Fallout 3 at E3 - Golem.de

Brother None

Brother None

This ghoul has seen it all
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Golem.de has an interview up with Pete Hines, asking questions more directly than many American journalists have. Punck_D provides this translation:<blockquote>Golem.de: Why on earth do you guys make Fallout in 3D [first person view - ed]? Was there no other way since the Oblivion-engine had to be used?

Pete Hines: Our given technology was a factor for sure. But in the end we are fans of the series and we want the player to immerse into this world. And what could work better than first person for this purpose? You don't see things abstract, you can actually walk to them and touch them. Right in the beginning you see a chair which was four pixels high in the previous games. And now it is standing there, it has a surface, you can sit on it.

Golem.de: But what about Fallout-veterans not liking it? Wouldn't they wish to have the iso-view back than walking through some Gears of War-graphics?

Pete Hines: There are a lot of Fallout-fans. I am a Fallout-fan! I have a very personal interest in further games in the Fallout universe. It has to be in tradition of the first two games regarding how it feels to play! But: I am not enslaved to the old iso-view, and i am also not dogmatic if the combat system is turn-based, real time or a hybrid. People thinking Fallout has to be isometric and turn-based probably won't be happy with Fallout 3. But to those who want some other adventures in this great universe full of nuances, details and characters, Fallout 3 will be a hit. In the end we can not please everyone.

Golem.de: And on the other hand you want to sell more games, something that could hardly be achieved with some old-school-tactic-game.

Pete Hines: Probably not. Believe me, we really think 3D (first person) was the best choice for the Fallout feeling. Because you are in the world. You actually do these things - instead of just looking on some pixel characters top down.</blockquote>And a summary of further points:<blockquote>- Fallout 3's quests will be deeper than Oblivion's, you can not please every fraction like in Oblivion
- when you destroy Megaton, your way will be free to go to Ten Penny Tower, Mr Burke's home. It's full of people who don't mind about a bad karma which you achieve by destroying Megaton.
- scripted events like the "Brotherhood sequence" are dependent on when a player comes to a certain location in the game. Those events may happen, and they may not.
- successful hits during combat will depend on crosshair position, character skills and if your weapon is kept in good repair.
- with high perception values you can look through locked doors and walls in V.A.T.S. mode for enemies (seriously)
- they will work the entire interface over for the pc version.</blockquote><center> </center>
Link: interview with Pete Hines at Golem.de.

NOTE: translation fixed from "won't like Fallout 3" to "probably won't like Fallout 3."
 
Look through walls and doors? Wtf? Daredevil much?

Gotta love Pete's reasoning. "Pixels are bad!" Yeah, Pete, I'm sure the problem is inherently with seeing faces rather than pixels. Why, if Warhammer could be played with real-life holograms the old table-top method of miniatures would be completely void of all meaning. Nevermind that some people still enjoy it, they're just stupid.
 
Brother None said:
Look through walls and doors? Wtf? Daredevil much?
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Abstract representation of hearing things moving around? If you just see grey silhouettes superimposed on the walls I think it could work. Well, except for when it comes to "immersion".
 
What's wrong with a bit of text that says "You can clearly hear people moving inside the building." Like the quest in the Hub where you had to clear out that guy's house.
 
- with high perception values you can look through locked doors and walls in V.A.T.S. mode for enemies (seriously)
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Console kiddies, here I come - your favourite time waster for the 2008!
 
This sounds like complete rubbish to me, that guy just sounds like a teenager trying desperately to explain whats 'cool' or 'hip'. BTW I don't usually comment on the way people look but that guy looks like a creepy douche-bag.
 
metalboss44 said:
This sounds like complete rubbish to me, that guy just sounds like a teenager trying desperately to explain whats 'cool' or 'hip'. BTW I don't usually comment on the way people look but that guy looks like a creepy douche-bag.
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Hate to say it (or do I?) but Pete Hines has quite possibly the most hideous smile I've ever seen.

And on-topic: He's also just full of it. Looking on some pixels top down? Isometric does not in any way preclude modern 3D-rendering. Or, if he's speaking in a more general sense, then all they're doing is making you look at pixels straight-on. I don't get how that's better. And seriously, him and Todd need to quit saying "immerse," "immersive," and other variants of the BS and largely meaningless hype-word "immersion." They even already admitted they're doing FPP because they don't know how to do anything else, not because it's great or the only good way to present a game world (which is sure as hell is not).
 
:shock:

So now the player is some kind of psychic clairvoyant dude - if he's got a high perception :roll: :crazy: Maybe there will be a text saying 'you see shadows inside' ' or 'your hear people move about'.
But the ability to see through thick doors & walls :o

If I didn't find the whole concept so :freak: I'd be :lol: and :bow: all the way. But I do find this very disturbing. It really doesn't make sense, imo. So I'm just feeling like that Bethesda has hit yet another :wall: (pun intended).

It is nice to see that the European gaming sites like strategy.co.uk, the Swedish site, and now the German site golem.de asks the tough questions to mr. Hines.

And finally, Pete admits that part of the decision to make the game first person and 3D is to boost sales. I can live with that. It is the lying about it that I can't take :evil:

I don't feel that I immersed in the game when I play in first person. It must be an American thing, I think, as most Americans like to be in the middle of the action. (and besides Todd said in an interview for a preview that most Europeans play in third person mode, while most Americans play in first person mode).

As for the four pixels chair high chair in the old games, I think that if Tim Cain etc. made a Fallout game today, they would make it 3D as well and maybe put some pixels (or polygons?) on the chair...

If we say look at another game, not an rpg, though, but an adventure game, Dreamfall, being much discussed in adventure gaming circle, you will see that the game's chair actually is a litte more than 4 polygon or 4 pixels high. You can't sit in the chairs, though.

The point is, of course, that 3D environments can be used for both 1st person, 3rd person and iso view. (at least that's how I've understand it).
 
Mr. Teatime said:
The descriptive text in Fallout was great. It added something, rather than being limiting.
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Absolutely right. Pete Hines and his ilk just don't seem to get that FPP and real-time combat are not somehow naturally linked to 3D rendering or modern game development, and that isometric viewpoints and turn-based combat are not obsolete bits of archaic game development that were the result of technological limitations. And that, you know, reading can be fun, and shaders and voice-acting don't supplant good writing.
 
And now for something completely different.

Man, I'd like a shirt like that. Or something like a blue with yellow stripe vault t-shirt. Even if Fallout 3 turns out to suck, I hope Bethesda makes some cool Fallout swag to buy to go along with it. I sort of have reason to believe they will, considering ordinator undies.

I'd give my left nut for a good pipboy (Or vault boy if you prefer, but since I always called him pipboy that's what's in my head) hat. Or maybe just $15 or so.
 
Brother None said:
What's wrong with a bit of text that says "You can clearly hear people moving inside the building." Like the quest in the Hub where you had to clear out that guy's house.
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Like chairs, text messages can easily get missed if they don't have 3D representations. I just read it as a version of seeing people behind walls in iso.
 
I hope the explanation about looking through walls comes from VATS, and not mutated-Superman-eyes.


The first person isn't as much of a negative to me. It is nice to see details about the world up-close, and I hope they create to work well and give a larger sense of immersion into the game. Personally, I feel less connected to a character when in third person, even if it is a good way to play games.
 
I don't have anything to comment about except that the smile he has is Very Unnatural.
Based on those two pictures I wouldn't trust this guy.
 
aries369 said:
I don't feel that I immersed in the game when I play in first person. It must be an American thing, I think, as most Americans like to be in the middle of the action. (and besides Todd said in an interview for a preview that most Europeans play in third person mode, while most Americans play in first person mode).
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Whenever someone talks about FPP being immersive, I wonder if they suffer some kind of eyes and movement problems that prevent them from moving their eyes or their necks.
 
Briosafreak said:
People thinking Fallout has to be isometric and turn-based won't be happy with Fallout 3.
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Didn't anyone noticed the gravity of what is being said here?
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-yes, we did. But I think this has been known for long time. Ever since Emil P. and Todd H. gave the double interview to a certain website (sorry, forgot which one :?: ). Or was it the interview with Kathode ? (Gavin Carter).

I can live with that. As long as I know it. I just don't do well when I'm being lied to - about Fallout 3... :x
 
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