Ink Spot
First time out of the vault
I am honored to be among the Vault Dwellers and Ghouls of No Mutants Allowed! 
There are many things that I would like to discuss with the distinguished members of this cool site. 
For starters, I wish to discuss my own idea for a FALLOUT game. It wouldn't be a mainstream game. It would be more like an Indie game, because it would rely on retro 3D or 2D graphics (and retro gameplay). It falls along similar lines to Bethesda's FPS/RPGs, but not quite.
I was thinking of this while reading criticism of Bethesda's shift of approach from the first Elder Scrolls games to the later ones, and while reading this web site's insightful and brilliantly satirical review of FALLOUT 3. Some time ago, I was interested by Origin's game ULTIMA UNDERWORLD, and how it was an interesting addition and approach to the ULTIMA franchise. That game, I believe, partly inspired the gameplay of ELDER SCROLLS: ARENA. So, I thought: "Why not have a tighter quality FPRPG in the tradition of Origin's games than Bethesda's? Combine the best qualities of ULTIMA UNDERWORLD with the first two FALLOUT games?" No doubt you'll make fun of me for this (just "Maybe"), because I then thought of calling the FALLOUT game FALLOUT OVERWORLD, or ABOVEWORLD (whichever sounds better). Let me explain my ideas for the story first to see if it might be any good.
The protagonist's gender would not be determined by the player, for I have decided the player would strictly be a girl (but her name and skill points are up to the player). She will not be a Vault Dweller (enough Vault Dwellers are heroes already), nor would she be an inhabitant of the surface world. Unbeknownst to the Vault Dwellers and everyone else of the FALLOUT universe, a select patch of survivors have lived for decades where no one would have guessed: deep, deep within the bowels of the Earth, deeper below even that of a typical vault. The Earthbottom Dwellers (that's what they'll be called for now), who live very much a sort of Dark Age, medieval existence, have been able survive through mineral water springs far below the Earth's crust, and odd roots and plants which have maintained their health and sturdiness. One thing, however, singles them out from being too primitive: their possession of a musical record from the 1960s (gasp!) that was thought to be lost after the nuclear wars (it could comprise of, let's say, the song "Going to a Go Go"). At some point, the heroine is forced out into world above, either as her punishment or as a rite-of-passage. As a memento, she is given some supply reserves from her family, and the record.
When she explores the aboveworld (somewhere in the Western states, probably), trouble has already arrived. Multiple factions endure an uneasy peace with each other, and you, being a newcomer, are already under suspicion. The factions are as follows:
The Army of the Crow: the Chinese military presence in the region. Intelligent, calculating, swift and brutal. They already control a few provinces, and are constantly on guard against the Enclave (who control other provinces opposite of the Army). Their ethics borderline to an Orwellian and Maoist degree, yet there are honorable and well-intentioned members among them. Once crossed, however, they are efficient at tracking down and taking down traitors, often in squads.
The Minutemen: Offshoot dissidents of the Enclave. Relying on out-of-date armor and weaponry, these guys are dedicated to preventing the Enclave from taking over the rest of the country. Simultaneously at odds with the Army of the Crow as well, yet have made treaties with them before. Efficient at guerrilla warfare from a distance, they would make useful allies.
Jeffersonian Picts: Competitors of the Minutemen, they are a barbarian tribe of Pict-like punks, who adhere to the first draft of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (with all its ramblings, without additions or omissions). They believe the Enclave and all others have strayed from the original doctrine of the U.S., and live in strict seclusion from the rest of society. They've been known to raid many outposts, belonging to the Enclave, and the Minutemen and Army of the Crow as well. Very good melee close-range fighters in great numbers.
Fraternity of the Computer: a secret society comprised of nerds, curiously resembling the nerds from the 1990s. Despite the severe societal regression after the apocalypse, these introverted entrepreneurs have managed for decades to create complex, efficient computer systems, including something similar to the IBM Mainframe, and have centered their entire culture upon them without the rest of the world knowing. As far as we know, they're the only ones who operate through sophisticated DOS style programs, and even have ceremonies dedicated to computer game development and deathmatch. They even have sessions resembling D&D games (set in a fantasy world of their own creation). The Fraternity is a valuable source of information, like the Brotherhood of Steel, and their technology is highly sought out by both the Enclave and the Crow.
Vault Insurgents: Vault dwellers highly aware of the danger they are under from region's iron curtain tensions, and are determined to protect their Vaults from any outsiders, friendly or not. If you come near a Vault, you're likely to be shot by the Insurgents. Even if you manage to get past them, Insurgents inside the Vault can put up a lethal fight.
Otherworldly Ghouls: Mutant women who practice a form of scientific witchcraft. Somehow, the mutagens in their body have allowed granted them psi-power abilities. Their relation to the other factions are unclear.
Satan's Nymphs: the all-female equivalent of Hell's Angels, who roam the roads like the gangs of Mad Max. Useful allies. Definitely not to be crossed.
Back to the story: along the way, higher authorities learn of your possession of forgotten cultural history, and attempt to destroy you. As for your ultimate goals, they involve finding a record player, and resolving all the conflicts of the aboveworld in whatever way you see fit.
Although I had thought that the game engine could resemble ULTIMA UNDERWORLD's (with smoother graphics and more refined isometric detail, perhaps), I'm rather fond of the idea of a game engine which resembles the 3D cut scenes of the first two FALLOUT games. As for the gameplay, I would preserve the classic turn based gameplay of FALLOUT 1 and 2 (none of Bethesda's gameplay concepts). Since the heroes usually relied on a VATS system, the question is how does the heroine, an Earthbottom Dweller with no experience Vault culture, acquire one? I'd speculate that she found it on a rotting corpse while journeying upworld, and would learn all she needed to know from it's system tutorial and the owner's journal. The interface of the game would be closer to that of UU or SYSTEM SHOCK 1, so that when the player enters VATS mode, mouse clicking on certain parts of the enemy's body or all that's required.
NPC and enemy behavior would probably rely more on scripting techniques than complex AI. As to how it would be pulled off, I'm not sure. (Their behavior would probably be based on the decisions you make in the game).
What do you think of this outlandish concept?
There are many things that I would like to discuss with the distinguished members of this cool site. For starters, I wish to discuss my own idea for a FALLOUT game. It wouldn't be a mainstream game. It would be more like an Indie game, because it would rely on retro 3D or 2D graphics (and retro gameplay). It falls along similar lines to Bethesda's FPS/RPGs, but not quite.
I was thinking of this while reading criticism of Bethesda's shift of approach from the first Elder Scrolls games to the later ones, and while reading this web site's insightful and brilliantly satirical review of FALLOUT 3. Some time ago, I was interested by Origin's game ULTIMA UNDERWORLD, and how it was an interesting addition and approach to the ULTIMA franchise. That game, I believe, partly inspired the gameplay of ELDER SCROLLS: ARENA. So, I thought: "Why not have a tighter quality FPRPG in the tradition of Origin's games than Bethesda's? Combine the best qualities of ULTIMA UNDERWORLD with the first two FALLOUT games?" No doubt you'll make fun of me for this (just "Maybe"), because I then thought of calling the FALLOUT game FALLOUT OVERWORLD, or ABOVEWORLD (whichever sounds better). Let me explain my ideas for the story first to see if it might be any good.
The protagonist's gender would not be determined by the player, for I have decided the player would strictly be a girl (but her name and skill points are up to the player). She will not be a Vault Dweller (enough Vault Dwellers are heroes already), nor would she be an inhabitant of the surface world. Unbeknownst to the Vault Dwellers and everyone else of the FALLOUT universe, a select patch of survivors have lived for decades where no one would have guessed: deep, deep within the bowels of the Earth, deeper below even that of a typical vault. The Earthbottom Dwellers (that's what they'll be called for now), who live very much a sort of Dark Age, medieval existence, have been able survive through mineral water springs far below the Earth's crust, and odd roots and plants which have maintained their health and sturdiness. One thing, however, singles them out from being too primitive: their possession of a musical record from the 1960s (gasp!) that was thought to be lost after the nuclear wars (it could comprise of, let's say, the song "Going to a Go Go"). At some point, the heroine is forced out into world above, either as her punishment or as a rite-of-passage. As a memento, she is given some supply reserves from her family, and the record.
When she explores the aboveworld (somewhere in the Western states, probably), trouble has already arrived. Multiple factions endure an uneasy peace with each other, and you, being a newcomer, are already under suspicion. The factions are as follows:
The Army of the Crow: the Chinese military presence in the region. Intelligent, calculating, swift and brutal. They already control a few provinces, and are constantly on guard against the Enclave (who control other provinces opposite of the Army). Their ethics borderline to an Orwellian and Maoist degree, yet there are honorable and well-intentioned members among them. Once crossed, however, they are efficient at tracking down and taking down traitors, often in squads.
The Minutemen: Offshoot dissidents of the Enclave. Relying on out-of-date armor and weaponry, these guys are dedicated to preventing the Enclave from taking over the rest of the country. Simultaneously at odds with the Army of the Crow as well, yet have made treaties with them before. Efficient at guerrilla warfare from a distance, they would make useful allies.
Jeffersonian Picts: Competitors of the Minutemen, they are a barbarian tribe of Pict-like punks, who adhere to the first draft of Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (with all its ramblings, without additions or omissions). They believe the Enclave and all others have strayed from the original doctrine of the U.S., and live in strict seclusion from the rest of society. They've been known to raid many outposts, belonging to the Enclave, and the Minutemen and Army of the Crow as well. Very good melee close-range fighters in great numbers.
Fraternity of the Computer: a secret society comprised of nerds, curiously resembling the nerds from the 1990s. Despite the severe societal regression after the apocalypse, these introverted entrepreneurs have managed for decades to create complex, efficient computer systems, including something similar to the IBM Mainframe, and have centered their entire culture upon them without the rest of the world knowing. As far as we know, they're the only ones who operate through sophisticated DOS style programs, and even have ceremonies dedicated to computer game development and deathmatch. They even have sessions resembling D&D games (set in a fantasy world of their own creation). The Fraternity is a valuable source of information, like the Brotherhood of Steel, and their technology is highly sought out by both the Enclave and the Crow.
Vault Insurgents: Vault dwellers highly aware of the danger they are under from region's iron curtain tensions, and are determined to protect their Vaults from any outsiders, friendly or not. If you come near a Vault, you're likely to be shot by the Insurgents. Even if you manage to get past them, Insurgents inside the Vault can put up a lethal fight.
Otherworldly Ghouls: Mutant women who practice a form of scientific witchcraft. Somehow, the mutagens in their body have allowed granted them psi-power abilities. Their relation to the other factions are unclear.
Satan's Nymphs: the all-female equivalent of Hell's Angels, who roam the roads like the gangs of Mad Max. Useful allies. Definitely not to be crossed.
Back to the story: along the way, higher authorities learn of your possession of forgotten cultural history, and attempt to destroy you. As for your ultimate goals, they involve finding a record player, and resolving all the conflicts of the aboveworld in whatever way you see fit.
Although I had thought that the game engine could resemble ULTIMA UNDERWORLD's (with smoother graphics and more refined isometric detail, perhaps), I'm rather fond of the idea of a game engine which resembles the 3D cut scenes of the first two FALLOUT games. As for the gameplay, I would preserve the classic turn based gameplay of FALLOUT 1 and 2 (none of Bethesda's gameplay concepts). Since the heroes usually relied on a VATS system, the question is how does the heroine, an Earthbottom Dweller with no experience Vault culture, acquire one? I'd speculate that she found it on a rotting corpse while journeying upworld, and would learn all she needed to know from it's system tutorial and the owner's journal. The interface of the game would be closer to that of UU or SYSTEM SHOCK 1, so that when the player enters VATS mode, mouse clicking on certain parts of the enemy's body or all that's required.
NPC and enemy behavior would probably rely more on scripting techniques than complex AI. As to how it would be pulled off, I'm not sure. (Their behavior would probably be based on the decisions you make in the game).
What do you think of this outlandish concept?
I feel more embarrassed than the first Vault Dweller when he had to make an impression to the surface residents.