Fallout
Developer(s)	Interplay
Publisher(s)	Interplay
Designer(s)	Tim Cain
Engine	Fallout engine
Release date(s)	1997
Genre	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature, ELSPA: 15+
Platform(s)	DOS, Windows, Macintosh
Media	One CD
System requirements	Intel Pentium 90 CPU; Microsoft Windows 95 or higher, or DOS 5.0 or higher; 16MB RAM; 2x CD-ROM drive; DirectX 3.0a (if playing on Windows); 1 MB VESA-compliant SVGA graphics card; Sound Blaster compatible sound card
Input	Keyboard and Mouse

Fallout is a computer role-playing game produced by Tim Cain and published by Interplay in 1997. 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. There were two role-playing titles in the series (Fallout and Fallout 2), one squad-based tactical combat spinoff (Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel) and one action dungeon-crawler for PlayStation 2 and Xbox (Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel). The spin-offs, Fallout Tactics and Fallout: BoS are not considered canon by the current developers of Fallout 3 at Bethesda Softworks, as well as former Fallout 3-developers at Black Isle Studios and most of the fan community. This is due to contradictions in the setting and storyline between those two games and the role-playing games, not to mention the widely-held opinion among fans that the spin-off titles are of considerably lower quality than Fallout and Fallout 2. Fallout box art This work is copyrighted. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game and computer game publisher and developer. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... A game engine is the core software component of a video game. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a listing of computer and video games genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally uses gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United States. ... The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (or ELSPA) is an organisation set up in 1989 by British software publishers. ... // History Main article: History of computer and video games The first primitive computer and video games were developed in the 1950s and 1960s and ran on platforms such as oscilloscopes, university mainframes and EDSAC computers. ... The acronym DOS stands for disk operating system, an operating system component for computers that provides the abstraction of a file system resident on hard disk or floppy disk secondary storage. ... Microsoft Windows is a range of operating environments and operating systems for personal computers and servers. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Pentium MMX - top view The Pentium is a fifth-generation x86 architecture microprocessor by Intel which first shipped on March 22, 1993. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Windows 95 (codename Chicago) is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical user interface-based operating system released on August 24, 1995 by the Microsoft Corporation. ... The acronym DOS stands for disk operating system, an operating system component for computers that provides the abstraction of a file system resident on hard disk or floppy disk secondary storage. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... The current official DirectX logo. ... Super Video Graphics Array, almost always abbreviated to Super VGA or just SVGA is a broad term that covers a wide range of computer display standards. ... The Sound Blaster family of sound cards was for many years the de facto standard for audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, before PC audio became commoditized. ... A sound card based on VIA Envy chip A sound card is a computer expansion card that can input and output sound under program control. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral modelled after the typewriter keyboard. ... Operating a mechanical 1: Pulling the mouse turns the ball. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally uses gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ... Interplay Entertainment Corporation was an American video game and computer game publisher and developer. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The party explores a farm in Wasteland. ... Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) is a leading video game developer and publisher. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... The Microsoft Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console first released on November 15, 2001 in North America, then released on February 22, 2002 in Japan, and on March 14, 2002 in Europe. ... Canonical is an adjective derived from canon. ... Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media Company is a game developer and publisher. ... Black Isle Studios was a division of the electronic entertainment company Interplay Entertainment and specialized in the creation of computer role-playing games. ...

Storyline

The background story of Fallout involves a "what-if" scenario in which the United States tries to devise fusion power resulting in a hegemonic United States that has less reliance on petroleum. However, this is not achieved until 2077, shortly after an oil drilling conflict off the Pacific Coast pits the United States against China. It ends with a nuclear exchange resulting in the post-apocalyptic world the game takes place in—although it is said in Fallout 2 that nobody knew who sent the first missile. In Fallout 2 one conversation train with the Skynet computer results in Skynet admitting that the war started because he grew bored with the world. However, as the Skynet computer was a parody of the computer system of the same name in the movie "The Terminator", Skynet's claim may not be true. The Sun is a natural fusion reactor. ... Hegemony is the dominance of one group over other groups, with or without the threat of force, to the extent that, for instance, the dominant party can dictate the terms of trade to its advantage; or more broadly, that cultural perspectives become skewed to favor the dominant group. ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... Nuclear War is a card game designed by Douglas Malewicki, and originally published in 1966. ... Apocalyptic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of the world or civilization, through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. ... In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ... Skynet is the fictional computer network created by Cyberdyne Systems Corporation for Strategic Air Command-North American Aerospace Defense Command featured as the never-seen villain of The Terminator film series. ... The Terminator is a 1984 sci-fi action film which became the break-through role for former body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger. ...

Fallout

The protagonist of the first game is a descendant of those that managed to find solace in government-contracted fallout shelters known as the Vaults. The year the game takes place is 2161, somewhere in Southern California in Vault 13. In it, the Vault's Water Chip, which controls the water recycling and pumping machinery for the vault, has malfunctioned. This results in the player character being selected to leave the vault with minimal supplies, a handgun and a small amount of ammunition to find a new water chip. A portable computerized notebook ("PIP-Boy") keeps track of mapmaking, instructions, and all the bookkeeping of the RPG. A sign pointing to an old fallout shelter in New York City. ...

When the player character returns the chip on time, he will be told of a graver threat to not only the vault, but the rest of civilization, and be sent out on two additional quests. A mutant by the alias "The Master" (previously known as Richard Grey) has begun using a pre-war, genetically engineered virus to create a race of "super-mutants." The player can defeat either The Master or the supermutant base first. Regardless of his choice, when both are defeated, a cut-scene ensues in which the player automatically returns to Vault 13. There, he is told that he has changed too much, and that his return would damage the isolated Vault world. Thus he is rewarded only with exile into the desert. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Fallout 2

Fallout 2
Developer(s)	Black Isle Studios
Publisher(s)	Black Isle Studios
Designer(s)	Feargus Urquhart
Engine	Fallout engine
Release date(s)	1998
Genre	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature, ELSPA: 15+
Platform(s)	Windows, Macintosh
Media	One CD
System requirements	Intel Pentium 120 CPU, Microsoft Windows 95 or higher, 30MB available hard disk space, 16MB RAM, 4x CD-ROM drive, DirectX 3.0a or higher, [DirectX] certified SVGA graphics card, [DirectX] certified sound card.
Input	Keyboard and Mouse

The second game takes place 80 years after the first, in 2241. It tells the story of the original hero's descendant and his or her quest to save their primitive tribe from starvation by finding an ancient environmental restoration machine known as the "Garden of Eden Creation Kit," or GECK. Fallout 2 box art This work is copyrighted. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Black Isle Studios was a division of the electronic entertainment company Interplay Entertainment and specialized in the creation of computer role-playing games. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... Feargus Urquhart is a computer game developer and current the CEO of Obsidian Entertainment. ... A game engine is the core software component of a video game. ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This is a listing of computer and video games genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally uses gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United States. ... The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (or ELSPA) is an organisation set up in 1989 by British software publishers. ... // History Main article: History of computer and video games The first primitive computer and video games were developed in the 1950s and 1960s and ran on platforms such as oscilloscopes, university mainframes and EDSAC computers. ... Microsoft Windows is a range of operating environments and operating systems for personal computers and servers. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Pentium MMX - top view The Pentium is a fifth-generation x86 architecture microprocessor by Intel which first shipped on March 22, 1993. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Windows 95 (codename Chicago) is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical user interface-based operating system released on August 24, 1995 by the Microsoft Corporation. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... The current official DirectX logo. ... Super Video Graphics Array, almost always abbreviated to Super VGA or just SVGA is a broad term that covers a wide range of computer display standards. ... A sound card based on VIA Envy chip A sound card is a computer expansion card that can input and output sound under program control. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral modelled after the typewriter keyboard. ... Operating a mechanical 1: Pulling the mouse turns the ball. ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden Garden of Eden, from Hebrew Gan Eden, גן עדן is the location of the story told in Genesis 2 and 3—part of the creation belief of the Abrahamic religions. ... The Garden of Eden Creation Kit is a McGuffin-like device in the computer game series Fallout. ...

The player does eventually acquire a GECK by finding Vault 13, less its former human inhabitants. He returns to find his village captured by the remnants of the United States government known as "The Enclave". The player, through a variety of means, boards an ancient oil tanker to The Enclave's main base, an offshore oil derrick.

It is revealed that the Vault 13-Dwellers were captured as well, to be used as test-subjects for FEV(see below) (Since they're untainted by radiation, it makes them perfect targets). The Enclave has created an airborne disease to destroy all living people on Earth, in order to allow Enclave citizens—the only people not mutated at all—to take over the planet.

The player frees both his village (Arroyo) and the Vault 13 Dwellers from Enclave control, and destroys the Enclave's oil rig entirely.

The fact that in both games the character is raised in an isolated community works nicely with the plot structure, allowing the character to be as ignorant about the game world as the player would be and explaining why the map you start with is almost completely unexplored.

Fallout 3

Fallout 3 (codenamed "Van Buren") was in production in 2003, but was cancelled by Interplay when Black Isle, the RPG unit was closed. The license to create 3 new Fallout games was acquired by Bethesda Softworks in 2004, and a new Fallout 3 project is currently in development. Interplay, however, kept the rights for a Fallout MMORPG. 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media Company is a game developer and publisher. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) follow a client-server model in which players, running the client software, are represented in the game world by an avatar — a graphical representation of the character they play. ...

Press Release - The official announcement from Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media Company is a game developer and publisher. ...

Mutations and Their Causes

According to the "Fallout Bible" (a series of documents answering questions from players by designer Chris Avellone), it is interesting to note that most of the mutations in Fallout and Fallout 2 are not because of radioactive fallout. According to the Fallout plot, most of the mutations the player experiences are because of a pre-War biological serum, named the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV). Some players feel that this reliance on FEV paints the story with a genetic engineering theme that a 50s-viewpoint game should not have. Others, however, point to the fact that in the 1950's and early 1960's, radiation was viewed very similarly to the way that FEV was in Fallout and Fallout 2. It is patently impossible for it to behave the way it does, and it is used as a catchall to explain away the impossible. Chris Avellone is a computer game designer, formerly of Black Isle Studios, and is one of the founding members of Obsidian Entertainment. ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this 1986 autoluminograph of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase gene of the firefly strikingly demonstrates the power and potential of genetic manipulation. ...

Gameplay

Fallout and Fallout 2 are both role-playing games in which you control a single character (possibly with AI-controlled allies) from an isometric perspective. Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally uses gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ... ... Isometric drawing of a cube Isometric projection is a form of orthographic projection, or more specifically, an axonometric projection. ...

Character System

When Fallout was first announced, one of its major selling points was its plan to use the popular GURPS ruleset created by Steve Jackson Games. GURPS is known for its point-based character-creation system which allows players great freedom in customizing their characters in any setting or genre, shying away from the class-and-level-based progressions and specific settings that characterized some of the competing rulesets of the time (such as Advanced Dungeons and Dragons). GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System), created by Steve Jackson Games in 1986, is designed specifically to be a role-playing game that adapts to any imaginary gaming environment. ... Steve Jackson Games (SJG) is a game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. ... GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System), created by Steve Jackson Games in 1986, is designed specifically to be a role-playing game that adapts to any imaginary gaming environment. ... For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation). ...

However, creative differences between the two companies led the developers of Fallout to abandon GURPS and develop their own proprietary character creation scheme, called the SPECIAL System. SPECIAL is an acronym representing the seven basic attributes that define Fallout characters: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. In addition to these attributes, characters could also develop Skills (statistics representing their chance to successfully perform specific tasks, such as firing a gun or picking a lock), and Perks (special abilities that allow characters to bend the rules of the game in their favor). GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System), created by Steve Jackson Games in 1986, is designed specifically to be a role-playing game that adapts to any imaginary gaming environment. ... The SPECIAL System is a character-creation scheme developed specifically for the Fallout franchise of computer role-playing games. ... Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial letter or letters of words, such as NATO and XHTML, and are pronounced in a way that is distinct from the full pronunciation of what the letters stand for. ...

Attributes remain generally constant over the course of the game, and represent the player character's most basic identity. Skills, on the other hand, are improved as the player gains experience points and levels up. A new Perk is also chosen every third or fourth level depending on traits selected during character creation. Experience points (often abbreviated as exp or xp) are a representation of a characters advancement and improvement in skills in role-playing games. ... In role-playing games, a level up is an increase of one or many player attributes, such as ability scores, hit points, or mana. ...

The character system was further enhanced by adding traits. During creation of a character up to two traits can be selected, although players can decide to select none at all. Most traits have both positive and negative effects on PC, the only exception to this rule being Bloody Mess, which appears only to affect the amount of blood and gore present on screen (though it may at times cause NPCs to inadvertently explode). In addition the Bloody Mess trait alters the game ending sequence. After the final conversation where the Overseer reveals that your character can't return to the Vault the game returns to the isometric view and the Overseer walks back into the Vault. If the player character possesses the Bloody Mess trait though he (or she) will pull out a pistol and shoot the Overseer in the back. In biology, a trait or character is a genetically inherited feature of an organism. ... A player character or playable character (PC for short) is a fictional character in a game, that is controlled by the player. ... Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are present in the blood and help carry oxygen to the rest of the cells in the body Blood is a circulating tissue composed of fluid plasma and cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). ... Meat is animal flesh (mainly muscle tissue) used as food, sometimes with the exception of fish, other seafood, and poultry. ...

Storytelling Method

Much of the game of Fallout is spent traveling through the post-apocalyptic wasteland, visiting towns and other bastions of "civilization", and interacting with non-player characters. A non-player character is a fictional character in a role-playing game whose role is generally created and performed by the gamemaster. ...

Fallout stands out among other contemporary computer role-playing games, in part, because of its system of moral choices. While other games are fixed in a single moral-choice, Fallout is not. Most major locations in the game are characterized by a conflict between two or more competing factions. The player is offered the opportunity to work for any of the factions (usually subtly divided into good/evil, chaos or law) and to help them defeat their enemies, thus determining the ultimate fate of that location. This article is about traditional role-playing games. ...

For example, in one early mission (although it's decided by the player whether or not to go there early in the game, the mission is relatively close to the player's initial location) the player enters the place of Junktown. Junktown is officially controlled by the sheriff, Killian Darkwater, but a crime boss named Gizmo has also gathered a great deal of influence to himself. The player may initially be hired by Killian after helping him avoid an assassin, to collect evidence against Gizmo, but Gizmo will make a counteroffer, probably hiring the player to assassinate Killian, but it's all up to the player.

At this point, the player can give a recording of Gizmo's counteroffer to Killian, proving that Gizmo is a murderer, and eventually leading to his execution. Or the player can actually carry out the assassination, murdering Killian, and handing Junktown over to the crime boss.

After the end of the game, when the player has made many such decisions, a final epilogue plays, outlining the ultimate fate of each location that the player influenced. Because of the player's choices, the world of Fallout can either become increasingly peaceful and civilized... or increasingly savage and barbaric... or a mixture of both, by a favor of good in one place, but bad in another, accidentally or purposely.

In Fallout 2 it is possible to continue playing after the finale. Although no major changes to the game world are made (i.e. the developments outlined in the final slide show sequence "haven't happened yet"), there are some new comments from NPCs as well as several new dialogue options in certain locations, mostly to herald and reward the player for the success. The player is also given an option to raise all of his/her PC skills (through "Fallout 2 Hintbook" or using one of the terminals in Vault City).

Because the ending of the game is so varied, Fallout 2 had to take place primarily in different locations from the original game, to avoid violating the fiction created by the player the first time through, with few exceptions to Shady Sands, Vault 13 and Vault 15. Similar challenges have "plagued" other video game series that featured variable storylines and moral choices, such as Deus Ex and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Deus Ex is a computer game developed by Ion Storm Inc. ... Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) is an RPG video game originally for the Microsoft Xbox and later for PCs running Microsoft Windows. ...

Combat

Combat in Fallout is turn-based, and depends on the use of Action Points. This is not unlike Board Games. Each character in the game has a specific number of Action Points per turn, a figure which is derived from their Agility score. Each action that can be taken in combat costs a certain number of Action Points to perform. Thus the strategy of the game involves the clever and efficient use of Action Points to maximize the player character's damage potential and safety during combat. A turn-based game, also known as turn-based strategy, is a game where each participant plays in turn. ... A board game is any game played with a premarked surface, with counters or pieces that are moved across the board. ...

For example, if the player character has seven Action Points per turn, it may be wiser to wield a pistol that costs 3 Action Points to fire rather than a rifle that requires 4, because with the pistol the player character could attack twice every turn, rather than just once - thus doubling damage potential. After firing twice, the player character would also have 1 Action Point remaining, which could be used to step behind an obstacle and avoid a counterattack. There are exceptions to this rule, however - if the rifle that requires more AP does a lot more damage, then it's all up to the player to consider their moves thoughtfully.

During combat, the player may have AI-controlled allies - an example of this is "Ian," considered by many to be the first NPC one gets, in "Shady Sands." There are a lot of anecdotes about Ian shooting the player character in the back, which can be a source of frustration for many players. AI-controlled characters may also sometimes run directly into unreasonable danger, or will open fire with an automatic weapon when another ally or the player is within the area of the weapon's effect, with predictable results. Even worse, if an AI-controlled ally accidentally hits a member of a faction uninvolved in the current battle, the entire faction may take offense and join the battle against the player and their party.

One prominent feature of the combat in Fallout is the graphic depiction of violence (although, as in many computer games, the level of gore can be decreased via an options screen, should the player desire a less violent experience). Death animations, in particular, often show bodies being blown to pieces, humans being burned alive, and upper torsos being shredded by hails of automatic gunfire, leaving only a pair of legs behind.

Cultural References and Real World Parallels

There are a lot of cultural references in Fallout, mostly to "retro" cultures, movies, music, etc.

The Locations of Fallout

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 hardcore fans have compared it to maps and found that it more accurately resembles Barstow. The Hub, also called "The Hub Trading Company," may be a reference to the Canadian "Hudson's Bay Company. This article is about the largest city in California. ... Bakersfield is the county seat of Kern County, California, in the United States. ... Barstow is a city located in San Bernardino County, California. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) TSX: HBC is the oldest corporation in Canada (and the second oldest in North America) and is one of the oldest in the world still in existence. ...

There are many references to post-apocalyptic science fiction, such as Mad Max. One of the first available armors is a one-sleeved leather jacket that resembles his. A player wearing this jacket can get a dog, named "Dogmeat" for Mad Max’s dog, to join the party in Junktown. Like Fallout 2, many of the references to other material can be found in random encounters, which include a vanishing British Police Call Box 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 quote; in the Old Town district of The Hub, an insane man named Sal 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. References to other pieces of fiction, such as Robin Hood, are also present. Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic/science fiction film starring Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky. ... Main article: History of Doctor Who Doctor Who first appeared on BBC television at 5:15 p. ... Godzilla, as portrayed during the late Heisei 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 is the archetypal English folk hero, an outlaw who, in modern versions of the legend, stole from the rich to give to the poor. ...

Fallout 2

Town names are often derived from real-world references. For example, Modoc is the name of a Native American tribe and a national forest in California, USA (Modoc National Forest). The player-character’s home village, Arroyo, could be named for any number of different locations ranging from parts of Arizona, to different areas of Mexico. Several of the towns are based on real cities, including San Francisco, Redding, Reno and Klamath Falls. Broken Hills, a uranium mining town in the game that eventually becomes a ghost town regardless of the player's actions, is probably named for Broken Hills in Nevada, a mining town that has since become a ghost town. There is a great deal of similarity between an image shown to signify the town in the end sequence, and a real area of the ghost town. Similarly, New Reno is derived from Reno in Nevada, a city known for gambling which purportedly has gang problems. The Modoc tribe is a group of Native American people living originally in the area which is now northeastern California and central southern Oregon. ... Assiniboin Boy, an Atsina Native Americans in the United States (also Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are those indigenous peoples within the territory which is now encompassed by the continental United States, and their descendants in modern times. ... This article is on national forests in the United States. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Official language(s) English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Modoc National Forest is a national forest located in northern California, USA. External links Modoc National Forest official website Don Bains VirtualGuidebooks to Mount Lassen and the Modoc Plateau Category: California geography stubs ... State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Governor Janet Napolitano (D) Senators John McCain (R) Jon Kyl (R) Official language(s) English Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km² (0. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Redding from space, April 1994 Redding is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA, located on the Sacramento River and on Interstate 5 south of Shasta Lake. ... Klamath Falls is a city located in Klamath County, Oregon. ... Places Reno, Nevada Reno, Pennsylvania Reno, Lamar County, Texas Reno, Parker County, Texas A valley in Italy Other Uses Reno, a Turk from the popular videogame and CG movie by Square-Enix, Final Fantasy VII. Reno a 1939 film A band named Reno Reno is a drug Reno 911! - A...

There are other cultural references, typically in the form of dialogue which occur throughout the game. Some examples are more overt than others. For example, the Hubologists that the player encounters in Fallout 2 resemble the modern Scientologists in many respects, including the presence of "celebrities" named Juan Cruz and Vikki Goldman, likely meant as references to real life scientologist Tom Cruise and former wife Nicole Kidman. Other parallels include the similarity of Vault City, a quasi-utopian dictatorship, to Rome under Caesar. Scientology is a system of beliefs and teachings, originally established as a secular philosophy in 1952 by author L. Ron Hubbard, and subsequently reoriented from 1953 as an applied religious philosophy. It is most prominently represented by the Church of Scientology. ... Tom Cruise as seen on a poster for the 2001 film Vanilla Sky Tom Cruise is the stage name of Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, an American actor, producer, and Scientologist who has starred in a number of top-grossing movies and remains one of the biggest movie stars in the... Nicole Mary Kidman (born June 20, 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American-born Australian actress, producer and singer. ...

Other notable references include most of the random encounters. While many of these include parties of yakuza, bounty hunters, mutated scorpions, etc.; others include references to Star Trek, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. One particularly witty, if esoteric, reference is a character found in the town of Gecko named "Gordon of Gecko". The player can undertake a quest from him, and the dialogue leading up to this paraphrases Gordon Gekko’s "Greed is Good" speech from the film Wall Street. This article may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to enhance clarity. ... A bounty hunter is an individual who seeks out fugitives for a monetary reward. ... http://www. ... Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a comedy film from 1975. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... For other uses, see Wall Street (disambiguation). ...

Also, in the mining town of Redding, one of the Mines is run by a character named "Dangerous Dan McGrew"- the victim in Robert Service's well-known poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a poet born into a Scottish family while they were living in Preston, England. ...

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. // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the the baby boom from returning GIs who... Pulp magazines (or pulp fiction; often referred to as the pulps ) were inexpensive fiction magazines. ... 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. ... Superman (left) and Batman, two of the most recognizable and influential superheroes. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... 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 it is the main-core of a Fallout spin-off to be a bit nostalgic as well as futuristic. In economics, a monopoly (from the Greek monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a kind of product or service. ...

Fallout also draws minor influences from other sources. One of the initial armors available in the game is the one sleeved leather jacket, which bears a resemblance to the jacket worn by Mad Max in The Road Warrior. Also, the armor featured on the cover of the game is powered armor, the most powerful (and rarest) armor in Fallout. Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic/science fiction film starring Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky. ... Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (released in the US in 1981 as The Road Warrior) was a sequel to Mad Max. ... Powered armor (also mechanized, battle, personal armor and suits) is a science fiction concept referring to a type of armored self-powered exoskeleton that is typically intended for use in battle, construction and survival in dangerous environments. ...

The Fallout games are famous for their Easter eggs. While the first game mostly had references to the 1950's and 1960's pop-culture (Doctor Who, Godzilla), in Fallout 2 there are many references to Star Trek, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and Monty Python; Some fans of the first game argued that there are too many Easter eggs in the sequel and that they distract from the immersiveness of the game world. A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, or computer program. ... Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. ... Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the world. ... Main article: History of Doctor Who Doctor Who first appeared on BBC television at 5:15 p. ... Godzilla, as portrayed during the late Heisei series. ... http://www. ... The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was first and foremost a 1978 radio comedy series written by Douglas Adams. ... The Monty Python troupe in 1970. ...

The Fallout Community

Most of the English-speaking Fallout fan community is focused on three oldest functioning Fallout fansites - No Mutants Allowed, founded as early as in 1997, Duck and Cover, founded in 1998 and The Radiated Society, founded in 2000. The game is also popular in Central and Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Germany, as well as in Russia. One of the fans from these countries, the polish artist Adam EFC TurcZack, made a tribute to Fallout in the form of a song. A fansite or fan site is a website created and maintained by the fans or devotees of a particular cultural phenomenon. ...

The fanbase of the Fallout series is infamous in gaming circles because of their strong reactions to arguably every Fallout game since Fallout 2. The Fallout community has often reacted angrily to announcements about the games development and has been said to be overly argumentative regarding future titles.

Josh Sawyer, lead developer of Fallout 3 until its cancellation, gained notoriety for his frequent clashes with argumentative fans on the Interplay forums. On July 30, 2003, he famously responded to criticisms about the game's creative direction with a retort that ridiculed members of the Fallout community as fussy and impossible to please: This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Gaia Online, the largest English language forum-based community as of April 2005 — powered by a modified version of phpBB. An Internet forum is a facility on the World Wide Web for holding discussions, or the web application software used to provide the facility. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The point, in case zealots ever want to accept it, is that your tastes are not the only tastes in the world. Really, I know this may be hard to believe, but if you like playing a turn-based game set in three counties of Utah in 2242, and you like miniguns but don't like lasers, and you like the ratio of combat to dialogue to be about 4:1, and you like cars that look more like Buicks than Pontiacs, and you think 50s-style monsters are okay but 50s-style aliens aren't, and you think Max's jacket from Mad Max is okay but the football pad armour isn't, and you don't like it when italics are used in dialogue but you do like it when boldface is used, and you want it to be longer than 100 hours but no longer than 120 hours, and like games to be non-linear but only to a point, and like big cities, but only two because four is too much BUT HEY NOT THAT ONE, and you like the desert but don't mind a little grass BUT HEY NOT THAT MUCH BECAUSE IT'S NOT FALLOUT...I am terribly, terribly sorry, because we are not going to make a game just for you. We're not trying to make a game for everyone. Really, we aren't. But we're not making a game just for you and ten other angry guys with tastes that are narrower than a hallway in a camp of pygmy dwarves. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Zealotry. ... Utah is one of the Four Corners states, and is bordered by: Idaho (at 42°N) and Wyoming (at 41°N and 111°W) in the north, by Colorado (at 109°W) in the east, at a single point by New Mexico to the southeast (at the Four Corners Monument... GAU-17/A Gatling Gun on USS Philippine Sea CG-58 in February 2004 The term Minigun actually orginates in the 1960s when a larger caliber weapon was scaled down to a 7. ... The range of sizes in which lasers exist is immense, extending from microscopic diode lasers (top) to football field sized neodymium glass lasers (bottom) used for inertial confinement fusion. ... Buick is a brand of automobile built in the United States, Canada, and China by General Motors Corporation. ... Pontiac is a marque of automobile produced by General Motors and sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico from 1926 to the present. ... Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic/science fiction film starring Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky. ... A dune in the Egyptian desert Desert in California In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation - less than 250 mm per year. ... Generally speaking, pygmy (from Greek pygmaios, fist sized, a kind of dwarf in Greek mythology) can refer to any human or animal of unusually small size, for example, the pygmy hippopotamus. ...

These fans themselves say that their anger is a justifiable reaction to Interplay's treatment of the franchise in the 6 years it has existed. The turbulent history surrounding the third Fallout game, the fans argue, is a good example of what they consider to be poor treatment of the Fallout series. Once in development, the prototype Fallout 3 "Van Buren" was cancelled long before release. Further angering hardcore fans, the later Fallout titles that were released were not seen as "serious" role playing games—they were tactical combat and third-person shooter games. Both of them contained many contradictions to the original Fallout setting and were not considered canon by the developers of Fallout 3 (in both the Black Isle and Bethesda incarnations). This article is about traditional role-playing games. ...

While the later game was unarguably a flop, the tactical combat Fallout game Fallout: Tactics was moderately well received by both gaming critics and the general community. Some have argued that Tactics' moderate success, based on concepts the Fallout community is not fond of, has been a major aspect of how the Fallout community is considered by general gamers.

This sense of communal isolation again became apparent when Bethesda Softworks was given the rights to not only make Fallout 3, but also Fallout 4 and 5. The news that Fallout 3 would again be in production (after a previous incarnation had been cancelled), was generally well received by the gaming community.

In contrast, the move was met with anger and disappointment in the Fallout communities. Denigrating Bethesda's Morrowind as a role-playing game (and the The Elder Scrolls series in general), the Fallout community was most offended that companies founded by the developers of Fallout and Fallout 2 who left Interplay (Troika and Obsidian) did not gain the rights. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, also known simply as Morrowind, is a first-person (also playable in third person) computer role-playing game in Bethesda Softworks The Elder Scrolls series. ... -1... Troika Games was a computer game developer focused on computer role-playing games. ... Obsidian Entertainment, founded and located in Santa Ana, California since 2003 after the disestablishment of Interplay Productions Black Isle Studios, is an entertainment software developer for PC and console systems. ...

Only one of those companies, they argued, could truly make a proper Fallout 3. The anger became greater when it was revealed that Troika Games had made an offer for Fallout's rights, but was soundly out-bid by Bethesda. In 2005 Troika indicated that it would cease operations due to lack of funding for new projects. 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Arguing that they are not "dismissing" the game series, some in the Fallout community fear Bethesda will make a Fallout 3 that has little connection to the original Fallouts— perhaps making it a "Morrowind with guns". For example, some hardcore fans of the series consider isometric view and turn-based combat to be essential to a Fallout game, however these concepts have become rare in major game releases since the release of the first two Fallouts. Other fans have argued that Fallout was successful for other reasons and that these concepts are not entirely essential. Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media Company is a game developer and publisher. ... The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, also known simply as Morrowind, is a first-person (also playable in third person) computer role-playing game in Bethesda Softworks The Elder Scrolls series. ... Isometric drawing of a cube Isometric projection is a form of orthographic projection, or more specifically, an axonometric projection. ... The Battle for Wesnoth turn-based strategy, released under the GPL. A turn-based game, also known as turn-based strategy, is a game where the game flow is partitioned in well-defined and visible parts, called turns or rounds. ...

A positive aspect of Bethesda's acquisition of Fallout is that the Fallout games, like Morrowind, were lauded for allowing a great deal of freedom within the game world and allowing the character to reach virtually every location in the game in any order, save for the endgame areas.

There are two major references to the Fallout fan community in the Fallout games themselves. One is a special encounter with Unwashed Villagers, an early fan community, in Fallout 2. They are depicted as a group of people attacking a spammer. A can of SPAM SPAM is a canned pork product that has entered into folklore. ...

Trivia

• The song that plays during the intro sequence in Fallout is entitled "Maybe" and is sung by The Ink Spots. The song in Fallout 2 is Louis Armstrong's "A Kiss to Build a Dream On". The original theme to Fallout was going to be "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire", also by The Ink Spots, but apparently Black Isle was unable to get the license, so it was scrapped.
• Three key members behind the original Fallout (Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky and Jason Anderson) left Interplay in 1998 and founded Troika Games. Troika was closed down in February 2005 due to financial problems.
• "RadAway", in Fallout, was a medicine that lowered the game characters level of irradiation. Supposedly it worked by bonding itself with radiation particles making it possible for them to "pass" through your system.
• "Mentats", a drug in the series that temporary raises your intelligence, is named for the human computers in the Dune universe.
• "Brahmin", the two-headed cows, share their name with the Hindu priestly caste. The possibility of this name usage being purely coincidental is diminished when considering that cows are sacred in Hinduism. The name is also similar to the Brahman breed of cattle which are found in India.
• In Fallout 2, the reason why Vault 13's water chip malfunctioned is "explained" in a random encounter, in which the Fallout 2 character discovers a portal similar to the Guardian of Forever. If he enters it, the player is transported to a small section of Vault 13, devoid of any other characters. When he interacts with the only computer he can, he breaks the Water Chip, ensuring the events of the player's past continue as they should. This encounter, like all special encounters, is only a joke and is not considered canon. Also Vault 8 contains several thousand water chips from a accidentally mixed-up shipment that sent Vault 13 the secondary GECK.
• Fallout games feature well-known actors as NPC voice-talent. Notable appearances include:
  • Richard Dean Anderson (Killian, Fallout)
  • David Warner (Morpheus, Fallout)
  • Tony Shalhoub ((credited as Tony Shalub) Aradesh, Fallout)
  • Michael Dorn (Marcus the Mutant, Special Agent Frank Horrigan, Fallout 2)
  • Ron Perlman (Narrator, Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics)

The mission briefings in Fallout Tactics are barked by R. Lee Ermey (Also "Gunnery Sergeant Hartman" in the film Full Metal Jacket) and Kurtwood Smith, who is best known from his work in That 70s Show and RoboCop. An intro sequence is a non-interactive introductory sequence for a computer or video game. ... The Ink Spots were an American Pop music vocal group that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm & blues, rock and roll, and even, eventually, to the subgenre called doo-wop. ... Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971) (also known by the nicknames Satchmo and Pops) was an American jazz musician. ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Troika Games was a computer game developer focused on computer role-playing games. ... 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 (pronounciation is Brahmann )is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... 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. ... The Guardian of Forever is a time portal portrayed in the universe of Star Trek. ... A non-player character or non-playable character is a fictional character in a role-playing game whose role is generally created and performed by the gamemaster. ... Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American actor who started his acting career in soap opera (appearing on General Hospital as Dr. Jeff Webber from 1976 to 1981). ... David Warner David Warner (born July 29, 1941 in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England) is a British actor, whose image might be described as sinister. ... Tony Shalhoub stars as Adrian Monk on USA Networks Monk. ... Michael Dorn // Birth Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor. ... Ron Perlman Ronald Francis Perlman (born April 13, 1950, in Washington Heights, New York) is a Jewish-American television and film actor. ... R. Lee Ermey Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944) is a retired U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor who later made a career as an actor playing the roles of military or authority figures, such as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket. ... Full Metal Jacket (1987) is a film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford. ... Kurtwood Larson Smith (born July 3, 1943) is an American television and film actor. ... That 70s Show logo That 70s Show is a Fox Network television sitcom centered around the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional suburb of Point Place, near Green Bay, Wisconsin, during the late 1970s. ... RoboCop RoboCop is a satirical 1987 science fiction action movie, directed by Paul Verhoeven. ...

• Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura by Troika Games, has a reference to two-headed cows, that appeared originally in Fallout. They are said to come from a "far away desert".
• "War. War never changes" is the infamous phrase uttered in the intro of Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics by Ron Perlman.... The phrase is one of the most forefront icons of the game.
• "Nuka Cola" is a blue cola in a coca cola shaped bottle, in the game, and obviously a reference to the real and actual Coca Cola.
• In Fallout 2 Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin secretly included one of his tracks from his album Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2. Untitled Disc 2 Track 6 "Windowsill" can be heard clearly in some parts of the game. He may have done this under the psuedonym EFX which appears in the game credits. It is unknown why he chose to do this, and what relationship he had with Black Isle.
• Red Ryder BB gun makes an appearance in both series of Fallout. It is a reference to the old school RPG game Wasteland, in which Red Ryder appears to punish you when you become childkiller. It is also a reference to the movie A Christmas Story (1983).

Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a computer role-playing game developed in 2001 by Troika Games, and published by Sierra Entertainment. ... Troika Games was a computer game developer focused on computer role-playing games. ... Ron Perlman Ronald Francis Perlman (born April 13, 1950, in Washington Heights, New York) is a Jewish-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. ... Richard D. James Aphex Twin (born Richard David James, August 18, 1971, Ireland) is a UK-based electronic music artist, credited with pushing forward the genres of techno, ambient, acid, drum and bass. ... Selected Ambient Works Volume II (SAW2), released in 1994, is an ambient double album by Richard D. James under his Aphex Twin moniker. ... Red Ryyder was a popular American comic strip cowboy created by Fred Harman, an artist and former partner of Walt Disney. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Airsoft. ... The party explores a farm in Wasteland. ... A Christmas Story is a 1983 semi-biographical film based on the short stories of author Jean Shepherd collected in the book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. ...

External links

• The Vault, A Fallout Wiki Encyclopedia, brought to you by the fan site Duck and Cover. It is the most comprehensive source of Fallout knowledge in the world.
• Duck and Cover, Fallout Fan Site
• No Mutants Allowed, Fallout Fan Site
• The Radiated Society, Fallout Fan Site
• FIFE, Fallout open source engine that tries to replace the old Fallout 2
• Fallout LARP Terminal- Czech LARP in a postapocalyptic world inspired by Fallout (Czech)
• Nuclear Winter Studios A Fallout modding and fan group.
• Fallout Corner One of the most famous Polish Fallout fansites.

Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... An engine is something that produces some effect from a given input. ... A live action role-playing game, or LARP as it is commonly known, is a form of role-playing game where the participants perform some or all of the physical actions of the characters they play the role of. ... Fallout may refer to a huge homp. ...

Mods

• Mutants Rising A mod currently in production for Fallout 2
• Wasteland Merc 2 A popular mod for Fallout 2
• Survivor A mod for Fallout 2 bringing a totally new game concept and some great innovative ideas