Resolution Magazine's The End Is Nigh column discusses narrative in Fallout 3.<blockquote>This goes against the grain of naturalistic gamer tendencies. I initially worried far too much about doing things wrong, investing the wrong points into the wrong stats or fretting over whether my preferred choice of weapon was the most suitable. Areas had to be discovered via exploration, and the game effectively dumps you into the massive expanse with nothing more than flimsy directions towards the starter hub. It’s easy to get lost, and it’s easier to get killed. Items are far too expensive, and there’s the continual niggling feeling that if you stray from the track you’ll probably get your chops lopped off by a mutated bear. It’s a lot to take in.
Mirroring the in-game character’s inexperience to the surface world, the biggest challenge in the game for players is to overcome the formidable early stages. At the end of the experience the player has adapted to the hostilities of the environment, they’ve got about a billion bullets and the resulting heaps of experience points have given them the skills to land a perfect headshot from a mile away. It’s like Robinson Crusoe, only with mutants and dismembering.
The realisation eventually dawns: there’s no wrong way to play. Apart from specialising in melee, that is, because melee is terrible. Provided the player’s equipment is up to scratch, and that doesn’t take long, the world becomes their oyster. Most areas, despite their visual repetition, even have their own touch of aesthetic uniqueness to make an expedition worthwhile. It’s at this point I realised that a traditional design would have stymied the entire game.</blockquote>Spotted on GameBanshee.
Mirroring the in-game character’s inexperience to the surface world, the biggest challenge in the game for players is to overcome the formidable early stages. At the end of the experience the player has adapted to the hostilities of the environment, they’ve got about a billion bullets and the resulting heaps of experience points have given them the skills to land a perfect headshot from a mile away. It’s like Robinson Crusoe, only with mutants and dismembering.
The realisation eventually dawns: there’s no wrong way to play. Apart from specialising in melee, that is, because melee is terrible. Provided the player’s equipment is up to scratch, and that doesn’t take long, the world becomes their oyster. Most areas, despite their visual repetition, even have their own touch of aesthetic uniqueness to make an expedition worthwhile. It’s at this point I realised that a traditional design would have stymied the entire game.</blockquote>Spotted on GameBanshee.
