NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Fallout (computer game)

Fallout is a computer role-playing game produced by Tim Cain and published by Interplay in 1997. Although set in the late 22nd century, its story and artwork are heavily influenced by the post-World War II nuclear paranoia of the 1950s. The game is sometimes considered to be an unofficial sequel to Wasteland, but it could not use that title as Electronic Arts held the rights to it, and, except for minor references, the games are set in separate universes. It was also intended to use Steve Jackson Games's GURPS system, but for unknown reasons, that deal fell through. Power Macintosh, or Power Mac, is the name of a line of Apple Macintosh personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Interplay Entertainment Corporation was an American video game and computer game publisher and developer. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... The party explores a farm in Wasteland. ... EA redirects here. ... Steve Jackson Games (SJG) is a game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. ... The Generic Universal Role-Playing System, commonly known as GURPS is a form of a role-playing game (RPG) designed to adapt to any imaginary gaming environment. ...

Storyline

The background to which the game is set is a world in which the Cold War never really ended, "it just stopped being cold". The game's history begins in 2052 with an energy crisis beginning the Resource Wars. The United Nations is disbanded, a plague renders the United States paranoid, Canada is annexed, and the Resource War becomes the Great War, as a vast nuclear exchange is carried out in 2077. Within two hours, most of the world's population is destroyed, and the Earth's surface is reduced to wasteland. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ...

The player or protagonist of Fallout is an inhabitant of one of the government-contracted fallout shelters known as Vaults. In subsequent Fallout games, he is referred to as the Vault Dweller. The game takes place in 2161 in Southern California and begins in Vault 13, the protagonist's home. Vault 13's Water Chip, a computer chip responsible for the water recycling and pumping machinery, has broken, and the Vault Overseer tasks the protagonist with finding a replacement. He is given a portable device called the "PIPBoy 2000" which keeps track of mapmaking, quest objectives, and various bookkeeping aspects, and sent out into the remains of California. A sign pointing to an old fallout shelter in New York City. ... Southern California Downtown Los Angeles Skyline Southern California, sometimes abbreviated SoCal or colloquially, the Southland, is an informal name for the megalopolis and nearby desert that occupies the southern-most quarter of the U.S. state of California. ... Handheld devices (also known as handhelds) are pocket-sized computing devices that are rapidly gaining popularity as the access to information in every walk of life becomes more and more mission critical. ...

The player initially has 150 days before the Vault's water supply runs out. This can be extended by 70 days if he commissions merchants in the Hub to send water caravans to Vault 13. Upon returning the chip, the Vault Dweller is then tasked with destroying a mutant army that threatens humanity. A mutant known as "The Master" (previously known as Richard Grey) has begun using a pre-war, genetically engineered virus called Forced Evolutionary Virus to convert humanity into a race of "Super Mutants", and bring them together in the Unity, his plan for a perfect world. The player is to kill him and destroy the Military Base housing the supply of FEV, thus halting the invasion before it can start. The Hub is also one of the major land areas in the game Fallout. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Forced Evolutionary Virus is a major aspect of the Fallout game series. ...

If the player does not complete both objective within 500 game days, the mutant army will discover Vault 13 and invade it, bringing an end to the game. This time limit is shortened to 400 days if the player divulged Vault 13's location to the water merchants. A cinematic cut-scene of mutants overrunning the vault is shown if the player fails to stop the mutant army within this time frame, indicating the player has lost the game. If the player agrees to join the mutant army, the same cinematic is shown.

In version 1.1 of the game, if players did not reveal the location of Vault 13 to the Water Merchants, mutants will not attack Vault 13. This allows most players to explore the game world at their leisure.

The player can defeat the Master and destroy the Super Mutant's Military Base in either order. When both threats are eliminated, a cut-scene ensues in which the player automatically returns to Vault 13. There he is told that he has changed too much and his return would negatively influence the citizens of the Vault. Thus he is rewarded with exile into the desert. There is an alternate ending (available if the player has the "Bloody Mess" trait, or has accrued significant negative karma throughout the game) in which the Vault Dweller draws a handgun and shoots the Overseer after he is told to go in exile.

Regarding the war that caused the apocalypse, it is said in Fallout 2 that nobody knew who launched the first nuclear missile. Two separate artificial intelligence computers in Fallout 2, Skynet in Sierra Army Depot and the computer in the Brotherhood of Steel's San Francisco, both state that the war may have started because AI computers have grown bored. Fallout 2 is a computer role-playing game published by Interplay in 1998. ... // Hondas intelligent humanoid robot AI redirects here. ... For the computer game, see Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel For the video game, see Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel The Brotherhood of Steel, which is often referred to as the BoS or simply the Brotherhood, is a fictional organization present in the Fallout series of computer, video, and role-playing... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Game locations

While most of the towns in Fallout are not present in the real world (Junktown, Shady Sands, The Hub, etc), Los Angeles is in its correct place. However, the town of Necropolis is described as being the city of Bakersfield, although some fans have compared it to maps and found that it more accurately resembles Barstow. Image File history File links Fallout_01. ... Image File history File links Fallout_01. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area City 1,290. ... Bakersfield is the county seat of Kern County, California, in the United States. ... Barstow is a city located in San Bernardino County, California. ...

There are many references to post-apocalyptic science fiction, such as Mad Max or the infamous post-apocalyptic musical and detective movie Radioactive Dreams. 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 for Mad Max’s dog, to join the party in Junktown (in Fallout 2 if the player character damages Dogmeat an NPC with the curious name of Mel will show up to defend the dog). Mad Max is an Australian apocalyptic science fiction film starring Mel Gibson which was first released in Australia in 1979, and internationally in 1980. ... Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an Academy Award-winning American-born, Australian-raised actor, director, and producer. ... Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (released in the US in 1981 as The Road Warrior) was a sequel to Mad Max. ... This article is about a fictional character in the computer game Fallout. ...

Like Fallout 2, many of the references to other material can be found in random encounters, which include a vanishing TARDIS à la Doctor Who complete with sound effect, and a massive footprint that resembles Godzilla's, referring to the short animation "Bambi Meets Godzilla". Another reference comes in the form of a quotation; in the Old Town district of The Hub, an insane man named Uncle Slappy wanders in perpetual circles calling out non-sequiturs, one of which is "Let's play Global Thermo-Nuclear War!", a reference to a similar line in the 1983 film WarGames. The game also refers to other pieces of fiction, including Robin Hood. The Third Doctor emerging from the TARDIS in the 1970 serial Spearhead from Space. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ... Godzilla, as portrayed during his latest film from the Millennium series. ... Bambi Meets Godzilla is the title of a US 1969 cartoon short written, directed, and produced by Marv Newland. ... This article is about the 1983 US movie. ... Robin Hood memorial statue in Nottingham. ...

Reception

Fallout made #4 on the list of top games of all time produced by PC Gamer in 2001. It made #55 on the list of the top 100 games ever by IGN (IGN's List), and is usually placed in similar lists. It also won the award of RPG of the Year from GameSpot. PC Gamer US April 2005 cover PC Gamer is a computer games magazine founded in 1993. ... The current version of the article or section reads like an advertisement. ... GameSpot is a computer and video gaming website that was launched in May 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. ...

Influences

Fallout draws much from 50s pulp magazines, science fiction and superhero comic books. For example, computers use vacuum tubes instead of transistors; energy weapons exist and resemble those used by Flash Gordon. The Vault Dweller's main style of dress is a blue jumpsuit with a yellow line going down the center of the chest and along the belt area, though the main character's appearance changes while wearing armor. The number on the back might differ from the Vault the dweller represents, but it's usually "13", or in other cases, missing. The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Batman and Superman, two of the most recognizable and iconic superheroes. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... In electronics, a vacuum tube (U.S. and Canadian English) or (thermionic) valve (outside North America) is a device generally used to amplify, or otherwise modify, a signal by controlling the movement of electrons in an evacuated space. ... Assorted transistors The transistor is a solid state semiconductor device that can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation and many other functions. ... Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ... A woman in a ski jumpsuit (what could also be called a one-piece skisuit). ...

Fallout's menu interfaces are designed to resemble advertisements and toys of the same period; For example, the characters sheet cards and perks available, look like those of the board game Monopoly. The lack of this retro stylization was one of the things the Fallout spin-offs were criticized for, as retro-futurism is a hallmark of the Fallout series. In economics, a monopoly (from the Latin word monopolium - Greek language monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a product or service. ... Retro-futurism, retrofuturism or retro-future (terms combining retro and futurism or future) can refer to two different yet not incompatible concepts: A return to, and an enthusiasm for, the depictions of the future produced in the first half of the 20th century, which often were based on a lack...

The Fallout games are famous for their Easter eggs. While the first game mostly had references to the 1950s and 1960s pop-culture (Doctor Who, Godzilla), in Fallout 2 there are many references to Star Trek, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Monty Python. The first easter egg For the decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday, see Easter egg. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ... Godzilla, as portrayed during his latest film from the Millennium series. ... Star Trek is an American science-fiction franchise spanning six television series, ten feature films, hundreds of novels, computer and video games, and other fan stories. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Monty Python, or The Pythons, is the collective name of the creators of Monty Pythons Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. ...

In Fallout, your character meets an NPC named Tycho, who mentions that he is a Desert Ranger and, under the right conditions, will talk of his grandfather, who told him about Fat Freddy, a character from Las Vegas in Wasteland, implying that his grandfather was one of the PCs in Wasteland, who were named the Desert Rangers. Although the time frame of Wasteland is completely different from Fallout, and Fallout game designers deny that Fallout 1 or 2 takes place in the same universe as Wasteland, this is one of many references to the events and the style of Wasteland in the Fallout series, which is why Fallout is sometimes regarded as the spiritual successor to Wasteland. The party explores a farm in Wasteland. ...

Intro Sequences

The game begins with two introductory cut-scenes, which can be skipped by the player.

The first is a slow pull-back from a functioning television set, while the song "Maybe" by the Ink Spots plays. The news story shown on the screen depicts US repression in Canada by showing an armored trooper shooting a kneeling man in the head and then waving to the camera. Behind a close-up of an armored trooper, a modified US flag is shown to wave. These scenes are offset by nearly-silent commercials for the "Mr. Handy" domestic chores robot and the 1950s-style "Corvega" sports car, which appear in the game. As the camera continues to pull back, the surrounding scene is a damaged room in a demolished city, and the television cuts out. The Ink Spots were a popular American vocal group that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm & blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. ...

The second is in a slide-show format, with narration by Ron Perlman that begins with the line "War. War never changes." It has some description of the storyline. The important thing about it is that Fallout is not based on the Cold War and the Soviets are not the villains. In fiction, a narrator is a voice or character who tells the story. ... Ron Perlman Ron Perlman (born Ronald Francis Perlman in April 13, 1950, in Washington Heights, New York) is an American television and film actor. ... For other uses, please see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Motto: ÐŸÑ€Ð¾Ð»ÐµÑ‚Ð°Ñ€Ð¸Ð¸ Ð²ÑÐµÑ… ÑÑ‚Ñ€Ð°Ð½, ÑÐ¾ÐµÐ´Ð¸Ð½ÑÐ¹Ñ‚ÐµÑÑŒ! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Russian: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital (largest city) Moscow None; Russian de facto Government Federation of Soviet Republics - Last President Mikhail Gorbachev - Last Premier Ivan Silayev Establishment October Revolution - Declared 30...

Trivia

An intro sequence is a non-interactive introductory sequence for a computer or video game. ... The Ink Spots were a popular American vocal group that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm & blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop. ... Chelation therapy is a process involving the use of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. ... A Mentat is a profession or discipline called human computers in Frank Herberts fictional Dune universe. ... The fictional Dune universe, or Duniverse is the political, scientific, and social setting of author Frank Herberts six-book Dune series of science-fiction novels. ... A Brahmin (anglicised from the Sanskrit word IAST ; Devanagari ), also known as Vipra, Dvija, Dvijottama (best of the Dvijas), (god on Earth) is a member of an upper caste within Hindu society. ... Hinduism (Sanskrit: , , also known as , ) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. ... Bos indica bull, likely a crossbreed, but showing Brahman physical characteristics Paxville, South Carolina The Brahman breed of cattle originated from the Bos indicus cattle originally brought to the US from India. ... Leonard Boyarsky is an American computer game designer and visual artist. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Company logo. ... Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a computer role-playing game developed in 2001 by Troika Games, and published by Sierra Entertainment. ... Company logo. ... A random encounter is a feature commonly used in role-playing games to simulate the chaotic nature of a monster-infested wilderness, dungeon or other area. ... UFO can mean: Unidentified flying object United Future Organization, a Japanese-Brazilian electronic jazz band UFO, the rock band that previously featured Michael Schenker UFO, the Gerry Anderson TV series United Farmers of Ontario, a political party that formed the government in Ontario from 1919 to 1923 U.F.O... Elvis Aron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known as The King of Rock and Roll, or as just simply The King, was an American singer who had an immeasurable effect on world culture. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Ron Perlman Ron Perlman (born Ronald Francis Perlman in April 13, 1950, in Washington Heights, New York) is an American television and film actor. ... The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ... The Red Ryder BB Gun, is a BB gun made by Daisy Outdoor Products and introduced in 1938. ... The party explores a farm in Wasteland. ... Tagline: Peace, Harmony, Comfort and Joy. ... Richard Dean Anderson as Colonel Jack ONeill in Stargate SG-1 Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American actor, possibly best known for his role in the tv-series MacGyver // Biography Early Life Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Stuart Jay Anderson... Blade Runner is an influential 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. ... Rick Deckard is the central protaganist and main character in Ridley Scotts 1982 science-fiction film, Blade Runner. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Richard Dean Anderson as Colonel Jack ONeill in Stargate SG-1 Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American actor, possibly best known for his role in the tv-series MacGyver // Biography Early Life Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Stuart Jay Anderson... David Warner David Warner (born July 29, 1941 in Manchester, England) is an English actor who often plays sinister characters. ... Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk Anthony Marcus Shalhoub (born October 9, 1953) is a three-time Emmy Award-winning American television and film actor. ... Brad Garrett (born April 14, 1960 in Woodland Hills, California, USA) is a three-time Emmy Award-winning, American actor and comedian best known for his role as Robert Barone on the television sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. ... Keith David (born June 4, 1956) is an African American character actor. ... Michael Dorn speaks at the Galileo 7. ... Richard Moll as Bull. Richard Moll (born January 13, 1943) in Pasadena, California, USA is an actor, best known as Nostradamus Bull Shannon, the tall (standing 6 feet 7 and a half inches), shaven-headed bailiff on NBCs sitcom Night Court. ... Ron Perlman Ron Perlman (born Ronald Francis Perlman in April 13, 1950, in Washington Heights, New York) is an American television and film actor. ...

References

External links

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Categories: Articles lacking sources | Articles with unsourced statements | Fallout | DOS games | Computer and video role-playing games | Interplay games | Windows games | Post-apocalyptic fiction | Post-apocalyptic computer and video games | Cult computer and video games | 1997 computer and video games | Computer and video games with multiple endings | Black Isle Studios games MobyGames is a website devoted to cataloging computer and video games, both past and present. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, video games and production crew personnel. ... Fife (FÃ¬obh in Gaelic) is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with landward boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. ... Black Isle Studios was a division of the electronic entertainment company Interplay Entertainment that specialized in the creation of computer role-playing games. ... It has been suggested that Multiplayer Video Games be merged into this article or section. ... Fallout 2 is a computer role-playing game published by Interplay in 1998. ... Icewind Dale is a computer role-playing game (CRPG) developed by Black Isle Studios. ... Icewind Dale is the arctic region of the fictional world of the Forgotten Realms, along the northernmost part of the Sword Coast. ... Icewind Dale II is a computer role-playing game developed by Black Isle Studios, and set in the Forgotten Realms Icewind Dale region. ... Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game (CRPG) that takes place in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Planescape setting. ... Feargus Urquhart is a computer game developer and current the CEO of Obsidian Entertainment. ... Chris Avellone is an American computer game designer, who has worked on many of the most successful role-playing games that have been published. ... Josh Sawyer (also known as JE Sawyer) is a video game designer active in the role playing game genre. ... Darren Monahan, Chief Information Officer and Producer, Obsidian Entertainment - Darren has been working in the game industry for 10 years, having worked for Interplay Entertainment in various capacities, including a senior producer for Black Isle Studios, manager of Quality Assurance, and a programmer on many of Interplays titles. ... Not to be confused with Chris Jones (Access Software). ...