G
Guest
Guest
... you have to do it yourself. Or at least, DON'T leave it to Interplay. Fallout 3 has been a long time in coming, and frankly, I think Feargus and his ilk are more excited about seeing how far they can stick their own thumbs up their collective asses than they are about the prospect of doing some actual work and turning out something that can please gamers who require substance (as opposed to smashing dungeon zombie #147's head in with a warhammer to retrieve the Golden Chamberpot of Amn).
On the other hand, let's take a look at the Fallout community, shall we?. We've got, to overgeneralize: the jaded, pedantic intellectuals, the braindead me-too'ers/FO Footsloggers, and the loony, cynical artsy types. I would say that we all, in varying degrees, display aspects of each of these personas. And what do they all share in common? None of them are very fun to put up with when they get it in their head to be confrontational. In my travels from FO3 MB to MB, all I've really seen in the way of action is the occaisional murmur of a petition, or a sharply worded rant that some BIS stockboy may at best take three minutes to skim dismissively. I say, actions speak louder than words.
I know that there's very little that WE can do (very little POSITIVE action, at least) to show BIS how bad they need to make this game, but I say that we as fans and devotees have an obligation to the franchise, if not the company, to put out a bit of an effort. First, SOMEONE (and I know this is a bit hypocritical, but for reasons I don't care to go into, it can't be me) has to put together a timeline/back history. We don't want FO3 to have any of the grievous continuity errors displayed in FO:T and, to a lesser extent, FO2. I know that Yamu did some stuff on the subject, although inconsequential and erroneous, and Bluepencil (of The Illuminati, I believe) strung together a comprehensive alternate history of the Wasteland, so perhaps a good place to start with that would be at The Annunaki or The Illuminati.
At the same time, we need to be deciding (NOT just debating and speculating) about what we want/need this game to be. We need to make it clear, in strong standing, that we DON'T want another FO:T storyline debaucle, and that they need to tone down some(!) of the camp in FO:2 to let the original glory shine through. Nothing too game-specific, or we'll just be coming off as fanboys/girls.
Rather than the usual rants (like this one) and flames, the thing to do is to catch the ear of someone at BIS who is posessed of a lick of sense. If such a golden child exists, someone intelligent and even-tempered (Rosh definitely qualifies as the former, and comes closer than a lot of us on the latter) needs to strike up a meaningful correspondence with them. Not necessarily about FO3, not at first. Just to get inside their circle of defense. Alternately, it would also be a good idea if possible to get in touch with Tim Cain/Troika. It's feasible they'd be willing to do another FO, the right way, if all that burned them out on it in the first place was BIS' bungling ministrations with FO2.
There also needs to be established a serious site/group to spearhead the FO3 movement. None of this "FO3 needs to have a supergauss rocket enema" shit, but a REAL site. One where like-minded individuals can share info on BIS and FO3, where petitions could be based, and where the populace would make a positive effort rather than give each other high-fives over the latest "Feargus is an ass" jokes. I mean, I KNOW we could do all that here, and in fact DO do most of it here, but a prominent, proffessional-quality site devoted SPECIFICALLY to such endeavors would speak a little louder to I-Play than one little cul-de-sac on a general FO site- every FO fanpage has one of those.
And for God's sake, we as a community need to be coming off as more friendly and less stand-offish. I know that Interplay hasn't exactly done us right lately, but what chance does FO3 have of being made right if it's fanbase is a defensive cabal out for the blood of the BIS developers? If we strive to be a little less snyde, that would speak volumes in itself. With a burgeoning collective of artists, intellectuals, and genial supporters on one side, and the precipice of plummeting stock prices on the other, the right choice for BIS would be made that much more self-obviating.
Well, that's just about allI have to say for now. I know that I SHOULD be doing all of this myself if I'm so passionate about the subject, but I just can't. I don't have the time or the means to oversee something like that. But we, as a unified whole, do. I am also aware that what I have set out here has all been said before, and that it's mostly just nebulous concept. But every baby step we take brings us closer to definitive action, on our part AND on BIS's. The Annunaki, The Illuminati, and Steel Paladin would probably all be willing to chip in on histories, back stories, and even projected plotlines. There are people all over this very site, not to mention v13 and other communities, who would be willing to garner support, write letters, compile data, and what-have-you. There's a lot of potential here. It lacks only direction.
(Okay, flame away. And I KNOW you will...)
On the other hand, let's take a look at the Fallout community, shall we?. We've got, to overgeneralize: the jaded, pedantic intellectuals, the braindead me-too'ers/FO Footsloggers, and the loony, cynical artsy types. I would say that we all, in varying degrees, display aspects of each of these personas. And what do they all share in common? None of them are very fun to put up with when they get it in their head to be confrontational. In my travels from FO3 MB to MB, all I've really seen in the way of action is the occaisional murmur of a petition, or a sharply worded rant that some BIS stockboy may at best take three minutes to skim dismissively. I say, actions speak louder than words.
I know that there's very little that WE can do (very little POSITIVE action, at least) to show BIS how bad they need to make this game, but I say that we as fans and devotees have an obligation to the franchise, if not the company, to put out a bit of an effort. First, SOMEONE (and I know this is a bit hypocritical, but for reasons I don't care to go into, it can't be me) has to put together a timeline/back history. We don't want FO3 to have any of the grievous continuity errors displayed in FO:T and, to a lesser extent, FO2. I know that Yamu did some stuff on the subject, although inconsequential and erroneous, and Bluepencil (of The Illuminati, I believe) strung together a comprehensive alternate history of the Wasteland, so perhaps a good place to start with that would be at The Annunaki or The Illuminati.
At the same time, we need to be deciding (NOT just debating and speculating) about what we want/need this game to be. We need to make it clear, in strong standing, that we DON'T want another FO:T storyline debaucle, and that they need to tone down some(!) of the camp in FO:2 to let the original glory shine through. Nothing too game-specific, or we'll just be coming off as fanboys/girls.
Rather than the usual rants (like this one) and flames, the thing to do is to catch the ear of someone at BIS who is posessed of a lick of sense. If such a golden child exists, someone intelligent and even-tempered (Rosh definitely qualifies as the former, and comes closer than a lot of us on the latter) needs to strike up a meaningful correspondence with them. Not necessarily about FO3, not at first. Just to get inside their circle of defense. Alternately, it would also be a good idea if possible to get in touch with Tim Cain/Troika. It's feasible they'd be willing to do another FO, the right way, if all that burned them out on it in the first place was BIS' bungling ministrations with FO2.
There also needs to be established a serious site/group to spearhead the FO3 movement. None of this "FO3 needs to have a supergauss rocket enema" shit, but a REAL site. One where like-minded individuals can share info on BIS and FO3, where petitions could be based, and where the populace would make a positive effort rather than give each other high-fives over the latest "Feargus is an ass" jokes. I mean, I KNOW we could do all that here, and in fact DO do most of it here, but a prominent, proffessional-quality site devoted SPECIFICALLY to such endeavors would speak a little louder to I-Play than one little cul-de-sac on a general FO site- every FO fanpage has one of those.
And for God's sake, we as a community need to be coming off as more friendly and less stand-offish. I know that Interplay hasn't exactly done us right lately, but what chance does FO3 have of being made right if it's fanbase is a defensive cabal out for the blood of the BIS developers? If we strive to be a little less snyde, that would speak volumes in itself. With a burgeoning collective of artists, intellectuals, and genial supporters on one side, and the precipice of plummeting stock prices on the other, the right choice for BIS would be made that much more self-obviating.
Well, that's just about allI have to say for now. I know that I SHOULD be doing all of this myself if I'm so passionate about the subject, but I just can't. I don't have the time or the means to oversee something like that. But we, as a unified whole, do. I am also aware that what I have set out here has all been said before, and that it's mostly just nebulous concept. But every baby step we take brings us closer to definitive action, on our part AND on BIS's. The Annunaki, The Illuminati, and Steel Paladin would probably all be willing to chip in on histories, back stories, and even projected plotlines. There are people all over this very site, not to mention v13 and other communities, who would be willing to garner support, write letters, compile data, and what-have-you. There's a lot of potential here. It lacks only direction.
(Okay, flame away. And I KNOW you will...)
I am still hoping for my FOIII under my christmas tree.
)