Meet the Fallout 3 Devs

[SpaceKungFuMan]

I was just talking about the reaction to seeing STALKER on the list of references. I just don't see what anyone can gain from digging so deep into such an innocuous comment. Hell, he might have even said STALKER in part because it got so much coverage here and at dac.

One person with under fifty posts and only a couple days on the forum starts going off on that point, and several more senior members comment that it is an over-reaction in response? Not all that significant of a reaction.

You're 100% right. I should have made it clear that I wish we wouldn't see that particular reaction. I'm sorry if I implied that NMA posters generally respond like that, as it was not my intention.

 

[Vault Khajiit]

You're 100% right. I should have made it clear that I wish we wouldn't see that particular reaction. I'm sorry if I implied that NMA posters generally respond like that, as it was not my intention.

"All that's hatred does not glitter,
Not all who whine, are trolls
Failed dreamworlds burning bitter
Forging gems from mould.
Dawn is cracking from the crocks
Bethesdan; mutants pray
That Evolution (forced by XBOX)
Won't kill Richard Grey"

 

[The Vault Dweller]

"All that's hatred does not glitter,
Not all who whine, are trolls
Failed dreamworlds burning bitter
Forging gems from mould.
Dawn is cracking from the crocks
Bethesdan; mutants pray
That Evolution (forced by XBOX)
Won't kill Richard Grey"

Dude did you write that yourself?! That's awesome! Totally rhymes while completely referencing our plight. I can't believe someone so new did such a thing...

I was a bit skeptical when I saw "Khajiit" since I know it's a race in the Elder Scrolls series, but I guess you proved there are some fans who understand. I bet you're one of the one's who hate Oblivion and dislike Marrowind, but love the rest of the series?

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller

 

[Brother None]

Note we're still updating that page as more devs reply, we've added Ricardo "socrates200X" Gonzalez to the list. Also note this, from Caponi;
Have you played the VanBuren Alpha? If so, what were your feelings on it?
I played it a while ago. Obviously, it's pre-release software and needed a lot of work so it's pretty unfair to judge it as it is, but I'dve bought it. But then again, I payed full price for Brotherhood of Steel just because it said "Fallout" on it, so my purchase might not mean much.

and Zeleny;
[On playing Fallout: BoS] How many showers did it take just to feel unclean after that?
As another person who bought it before reading any reviews just because of the Fallout name, I'll answer for him:

I don't know if I'll ever feel fully clean again. I so wanted it to be good, because it had been so very long since a good Fallout game. Nowadays, I keep the disc around solely to focus all of my hatred and scorn into it. But I try not to actually touch it, lest its fundamental badness rub off on me.

Hrm. Maybe next time I go to the shooting range...

 

[ronin84]

Oh and I regard 10 or so bad bugs as fine. Given that Oblivion has given me like.. 50 or so. Then again I'm just really unlucky. Or in fact, lucky with Troika games, unlucky with anything else.

The whole bug issue... I think it's mainly person to person, as I had maybe 2-3 problems with Oblivion... and only one problem with STALKER (where as some people had a plethora of bugs going on).

Awesome 'article' or what-not. I enjoyed reading it and getting a little insight into these dudes minds. Method to the madness or whatever.

Anyway, the more F3 news we get the more excited I get.

 

[SpaceKungFuMan]

The whole bug issue... I think it's mainly person to person, as I had maybe 2-3 problems with Oblivion... and only one problem with STALKER (where as some people had a plethora of bugs going on).

For me, the more I like the game and/or developer, the less likely I am to care about/notice non game breaking bugs. If I was playing Halo 3, and there was a game breaking bug, I'd just be done with the game. When I encountered bugs like that in Arcanum, I kept working at it till I could continue playing. I'd gladly play the full VanBuren in the tech demo state, despite all the bugs. For Fallout 3. . . let's just say it had better feel like fallout for me to get past a crash or two.

 

[Starwars]

Here's some more interesting stuff from socrates200x, figured I might as well post it here:

I have a question for the devs, actually.

Question: Do you think Fallout 3 could be the pivotal game that unites old-school gamers with the younger generation of console gamers, bringing back artistic expression and quality scripting into the RPG genre full-force, ushering in a new golden age of gaming similar to the boom of quality, memorable classics that came out in '97, '98, '99? (That includes Goldeneye 007, Fallout 1 & 2. Metal Gear Solid, Starcraft, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy VII, Total Annihilation, Curse of Monkey Island, Grand Theft Auto, Thief, Baldur's Gate, Xenogears, Half-Life, Unreal, System Shock 2... quite a list!)

Answer: As much as I'd like to hook up certain people to a Clockwork Orangesque device that forced them to appreciate the awesomeness of the classics, I think the only thing it would get me is a high electricity bill. As cool as it would be, I don't think FO3 will make the population at-large appreciate the classics anymore than modern literary works drive the masses to read Shakespeare. ( "OMG hamlet rox soo much. i luv the dagger scene in act iii" "dagger scene is macbeth LOL NOOB!!1" ).


Question: One question for the dev that I always wondered about is what are your stances on violence, mature contents in games? Do you guys have a target audience in mind?

Answer: For those ill at ease about the possible lack of mature content in FO3, the devs have a thread on the internal forums titled "Sick S%^& You'd Like To See In the Game", which contains various uncensored depraved ideas for content / gameplay / dialog, a goodly portion of which are either already implemented or in development. Yeah, I'm not too worried about FO3 being "watered down"...


Question: Building on that question, do you generally prefer minimal UI's that focus on immersion but give less info (ie fight night round 3 on the 360/ps2 which has no bars, but deforms the boxer's faces to show damage) or larger UI's that provide more information and functionality, but take up screen realestate (like the UI in a civ game)?

Answer: I'm a fan of immersive UIs, myself. UIs like the ones in Metroid Prime or Half-Life, where the HUD is part of the character's environment instead of a seperate entity, suck me further into the game world, which equals more play-time for me. FO3's UI passes my immersion test...I'll leave it at that...

EDIT: And 1 more...

Question:
There's an obvious question that everyone wants to ask, and you can't answer, but here's a follow up that should be alright. Is the pipboy interface from fallout immersive in your opinion, since the pipboy is literally something you're supposed to have with you?

Answer:
I'd say yes. Fallout 1's Pipboy UI is an example of a UI that's part and parcel of the game world, and so lends itself to this crazy thing we call "immersion". Diablo II would be the inverse of that. While its UI wasn't too intrusive, I can't imagine my Barbarian carrying around two huge red and blue orbs.

 

[Brother None]

I added those quotes into the article before you posted them, Starwars

Even more quotes in there, now, though we're again wandering into the uninteresting.

 

[Muff]

Some of this makes me quite positive but I am trying to stay as neutral as I can, I will make my mind up when I can see screen shot's and / or a demo.

 

[Big T]

On the whole, I'm generally pleased with these answers, despite the PR spin and slightly rote-learned list of influences (for some, anyway) but I do have a few worries:

One question for the dev that I always wondered about is what are your stances on violence, mature contents in games? Do you guys have a target audience in mind?

For those ill at ease about the possible lack of mature content in FO3, the devs have a thread on the internal forums titled "Sick S%^& You'd Like To See In the Game", which contains various uncensored depraved ideas for content / gameplay / dialog, a goodly portion of which are either already implemented or in development. Yeah, I'm not too worried about FO3 being "watered down"...Razz

This does raise the potential issue of it erring towards FO:BoS - "Adult" for the sake of being adult. Though, it is only one comment, easy to be misconstrued.

And another one, more personal: what do you think of Russia? FO had many cold-war influences, you know

My first impression of Russia is that it's a transcontinental country extending over a vast expanse of Asia and Europe with an area of 17,075,400 km² ...

Bwahaha! Good answer to a rather vague and condescending question.

How is the work-environment? Is it competitive or co-op? Do the different teams talk together?

I can only speak for QA but we work together a lot, although there is some friendly competition to see who can find the "best" bugs.

I hope this one will follow a law of diminishing returns ...

Do you ever get an urge to tar and feather the PR-department?

Are you kidding? Pete and Co. work some freakin' magic up there.

Now this, this terrifies me (well, not real-life terrifies, but in the context of the game, it does). The PR has been mostly terrible, pparticularlyat the beginning. There would have had to have been some pretty humongous gaffes (that we did not hear about, obviously) for me to consider them to have worked magic, freakin' or otherwise.

 

[SpaceKungFuMan]

Now this, this terrifies me (well, not real-life terrifies, but in the context of the game, it does). The PR has been mostly terrible, pparticularlyat the beginning. There would have had to have been some pretty humongous gaffes (that we did not hear about, obviously) for me to consider them to have worked magic, freakin' or otherwise.

I wouldn't really worry too much, since this is probably just one employee talking highly of another, with little substance. If they really have worked some magic though, then I'm with you in wondering what could have gone so horribly wrong in the first place.

 

[TheVaultKeeper]

A wonderful insight into the world of those who actually make the game (and not just lead developers or marketing people) and a great read overall! Thanks for collectiong and sorting everything!

But the three main questions still remain:

1. What is the perpective (my guess is on first person)
2. Turn-based or real-time (my guess is on real-time or KOTOR-style)
3. When is the targeted release (Christmas 2008? 2009?)

I know, I know... we have debated these issues over and over... but the questions still stand...

 

[Brother None]

I think there are more game-related important questions than just combat mode and perspective.

But those questions can't be answered. NDAs.

 

[monsharen]

Thanks for compiling the info. It certainly feels better to know the nanny who's nursing your love child.

 

[Davaris]

I think there are more game-related important questions than just combat mode and perspective.

Perspective and turn based combat is the least of your worries with the mentality of Bethesda's fan base.

PIPgirl!, Why do boys get all the fun?

http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=684534

 

[Vault Khajiit]

Dude did you write that yourself?! That's awesome! Totally rhymes while completely referencing our plight. I can't believe someone so new did such a thing...

I was a bit skeptical when I saw "Khajiit" since I know it's a race in the Elder Scrolls series, but I guess you proved there are some fans who understand. I bet you're one of the one's who hate Oblivion and dislike Marrowind, but love the rest of the series?

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller

Why yes, I cribbed it myself!
(If you didn't catch the reference, http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/all-that-is-gold-does-not-glitter/ )

I'm "new" in that I haven't posted anything but a couple vague rants,
but "old" in that I've had NMA on [Page Refresh] pretty much since Dave Dawkins first said "Nurk!".

I guess I'm a fan of the immersive backstory of the TES universe,
and a fan of what Bethesda could have done with it if they had wanted to, but apparently didn't want to.

I'm a fan of Wasteland (BEST RPG EVAR. FO SUX!!!)
and still trying to finish(*) a roguelike set some few years after the fall of Cochise,

a useless and near-worthless troll, who likes cats. alot, and hopes
that Bethesda will reconsider the ill-conception of extincting of these
marvellous creatures from the Fallout world.

I'm a pacifist-socialist who dislikes guns, but strongly favors nuclear proliferation.
I'm convinced that if the "Mean Time" project really had been WL 2,
and if they'd actually got around to finishing it,
that the entire sordid history of the past 20 years could have been avoided.

(*)for values of 'finish' that include 'almost everything involved with building it'

 

[Sorrow]

I think there are more game-related important questions than just combat mode and perspective.

Perspective and turn based combat is the least of your worries with the mentality of Bethesda's fan base.

Heh ...
Fallout 3 with ideas of uneducated Fallout "fans" (these people aren't Bethesda fans. These are Fallout "fans" - i.e. non-elite Fallout "fans" - dumb, clueless and caring only about "having fun") would be a piece of crap even with TB combat/isometric perspective .

PIPgirl!, Why do boys get all the fun?

http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=684534

I think that this PIPgirl should be like, put in those secret slots in Power Armor, because, like there are special, covered slots in PA that can be used to upgrade it with, like a PIPgirl interface and rocket boosters. Yeah. And there should be, like a Power Armor for women.
That would be, like more revealing and would give special powers! Because girls need fun LOLOLOLOL111!!!!111!!!!111!!!!!111!!!1!

 

[iii]

Fallout 3 with ideas of uneducated Fallout "fans" (these people aren't Bethesda fans. These are Fallout "fans" - i.e. non-elite Fallout "fans" - dumb, clueless and caring only about "having fun") would be a piece of crap even with TB combat/isometric perspective .

Yeah man! Its US against THEM, man!

Edit: Then I'll be the Switzerland.

 

[Sorrow]

No. It's just us for Fallout and them against Fallout...