First impression matters. A game might have peaks and lows but the first hours of a game actually says a lot its design. Even its prologue, the time between you select "new game" and the first time player is able to interact with the game matters, it can be cool, it can set up a mood, it can be really powerful. In this article, we discuss how 3D Fallout games set up their themes, what they prioritize and what feelings they want to instill in the player.
Let's start with Fallout 3. I recommend watching them yourself first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_xQdnyTcio
A shot of a devastated city, old-music with a heavy focus on post-apocalyptic mood and ends with a soldier full in metal, which belongs to one of the main factions in games and they were always important in isometric Fallout games too. They are easy to recognise as a part of Fallout brand.
Then narrator starts talking about how humans have always waged wars,nuclear war coming, people hiding under Vaults and you are from Vault 101 but this Vault is supposed to be never opened.
Overall we can learn that Fallout 3 sets in a post-nuclear-warfare world, the situation is cold and unforgiving. You live one of the Vaults, which won't ever open unlike others.
Now let's look at Fallout 4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We50I8fNFCE
As the game starts before the nuclear war, the game goes into detail about pre-war situation, leaning heavily in 1950s white American nostalgia. Once again, Bethesda chose to go with a mystery plot, so this opening is mostly about tone than setting up a plot or giving information.
Now, let's watch the intro of Fallout: New Vegas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpNw4BXUHOo
It opens with a new Vegas, standing proud in middle of the wasteland. We can see Mr. House's robots, a New California Republic soldier, a gang member and Caesar's Legion soldiers. It's sets up the tone and all major players in a couple of a minute. Then, the narrator starts to talk with "War, war never changes". Notice that he mentions the nuclear war very briefly. The opening is primarily about "now", what the conflicts of this new world is and who you are as the player character. It shows us Benny, another central character to the plot. It ends with you getting shot and opening your eyes, at where looks like a clinic.
Between the three openings, I like New Vegas's opening best. It gives the most information about the world, it establishes the mood well, it sets up a strong hook. While it is the longest of all three openings, it feels like it wastes my time less than others, because everything it tells is very relevant to player, unlike generic lines about how "people have always killed each other" or the WW2 memories of someone we don't know.
The presentation in other two openings aren't actually bad in on themselves. They just have very different concerns than Fallout:New Vegas's opening. Fallout 3 and especially Fallout 4 in particular is very concerned with making sure a person that have never played the series before gains the background from the cutscene. Both Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 have plots about disappearing family members, so they are entirely silent about the political factions in the game.
All three cutscenes signal the themes of the three stories. Fallout 3 pulls from past imagery and concerned about post-war present, Fallout: New Vegas is firmly about post-post-war future. Fallout 4 is very interested in looking at past. They are all a microcosm of direction and writing in their respective games.
Stay tuned with next article, where we will explore how first hour of gameplay signal the direction of game design in 3D Fallout games.
his article is written thanks to my dearest Patrons and special thanks to: Acelin, Alexandra Morgan, Laura Watson and Spencer Gill.
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