Interplay closed Black Isle Studios,[3] and continued to produce Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, an action game with role-playing elements for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, without Black Isle Studios. Fallout 3, the third entry in the main series, was released in 2008 by Bethesda Softworks, and was followed by Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment released on October 19, 2010. Fallout 4 was released in 2015, and Fallout 76 released on November 14, 2018.
Bethesda Softworks owns the rights to the Fallout intellectual property.[4] After acquiring it, Bethesda licensed the rights to make a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) version of Fallout to Interplay. The MMORPG got as far as beta stage under Interplay,[5] but a prolonged legal battle between Bethesda Softworks and Interplay disrupted the development of the game, eventually resulting in its cancellation. Bethesda argued in court that Interplay had failed to fulfill the terms and conditions of the licensing contract. The case reached a resolution in early 2012.[6]
Origins
[edit]The ideas of the Fallout series began with Interplay Productions' Wasteland, released in 1988. At that time, Interplay was not a publisher and used Electronic Arts for distribution of the game. According to Interplay's founder, Brian Fargo, they wanted to explore a post-apocalyptic setting and created Wasteland for that. Sometime after release, Interplay decided to shift focus and become a publisher while still developing games. Fargo wanted to continue to use the Wasteland intellectual property but could not negotiate the rights back from Electronic Arts. Still wanting to do something in a post-apocalyptic setting, Fargo and his team decided to make a new setting and game. They determined what aspects of Wasteland were positives and wrote and developed a new game around them. The result was the first Fallout games, which were released nearly ten years after Wasteland.[7]
Games
[edit]1997 | Fallout |
---|---|
1998 | Fallout 2 |
1999–2000 | |
2001 | Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel |
2002–2003 | |
2004 | Brotherhood of Steel |
2005–2007 | |
2008 | Fallout 3 |
2009 | |
2010 | New Vegas |
2011–2014 | |
2015 | Shelter |
Fallout 4 | |
2016 | Pinball |
2017 | |
2018 | Fallout 76 |
2019 | Shelter Online |
TBA | Fallout 5 |
Year | Title | Developer | Platform(s) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Computer | Home console | Mobile | |||||
Main series | |||||||
1997 | Fallout | Interplay | Windows, MS-DOS | Classic MacOS, Mac OS X | |||
1998 | Fallout 2 | Black Isle | Windows | ||||
2008 | Fallout 3 | Bethesda | PS3, Xbox 360 | ||||
2015 | Fallout 4 | PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox X/S | |||||
TBA | Fallout 5 | TBA | |||||
Spin-offs | |||||||
2001 | Fallout Tactics | Micro Forté | Windows | ||||
2004 | Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel | Interplay | PS2, Xbox | ||||
2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | Obsidian | Windows | PS3, Xbox 360 | |||
2015 | Fallout Shelter | Bethesda | PS4, Xbox One, Switch | iOS, Android | |||
2016 | Fallout Pinball | Zen Studios | |||||
2018 | Fallout 76 | Bethesda | Windows | PS4, Xbox One | |||
2019 | Fallout Shelter Online | Gaea Mobile | iOS, Android |
Main series
[edit]Fallout (1997)
[edit]Released in October 1997, Fallout takes place in a post-apocalyptic Southern California, beginning in the year 2161. The protagonist, referred to as the Vault Dweller, is tasked with recovering a water chip in the Wasteland to replace the broken one in their underground shelter home, Vault 13. Afterwards, the Vault Dweller must thwart the plans of a group of mutants, led by a grotesque entity named the Master. Fallout was originally intended to run under the GURPS role-playing game system. However, a disagreement with the creator of GURPS, Steve Jackson, over the game's violent content required Black Isle Studios to develop the new SPECIAL system.[8] Fallout's atmosphere and artwork are reminiscent of post–World War II United States during the Cold War era and the fear that the country was headed for nuclear war in the real world.[9]
Fallout 2 (1998)
[edit]Fallout 2 was released in October 1998, with several improvements over the first game, including an improved engine, the ability to set attitudes of non-player characters (NPC) party members and the ability to push people who are blocking doors. Additional features included several changes, including significantly more pop culture jokes and parodies, such as multiple special random encounters referencing Monty Python and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and self-parodying dialogue that broke the fourth wall to mention game mechanics. Fallout 2 takes place eighty years after Fallout, and centers around a descendant of the Vault Dweller, the protagonist of Fallout. The player assumes the role of the Chosen One (Vault Dweller's actual grandchild) as they try to save their village, Arroyo, from famine and droughts. After saving the village, the Chosen One must fight the Enclave, the remnants of the pre-war United States government (as well as the shadow government in charge of the vault project).
Fallout 3 (2008)
[edit]Fallout 3 was developed by Bethesda Game Studios and released on October 28, 2008. The story picks up thirty years after the setting of Fallout 2 and 200 years after the nuclear war that devastated the game's world.[10] The player-character is a Vault dweller in Vault 101 who is forced to flee when the Overseer tries to arrest them in response to their father leaving the Vault. Once out, the player is dubbed the Lone Wanderer and ventures into the Wasteland in and around Washington, D.C., known as the Capital Wasteland, to find their father. It differs from previous games in the series by utilizing 3D graphics, a free-roam gaming world, and real-time combat, in contrast to previous games' 2D isometric graphics and turn-based combat. It was developed for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 using the Gamebryo engine. It received highly positive reviews, garnering 94 out of 100,[11] 92 out of 100,[12] and 93 out of 100[13] averages scores on Metacritic for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, respectively. It won IGN's 2008 Overall Game of the Year Award, Xbox 360 Game of the Year, Best RPG, and Best Use of Sound, as well as E3's Best of the Show and Best Role Playing Game.
Fallout 4 (2015)
[edit]Fallout 4, developed by Bethesda Game Studios, was released on November 10, 2015. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, of the in-game New England Commonwealth and features voiced protagonists.[14][15][16][17] The Xbox One version has been confirmed to have mods as of 2016[update]. Bethesda also confirmed mods for PlayStation 4, after lengthy negotiations with Sony.[18] A virtual reality version of the game was released on December 11, 2017, available on SteamVR.[19] Fallout 4 takes place in the year 2287, ten years after the events of Fallout 3. Fallout 4's story begins on the day the bombs dropped: October 23, 2077. The player's character (voiced by either Brian T. Delaney or Courtenay Taylor), dubbed as the Sole Survivor, takes shelter in Vault 111, emerging 210 years later, after being subjected to suspended animation. The Sole Survivor goes on a search for their son who was taken away from the Vault.
Fallout 5 (TBA)
[edit]In June 2022, Todd Howard stated in an interview that Fallout 5 would begin development after the completion of The Elder Scrolls VI, with an unspecified release window.[20]
Spin-offs
[edit]Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)
[edit]Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel is the first Fallout game not to require the player to fight in a turn-based mode, and the first to allow the player to customize the skills, perks, and combat actions of the rest of the party. Fallout Tactics focuses on tactical combat rather than role-playing; the new combat system included different modes, stances, and modifiers, but the player had no dialogue options. Most of the criticisms of the game came from its incompatibility with the story of the original two games, not from its gameplay. Fallout Tactics includes a multiplayer mode that allows players to compete against squads of other characters controlled by other players. Unlike the previous two games, which are based in California, Fallout Tactics takes place in the Midwestern United States. The game was released in early 2001 to generally favorable reviews.[21][22] In 2020, Emil Pagliarulo stated that elements and lore from Fallout Tactics have been used in Bethesda Softworks' subsequent entries in the series.[23]
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004)
[edit]Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel became the first Fallout game for consoles when it was released in 2004. It follows an initiate in the Brotherhood of Steel who is given a suicidal quest to find several lost Brotherhood Paladins. Brotherhood of Steel is an action role-playing game, representing a significant break from previous incarnations of the Fallout series in both gameplay and aesthetics. The game does not feature non-player characters that accompany the player in combat and uses heavy metal music, including Slipknot, Devin Townsend, and Killswitch Engage, which stands in contrast to the music of the earlier Fallout games, performed by The Ink Spots and Louis Armstrong. It was the last Fallout game developed by Interplay.
Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
[edit]Fallout: New Vegas was developed by Obsidian Entertainment and released on October 19, 2010.[24] The development team included developers who previously worked on Fallout and Fallout 2.[25][26] Fallout: New Vegas is not a direct sequel to Fallout 3.[27][28][29] Events follow four years after Fallout 3 and offer a similar experience, but no characters from that game appear.[28] The player assumes the role of a courier in the post-apocalyptic world of the Mojave Wasteland. As the game begins, the Courier is shot in the head and left for dead shortly before being found and brought to a doctor in the nearby town of Goodsprings, marking the start of the game and the Courier's search for their would-be murderer. The city of New Vegas is a post-apocalyptic interpretation of Las Vegas.
Fallout Shelter (2015)
[edit]Fallout Shelter is a simulation game for Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The player acts as the Overseer, building and managing their Vault and its dwellers, sending them into the Wasteland on scouting missions and defending the Vault from attacks. Unlike the main entries in the franchise, this game has no ending and mostly revolves around attempting to keep the people who live in the vault, an intricate fallout shelter, alive. The game uses microtransactions, a form of in-game purchases, that take the form of Nuka-Cola quantum, the game's "premium" currency; lunch boxes, an item that would give a random mixture of in-game items; pet carriers, something that would contain a pet, which can boost a single dweller's stats; and "Mister Handys" or "Snip-Snips" (same thing different skin), robots who can harvest the games materials or be assigned to outside the vault to harvest bottle caps, the game's currency. Fallout Shelter was released for iOS on June 14, 2015, Android on August 13, 2015, and for PC on July 15, 2016. On February 7, 2017, Bethesda launched Fallout Shelter on Xbox One. On June 10, 2018, Bethesda announced and launched Fallout Shelter on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
Fallout Pinball (2016)
[edit]In late 2016, Zen Studios developed a virtual pinball game based on the Fallout universe as part of the Bethesda Pinball collection, which became available as part of Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2[30] and Pinball FX 3,[31] as well as a separate free-to-play app for iOS and Android mobile devices.[32] The pinball adaptation is based on Fallout 4 while containing elements from previous installments as well.
Fallout 76 (2018)
[edit]Fallout 76 is the first online multiplayer game in the franchise. It is set in West Virginia, with a majority of monsters and enemies based on regional folklore. When the game was originally released, there were no human non-player characters, although it received NPCs and character dialogue with the "Wastelanders" update. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 14, 2018.[33]
Fallout Shelter Online (2019)
[edit]Fallout Shelter Online is a sequel to Fallout Shelter developed by Chinese company Gaea Mobile.[34] It expands on the original games' mechanics while also introducing multiplayer capabilities such as PvP and the ability to play online, as well as Gacha game mechanics.[35] It was released in June 2019 exclusively in China.[36] On March 18, 2020, pre-registration for Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan was opened.[34] On June 1, 2020, it was released in the former territories on iOS and Android devices.[37]
Tabletop games
[edit]Fallout: Warfare (2001)
[edit]Fallout: Warfare is a tabletop wargame based on the Fallout Tactics storyline, using a simplified version of the SPECIAL system. The rulebook was written by Christopher Taylor, and was available on the Fallout Tactics bonus CD, together with cut-out miniatures. Fallout: Warfare features five distinct factions, vehicles, four game types and 33 different units. The rules only require ten-sided dice. The modifications to the SPECIAL system allow every unit a unique set of stats and give special units certain skills they can use, including piloting, doctor, and repair. A section of the Fallout: Warfare manual allows campaigns to be conducted using the Warfare rules. It has been chosen for many awards and won game of the year.[citation needed]
Fallout: The Board Game (2017)
[edit]Fallout: The Board Game was announced by Fantasy Flight Games on August 8, 2017.[38] In Fallout: The Board Game, up to one to four players are able to explore the locations of Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and their associated downloadable content.[38] Pre-orders were opened on October 2, 2017.[39] It was released and made available to purchase online and at retailers on November 30, 2017.[40]
An expansion titled Fallout: New California was announced on July 13, 2018, which explores the area of New California featured in Fallout and Fallout 2.[41] Pre-orders were opened on October 2, 2017.[42] It was released and made available to purchase online and at retailers on October 25, 2018.[43]
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare (2018)
[edit]The tabletop wargame Fallout: Wasteland Warfare was announced by Modiphius Entertainment in April 2017.[44] It was released in March 2018.[45]
A virtual tabletop version was released on Fantasy Grounds April 26, 2022.[46]
Fallout: The Roleplaying Game (2021)
[edit]The tabletop role-playing game Fallout: The Roleplaying Game, also by Modiphius Entertainment, was released digitally on March 31, 2021.[47] The game features a modified version of the SPECIAL system, including the seven SPECIAL stats, skills, tag skills, and perks. Its core mechanic is Modiphius's "2d20" system, a dice pool system in which any given action is resolved by rolling two twenty-sided dice and counting the number of "successes", which are any result equal to or below the character's combined SPECIAL attribute plus their skill rank for a particular action. Players can roll additional dice by spending "Action Points", a resource shared by all active players in the game, which are generated and spent continuously over the course of a game session.
The game's default setting is the Commonwealth, the same as in Fallout 4, at the same period in time. Flavor text throughout the rulebook describe characters featured in Fallout 4 and suggest that events are set to occur the same way they are at the beginning of the videogame, such as the arrival of the Prydwen airship. The rulebook contains descriptions of locations, fictional corporations, factions, and events specific to the default greater Boston area. Support for regions that appeared in other Fallout videogames, such as New California, Midwest, Capital Wasteland, Mojave Wasteland or the Appalachia, were not included in the core rulebook.
On May 13, 2020, a supplement-sized questbook expansion titled Winter of Atom was announced.[48] The expansion is set within the Commonwealth before the events of Fallout 4 during a harsh winter, with the conflict involving defending settlements against the Last Son of Atom, the leader of a rogue sect of the Children of Atom.[49] Four new factions are also introduced,[50] as well as additional player character origins for Synth, Protectron and Child of Atom players.[51] Physical pre-orders for Winter of Atom were opened in May 2023, which included a digital copy in PDF form upon purchasing.[52] Physical copies were slated to ship in July 2023.[52]
Magic: The Gathering: Fallout (2024)
[edit]A set of four pre-constructed decks for Magic: The Gathering based on all previous Fallout video games was released by Wizards of the Coast under license from Bethesda on March 8, 2024, as part of the Universes Beyond program of cross-over Magic products. These decks were designed for the Commander format of multiplayer Magic and represent different factions: Survivors, Legions, Scientists, and Mutants. The set contains a total of 146 new cards, representing characters, equipment, vaults, and other elements of the Fallout games, along with reprints of older cards all with new art depicting the post-apocalyptic setting.[53][54]
Fallout Factions (2024)
[edit]The tabletop skirmishing wargame, Fallout Factions, was announced by Modiphius Entertainment on September 10, 2022, during their online event, ModCon 2022.[55] The game's first release, Fallout Factions: Nuka World, is played using miniatures of three Raider gangs: the Operators, the Pack, and the Disciples, which were originally introduced in Fallout 4's Nuka-World add-on.[56] The game's miniatures were also announced to be compatible with Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.[56] On September 15, 2023, it was announced via newsletter that the game would be released in 2024.[57]
Cancelled games
[edit]Fallout Extreme
[edit]Fallout Extreme was in development for several months in 2000 but was canceled before leaving the concept stage.[58] It was intended to be a squad-based, first and third-person tactical shooter to be released on Xbox[59] and built on Unreal Engine.[60]
Fallout Tactics 2
[edit]Fallout Tactics 2 was proposed as a sequel to Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, although it was originally conceived as a sequel to Wasteland, the video game that inspired the Fallout series. It was developed by Micro Forté, but the production was canceled in December 2001 after the poor sales of Fallout Tactics.[61]
Van Buren, Black Isle Studios' Fallout 3
[edit]Van Buren is the codename for the canceled version of Fallout 3 developed by Black Isle Studios and to be published by Interplay Entertainment.[62] It featured an improved engine with 3D graphics as opposed to sprites, new locations, vehicles, and a modified version of the SPECIAL system. The story disconnected from the Vault Dweller/Chosen One bloodline in Fallout and Fallout 2. Plans for the game included the ability to influence the various factions. The game was canceled in December 2003 when budget cuts forced Interplay to dismiss the PC development team. Interplay subsequently sold the Fallout intellectual property to Bethesda Softworks, who began development on their own version of Fallout 3 unrelated to Van Buren. Main parts of the game were incorporated into Fallout 3 and its add-ons as well as Fallout: New Vegas.[citation needed]
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2
[edit]Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2 is the canceled sequel to Brotherhood of Steel. The development of the game started before the completion of the original, and its development caused the cancellation of the Van Buren project. Like its predecessor, the game would have used the Dark Alliance Engine. It featured fourteen new weapons and ten new enemies. The game would have used a simplified reputation system based on previous entries; depending on whether the player was good or evil, the game would play out differently. Each of the four characters that were playable had a different fighting style, therefore every new play-through would have been a different experience. It had two player co-op action for players to experience the game with their friends. The Dark Alliance Engine would be fleshed out to refine player experience. A new stealth system would have been added to the game. This system would have allowed players to stalk enemies or stealthily assassinate them with a sniper rifle. For characters that could not use the sniper rifle, Interplay added a turret mode allowing those characters to use turrets.[63]
While the main quest of the game would have been linear, how the player reach the conclusion would have been their choice. The main character would have been a Latino girl named Lilith, who was said to have a short temper with short black hair, green eyes and a sexy body. She would have worn a sports bra and jeans. Three other characters would be Maxus, the son of Cyrus, and Jaffe, a Brotherhood R&D worker who was pulled from duty due to Brotherhood/NCR tensions. Scarlet is a character that is completely albino, was raised by Harold, and inspired by the stories of Dweller, the main character of the original Fallout.[64]
Fallout Online
[edit]Fallout Online (previously known as Project V13) is a canceled project by Interplay and Masthead Studios[65] to develop a Fallout-themed massively multiplayer online game. It entered production in 2008.[66] In 2009, Bethesda filed a lawsuit against Interplay regarding Project V13, claiming that Interplay has violated their agreement as development had not yet begun on the project.[67] On January 2, 2012, Bethesda and Interplay reached a settlement, the terms of which include the cancellation of Fallout Online and transfer of all rights in the franchise to Bethesda.[68] Since then, Project V13 has been revived as a completely different project called Mayan Apocalypse, unrelated to Fallout.
Gameplay
[edit]SPECIAL
[edit]SPECIAL is a character creation and statistics system developed for use in the Fallout series. "SPECIAL" is an acronym, representing the seven attributes used to define characters': Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck. SPECIAL is heavily based on GURPS, which was originally intended to be the character system used in the game.
The SPECIAL system involves the following sets of key features:
- Attributes (listed above) represent a character's core, innate abilities. Attributes stay largely constant throughout the game, though they can be temporarily affected by drugs, altered indefinitely by conditions such as the usage of Power Armor, the presence of certain NPCs, eye damage received from a critical hit, or permanently changed at certain points in the game through use of certain items or perks.
- Skills represent a character's chance of successfully performing a group of specific tasks (such as firing a gun, or picking a lock). They are represented as percentages, though these percentages can extend well beyond the expected maximum of 100%, at increased cost for skills over 100%. The SPECIAL stats continually add bonuses to skills. This is done passively, i.e. if the SPECIAL stats change, the bonuses are automatically and instantly adjusted. Skill Points that are earned each time the character levels up can be used to raise skill percentage. At character creation, the player selects three "tag skills"—skills which can be increased at multiples of the normal rate, starting at one skill point per 2% skill at under 101% skill.
The SPECIAL system was used in Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel. A modified version of the system was used in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and Fallout Shelter.
Aside from Fallout games, modified versions of SPECIAL were also used in Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (also referred to as Fallout Fantasy early in production), a fantasy role-playing video game that involved spirits and magic in addition to the traditional SPECIAL features, as well as the canceled project Black Isle's Torn.
The Pip-Boy and Vault Boy
[edit]The Pip-Boy (Personal Information Processor-Boy) is a wrist-computer given to the player early in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 which serves various roles in quest, inventory, and battle management, as well as presenting player statistics. The model present in Fallout and Fallout 2 is identified as a Pip-Boy 2000, and both games feature the same unit, used first by the Vault Dweller and later inherited by the Chosen One. Fallout Tactics contains a modified version of the 2000 model, called Pip-Boy 2000BE, while Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas uses a Pip-Boy 3000. Fallout: New Vegas has a golden version of it, called the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion that is given to the player as a reward for completing a quest in a certain way. Fallout 4 contains a modified version of the 3000, called the Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV. Fallout 76 contains a modified version of the Pip-Boy, called the Pip-Boy 2000 Mark VI, which is another version of the Pip-Boy 2000.
The Vault Boy character is Vault-Tec's mascot, and is a recurring element in Vault-Tec products in the game world.[69] This includes the Pip-Boy, where the Vault Boy illustrates all of the character statistics and selectable attributes. From Bethesda's Fallout 3 onward Vault Boy models all of the clothing and weaponry as well.[70] The character was originally designed by Leonard Boyarsky, based partly on Rich Uncle Pennybags' aesthetic from the Monopoly board game.
Power armor
[edit]Powered combat infantry armor, or power armor, is a type of powered exoskeleton featured in every game in the Fallout series. It allows for protection from enemy fire and enables the wearer to carry extremely heavy weapons and other objects with ease. It is considered an iconic part of the Fallout universe, an effective marketing tool for a faceless protagonist, and a prominent symbol within the game's lore.[71]
The final design of the power armor in the original Fallout was created by artist Leonard Boyarsky from a helmet rendering made to showcase "something more detailed to show (on) the cover and in the cinematics" of the game. The design of the helmet and eyepiece was stated by Cain to be partly inspired by the film The City of Lost Children, with its "tubing and vents" serving as "very inspirational" to the overall aesthetic of the game.[72] Leonard Boyarsky stated that he was inspired by the "very industrial...very hardcore mechanical" design of the helmet and "loved it so much" that he revised the initial in-game design of the power armor to reflect the concept art that he had made.[73]
The power armor's recurring appearances in subsequent titles following the acquisition of the Fallout intellectual property by Bethesda Softworks represents a crucial visual motif used to establish continuity with earlier works in the franchise. Lead art director Istvan Pely stated that the power armor was the first asset developed for Fallout 3 because the "iconic element of the series...seemed like a great place to start" and was a "useful exercise in finding a balance between staying true to the original game's vibe and introducing a fresh aesthetic for the new game".[74]
In Fallout: New Vegas, power armor is depicted as an equippable form of clothing, similar to other armors, without any unique animations. PCGamesN reported that some noteworthy fan-created mods introduced aesthetic changes to the game's power armor design to make it seem more imposing and added animations to reflect their weight and heft.[75] Evan Lafleuriel observed that New Vegas is the only game in the series to eschew the use of power armor to advertise the game, which did not leave a lasting impression in his view.[71]
In Fallout 4, power armor is notably more heavily integrated into gameplay, with suits becoming customizable, interactable objects in the game world that the player climbs into rather than typical clothing and requiring fusion cores to use.[76] The studio initially began a "reimagining" of the classic design during the development of Fallout 4 but created a new and revised design that was "bigger, more imposing, more realistic and fully functional" to create the impression of the power armor feeling less like a suit and more like a vehicle that a player would operate,[74] which resonated with some commentators of Fallout 4.[71][77] In addition, players are capable of creating collections of power armor in concert with the game's base-building features.[76]
Lore
[edit]Within series lore, it was developed before the Great War by a group of United States defense contractors called West Tek in response for the need for a "walking tank" for the United States mechanized cavalry. From 2065 to 2067, several failed prototypes were created, though this research led to the creation of a compact fusion cell. The fusion cells worsened relations with China, which was already facing an energy crisis due to over-dependence on fossil fuels. China soon invades Alaska, and the Power Armor is deployed in 2067, proving extremely effective in battle. 2077 represents the pinnacle of Power Armor technology, with units capable of cutting a swath through the Chinese forces.[78] Their success on the battlefield ultimately prompts the Great War, a last-ditch nuclear exchange between America and China later in 2077 that annihilates most of modern civilization, save for irradiated ghouls and those sheltering in the Vault Network.
The 2019 publication Fallout: A Tale of Mutation explained that within the context of series lore, the Power Armor represents pre-war North American power, since every battle against the Chinese was fought by soldiers wearing the armor. Additionally, it is a reminder of how powerless the United States was to prevent its destruction at the hands of nuclear weapons.[71]
Post-war, Power Armor is most widely used by the Brotherhood of Steel, a cult-like organization that collects and preserves technology.[78]
Merchandise
[edit]A Power Armor figurine made by Japanese toymaker ThreeZero was released in 2016 for nearly $400 (~$508.00 in 2023).[79] A $200 version of Fallout 76 known as the Power Armor Edition was bundled with a replica Power Armor helmet. While its appearance was praised as "top notch", aspects such as the paint job and voice box were criticized as "cheap", and the visor as difficult to see through.[80] While not part of the Power Armor Edition, red "Nuka-Cola" helmets sold at GameStop were recalled due to mold contamination, said to be part of a "comedy of errors" surrounding the game's release.[81]
Series overview
[edit]Setting
[edit]The series is set in a fictionalized United States in an alternate history scenario that diverges from reality after 1945, following World War II.[82] In this alternative atompunk "golden age", vacuum tubes and atomic physics serve as the foundations of scientific progress, while transistors are not as scientifically important in this world.[a] As such, a bizarre socio-technological status quo emerges, in which advanced robots, nuclear-powered cars, directed-energy weapons, and other futuristic technologies are seen alongside 1950s-era computers and televisions. The United States divides itself into 13 commonwealths and the aesthetics and Cold War paranoia of the 1950s continue to dominate the American lifestyle well into the 21st century.
More than a hundred years before the start of the series, an energy crisis emerged as a result of oil depletion, leading to a period called the "Resource Wars" starting in April 2052 – a series of events caused by global resource scarcity which included a war between the European Commonwealth and the Middle Eastern states which led to the collapse of both regions, the disbanding of the United Nations, the U.S. invasion of Mexico and hostile annexation of Canada, and a Chinese invasion and subsequent military occupation of Alaska in 2066 leading to the decade-long "Sino-American War" between China and the U.S. coupled with the emergence of a disease known as the "New Plague" that devastated the American mainland. As global situations worsened, the American government became increasingly jingoistic and authoritarian, going as far as having political dissidents and Chinese-American citizens arrested and sent off to re-education camps where they were abused and even experimented on. By 2077 the tension between the United States and China had grown to critical levels as the U.S. retook Alaska and invaded mainland China, eventually culminating in the "Great War" on the morning of October 23, 2077, eastern daylight time, a two-hour long global nuclear exchange on an apocalyptic scale, which subsequently created the post-apocalyptic United States, the setting of the Fallout world.
Vaults
[edit]Having foreseen this outcome decades earlier, the U.S. government began a nationwide project in 2054 to build fallout shelters known as "Vaults". The Vaults were ostensibly designed by the Vault-Tec Corporation as public shelters, each able to support up to a thousand people. Around 400,000 Vaults would have been needed, but only 122 were commissioned and constructed. Each Vault is self-sufficient, so they could theoretically sustain their inhabitants indefinitely. However, the Vault project was not intended as a viable method of repopulating the United States in these deadly events. Instead, most Vaults were secret, unethical social experiments and were designed to determine the effects of different environmental and psychological conditions on their inhabitants. Seventeen control Vaults were made to function as advertised, in contrast with the Vault experiments, but were usually shoddy and unreliable due to most of the funding going towards the experimental ones. Many Vaults remained sealed as part of their respective experiments even after the radiation had reached safe levels.
Experiments were widely varied and included: a Vault filled with clones of an individual; a Vault where its residents were frozen in suspended animation; a Vault where its residents were exposed to psychoactive drugs; a Vault where one resident, decided by popular vote, is sacrificed each year; a Vault with only one man and puppets; a Vault where its inhabitants were segregated into two hostile factions; two Vaults with disproportionate ratios of men and women; a Vault where the door never fully closed, exposing the inhabitants to the dangerous nuclear fallout; a Vault with limited space where all its dwellers had access to firearms; a deliberately overcrowded Vault and a number of Vaults where the inhabitants were exposed to the mutagenic Forced Evolutionary Virus (F.E.V.), creating posthuman and human/animal hybrid mutants including the monstrous Super Mutants. Ultimately, many of the experiments had disastrous results usually leading to their derailment and the Vault's collapse. Several Vaults became occupied by raiders, Super Mutants, or other mutated creatures following their abandonment.
Post-War conditions
[edit]In the years after the Great War, the United States has devolved into a post-apocalyptic environment commonly dubbed "the Wasteland". The Great War and subsequent nuclear Armageddon had severely depopulated the country, leaving large expanses of property decaying from neglect. In addition, virtually all food and water is irradiated and most lifeforms have mutated due to high radiation combined with mutagens of varied origins. Despite the large-scale devastation, some areas were fortunate enough to survive the nuclear apocalypse relatively unscathed, even possessing non-irradiated water, flora, and fauna. However, these areas are exceedingly rare. With a large portion of the country's infrastructure in ruins, basic necessities are scarce. Barter is the common method of exchange, with bottle caps providing a more conventional form of currency. Most cities and towns are empty, having been looted or deserted in favor of smaller, makeshift communities scattered around the Wasteland.
Many humans who could not get into the Vaults survived the atomic blasts, but many of these, affected by the radiation, turned into so-called "ghouls". While their lifespans are greatly extended, their bodies develop widespread necrosis or rot; many lose their hair, their voices take on a raspy tone, and otherwise have permanently deformed physical features. Ghouls often resent normal human beings, either out of jealousy or in response to discrimination. Ghouls typically resent any comparison to zombies, and being called a zombie is viewed as a great insult. If ghouls continue to be exposed to high radiation levels, their brains experience irreversible damage, which can cause them to become "feral" and attack almost anything on sight, having lost their minds.
Creatures known as "Deathclaws" roam the wilderness. They were deliberately created by humans as biological weapons prior to the Great War. Escaping into the wild afterwards, they went on to thrive in the nuclear wasteland, becoming apex predators. Known as one of the Fallout series' most recognizable and iconic elements, Deathclaws were praised by critics for their design and the fear they induce in the player due to their immense power. As a result of their popularity, numerous mods were created for Fallout series games with the Deathclaw as a central theme, either to tame the creatures as a pet or use them in combat, concepts which were later added as an official feature.
Various factions of humans would later form in the Wasteland, with three of the most prominent being the Brotherhood of Steel, the New California Republic (NCR), and the Enclave. The Brotherhood came together when a group of soldiers led by U.S. Army Captain Roger Maxson started a mutiny after finding out about the Forced Evolutionary Virus experiments. Declaring themselves independent from the U.S. government, their rebellion never got off the ground due to the Great War beginning. The defectors, safe in the underground confines of the base, survived and came to the surface and reconnected with other survivors, then headed to the Lost Hills bunker to start anew. The NCR was formed by a group of Vault 15 dwellers who would go on to found the town of Shady Sands. Over time under the leadership of their elder Aradesh and his daughter Tandi, Shady Sands became a major economic power in the southwest and united with other major hubs of civilization in the area to found the New California Republic. The Enclave was a secret cabal of wealthy industrialists, members of the military, and influential politicians who operated in the shadows and held a great degree of control over the United States' government. This enigmatic alliance of private interests eventually subverted and developed from the continuity of government protocol to ensure its survival as the real United States, laying claim to the North American mainland.
Influences
[edit]Fallout satirizes the 1950s' and 1960s' fantasies of the United States' "post-nuclear-war-survival",[83][84][85][86] thus draws from 1950s pulp magazine science fiction and superhero comic books, all rooted in Atomic Age optimism of a nuclear-powered future, though gone terribly awry by the time the events of the game take place. The technology is retro-futuristic, with various Raygun Gothic machines such as laser weaponry and boxy Forbidden Planet-style robots.[84] Computers use vacuum tubes instead of transistors (of which only a few exist), the architecture of ruined buildings feature Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and Googie designs, direct-energy weapons resemble those used by Flash Gordon, and what few vehicles remain in the world are all 1950s-styled. Fallout's other production designs, such as menu interfaces, are similarly designed to resemble advertisements and toys of the Atomic Age. Advertising in the game such as billboards and brochures has a distinct 1950s motif and feel. The lack of retro-stylization was a common reason for criticism in spin-off games, as well as modern features on weapons and other models.
A major influence was A Boy and His Dog, where the main character Vic and his dog Blood scavenge the desert of the Southwestern United States, stealing for a living and evading bands of marauders, berserk androids, and mutants. It "inspired Fallout on many levels, from underground communities of survivors to glowing mutants."[87] Other film influences include the Mad Max series, with its depiction of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In the first game, one of the first available armors is a one-sleeved leather jacket that resembles the jacket worn in Mad Max 2.[88]
Other media
[edit]Canceled films
[edit]In 1998, Interplay Entertainment founded the film division Interplay Films to make films based on its properties, and announced that a Fallout film was one of their first projects, along adaptations of Descent and Redneck Rampage. In 2000, Interplay confirmed that a film based on the original Fallout game was in production with Mortal Kombat Annihilation screenwriter Brent V. Friedman attached to write a film treatment and with Dark Horse Entertainment attached to produce it.[89] The division was later disbanded without any film produced, but Friedman's treatment was leaked on the Internet in 2011.
In 2009, Bethesda Softworks expressed its interest in producing a Fallout film.[90] After four extensions of the trademark without any use, Bethesda filed a "Statement of Use" with the USPTO in January 2012.[91] In the next month, instead of a Fallout film, a special feature was made, entitled "Making of Fallout 3 DVD",[92] which was accepted as a film on March 27 of the same year.[93] This action removed the requirement to continue to re-register that mark indefinitely. In the DVD commentary of Mutant Chronicles, voice actor Ron Perlman stated that if a Fallout film was made, he would like to reprise his role as the Narrator. In 2016, Todd Howard stated that Bethesda had turned down the offers of making a film based on Fallout, but that he did not rule out the possibility.[94]
Television series
[edit]A Fallout television series based on the franchise was announced in July 2020 for Amazon Prime Video. The series was written, created and executive produced by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan.[95] In January 2022, Amazon officially moved forward with the series, with Nolan directing the pilot episode and Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner joining as showrunners. Filming was completed on March 28, 2023.[96] The show is canonical to the games, with its 2296 setting, making it the furthest along the timeline in the franchise.[97] Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins were cast in lead roles as an inexperienced vault dweller venturing to the surface and a ghoul mercenary, respectively.[98][99] The eight-episode series premiered on April 10, 2024.
The Vault Dweller's Official Cookbook
[edit]The Vault Dweller's Official Cookbook contains recipes for food items found within the Fallout universe, such as Nuka-Cola, BlamCo Mac N' Cheese, and various others. It was written by Laurie Ulster and Victoria Rosenthal, and was published on October 23, 2018, to coincide with the release of Fallout 76, and the in-game date of the Great War.[citation needed][ISBN missing]
Fortnite: Battle Royale
[edit]The T-60 Power Armor appeared in Fortnite, in the Battle Royale gamemode, as a cosmetic outfit in the Chapter 5 Season 3 Battle Pass, alongside a pickaxe tool attaining to the Assaultron, an emote depicting a Mister Handy robot, and many other cosmetic items bearing reference to the series. Nuka Cola also appeared as a consumable,[100] as did the laser rifle as an in-game weapon, in a later update.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
[edit]During the summer of 2020, the mascot of Vault-Tec, Vault Boy, appeared as a Mii Gunner costume for the Nintendo Switch title Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[citation needed]
Call of Duty
[edit]On June 18, 2024, Activision announced a collaboration between the Call of Duty franchise and Fallout, which saw the addition of a cosmetic bundle for purchase in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone. The bundle contains "Vault 141" outfits for four operator characters Soap, Price, Ghost, and Gaz, in addition to Vault-themed weapon skins and other items based on Fallout. The bundle was released on June 20, 2024, in addition to a free in-game event where players can earn other Fallout-themed cosmetic items, including a Nuka-Cola Quantum weapon camouflage.[101]
Reception and legacy
[edit]Game | Year | Metacritic |
---|---|---|
Fallout | 1997 | 89/100[102] |
Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game | 1998 | 86/100[103] |
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | 2001 | 82/100[104] |
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel | 2004 | PS2: 64/100[105] XBOX: 66/100[106] |
Fallout 3 | 2008 | PC: 91/100[107] PS3: 90/100[108] X360: 93/100[109] |
Fallout: New Vegas | 2010 | PC: 84/100[110] PS3: 82/100[111] X360: 84/100[112] |
Fallout Shelter | 2015 | 71/100[116] |
Fallout 4 | 2015 | PC: 84/100[113] PS4: 87/100[114] XONE: 88/100[115] |
Fallout 76 | 2018 | PC: 52/100[117] PS4: 53/100[118] XONE: 49/100[119] |
The Fallout series has been met with mostly positive reception. The highest rated title is Fallout 3 and the lowest is Fallout 76 according to review aggregator Metacritic.[11]
Controversy and fandom
[edit]Some fans have expressed dismay at the direction the Fallout series has taken since its acquisition by Bethesda Softworks. Notorious for their vehement support of the series' first two games, Fallout and Fallout 2,[120][121] members centered around one of the oldest Fallout fansites, No Mutants Allowed, have complained over departures from the original games' stories, gameplay mechanics and setting.[121] Minor criticisms include the prevalence of unspoiled food after 200 years, the survival of wood-framed dwellings after a nuclear blast, and the ubiquity of Super Mutants at early levels in the game.[121] More serious criticisms involve the quality of the game's writing, lack of verisimilitude, the switch to a first-person action game format, and the reactiveness of the surrounding game world to player actions.[121][122][123] In response, James Stephanie Sterling of Destructoid has called fan groups like No Mutants Allowed "selfish" and "arrogant"; stating that a new audience deserves a chance to play a Fallout game; and that if the series had stayed the way it was back in 1997, new titles would never have been made and brought to market.[124] Luke Winkie of Kotaku tempers these sentiments, saying that it is a matter of ownership; and that in the case of Fallout 3, hardcore fans of the original series witnessed their favorite games become transformed into something else and that they are "not wrong" for having grievances.[121]
The redesigned dialogue interface featured in Fallout 4 received mixed reception by the community.[125][126] Unsatisfied fans created mods for the game, providing subtitles and allowing the player to know what their character would say before choosing it as it was in previous games in the franchise such as in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.[127][128] Though even taking the mods into account, Patricia Hernandez of Kotaku still criticized the writing of the game in her review, describing it as "thin", "You never have particularly long or nuanced conversations with the other characters. I like to play a Charisma-focused character, and I was disappointed."[129]
Upon release, Fallout 76 became the lowest rated title.[130] It has been the subject of several controversies since its release. IGN gave the game a five out of ten rating, criticizing the game for its lackluster graphics, poor use of multiplayer, and bugs, "Fallout 76 fails to do any of it well enough to form an identity. Its multiplayer mindset robs its quests of all the moral decision making that makes the series great, and all that's left is a buggy mess of systemic designs that never seems to work (culminating) in an aggravating endgame that's more busywork than satisfying heroics. Bethesda missed the mark with Fallout 76...because it seems it could never decide what it was aiming for." The magazine, PC Gamer, rated the game a six out of ten, praising it for its evocative and beautiful setting, large world, and combat but also criticizing the game for its bugs, poor UI, and repetitiveness, "the world retains a lot of what I love about Bethesda's previous RPGs with finely crafted environments, enjoyable weapons and crafting, and surprising little scraps of story to uncover and investigate. Like Valley Galleria, though, it doesn't take long to for the shine to fade, the once-fascinating areas to lose their wonder among the mobs of identical enemies I've killed there time and time again."[131]
Legal action
[edit]Interplay was threatened with bankruptcy and sold the full Fallout franchise to Bethesda, but kept the rights to the Fallout MMO through a back license in April 2007 and began work on the MMO later that year. Bethesda Softworks sued Interplay Entertainment for copyright infringement on September 8, 2009, regarding the Fallout Online license and selling of Fallout Trilogy and sought an injunction to stop development of Fallout Online and sales of Fallout Trilogy. Key points that Bethesda were trying to argue is that Interplay did not have the right to sell Fallout Trilogy on the Internet via Steam, Good Old Games or other online services. Bethesda also said that "full scale" development on Fallout Online was not met and that the minimum financing of 30 million of "secured funding" was not met. Interplay launched a counter suit claiming that Bethesda's claims were meritless and that it did have the right to sell Fallout Trilogy via online stores via its contract with Bethesda. Interplay also claimed secure funding had been met and the game was in full scale development by the cut off date. Interplay argued to have the second contract that sold Fallout voided which would result in the first contract that licensed Fallout to come back into effect. This would mean that Fallout would revert to Interplay. Bethesda would be allowed to make Fallout 5. Bethesda would have to pay 12% of royalties on Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and expansions plus interest on the money owed. On December 10, 2009, Bethesda lost the first injunction.[132]
Bethesda shortly afterward tried a new tactic and fired its first lawyer, replacing him and filing a second injunction, claiming that Interplay had only back-licensed the name Fallout but no content. Interplay has countered showing that the contract states that they must make Fallout Online that has the look and feel of Fallout and that in the event Interplay fails to meet the requirements (30 million minimum secure funding and "full scale" development by X date) that Interplay can still release the MMO but they have to remove all Fallout content. The contract then goes on to list all Fallout content as locations, monsters, settings and lore.[citation needed] Bethesda has known that Interplay would use Fallout elements via internet emails shown in court documents and that the contract was not just for the name.[133] The second injunction by Bethesda was denied on August 4, 2011, by the courts. Bethesda then appealed the denial of their second preliminary injunction. Bethesda then sued Masthead Studios and asked for a restraining order against the company. Bethesda was denied this restraining order before Masthead Studios could call a counter-suit.[134] Bethesda lost its appeal of the second injunction.[135]
Bethesda filed motion in limine against Interplay. Interplay filed a motion in limine against Bethesda the day after. The trial by jury which Bethesda requested on October 26, 2010, was changed to a trial by court because the APA contract stated that all legal matters would be resolved via a trial by court and not a trial by jury. The trial by court began on December 12. In 2012, in a press conference Bethesda revealed that in exchange for 2 million dollars, Interplay gave to them full rights for Fallout Online. Interplay's rights to sell and merchandise Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel expired on December 31, 2013.
See also
[edit]- Exodus, a role-playing game previously associated with the Fallout intellectual property during its development.
- Fallout: Equestria, a crossover fan-fiction novel by pseudonymous author Kkat that applies the premise of Fallout to the setting of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
Notes
[edit]- ^ A popular myth is that the transistor was never invented throughout the series; this myth has been debunked by the developers.
References
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Further reading
[edit]- Marshall, Cass (November 8, 2019). "The Fallout franchise has had a risky roller coaster of a decade". Polygon. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- Gervais, Noah (September 7, 2016). "'Fallout 4' DLC 'Nuka World' Proves Nothing Matters Anyway". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Fallout (franchise)
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