Lately, online forums have been buzzing with chatter about the post-apocalyptic RPG franchise, Fallout. These discussions have ranged from the highly anticipated Amazon TV series adaptation to the more recent whispers of a Fallout 3 remaster – but forget 3, what about remaking the very first Fallout? One of its original creators weighs in.
Developed by Interplay Entertainment in 1997, Fallout has spawned four mainline titles and seven spin-offs. When you mention Fallout games to most players today, they tend to focus on the open-world FPS titles that Bethesda developed after acquiring the Fallout IP, often overlooking the two isometric RPG gems, Fallout 1 and 2.
Nevertheless, die-hard fans of the Fallout franchise will vividly remember the original game that introduced us to a post-apocalyptic world set in the 22nd century. Following the aftermath of a global nuclear war that occurred in the late 21st century, most of the world has been turned into a desolate wasteland, with survivors taking refuge in large underground shelters known as Vaults.
Here we meet the protagonist, referred to as the Vault Dweller, a resident of Vault 13, one of the many Vaults scattered across the wasteland. Our journey in Fallout begins when the water purification system of Vault 13 breaks down. With the water supply dwindling, we are chosen to venture out into the wasteland to find a replacement Water Chip, a crucial component for the purification system.
As the Vault Dweller embarks on this perilous journey, they encounter various factions, mutated creatures, and remnants of pre-war civilization. Among these are the Super Mutants, a race of mutated humans who pose a significant threat to re-emerging civilization. It isn’t long until we learn about the origins of the Super Mutants and their creator, the Master.
Fallout offered players a vast open world to explore, filled with moral choices, turn-based combat, and character customization. The decisions made by players influenced the game’s ending, with multiple possible outcomes based on their actions throughout the game.
While these core features and gameplay mechanics carried over into the 1998 sequel, there’s a prevailing sentiment among devoted fans, myself included, that the original game outshines its successor. It’s this sentiment that fuels our hope for a faithful remake of the classic Fallout, one that captures the essence of what made the original so beloved.
Tim Cain, the co-creator and lead programmer of Fallout, recently shared his vision for a potential Fallout Remake in response to Evan Chantland, one of the QA testers for Fallout (there’s an Easter Egg in Fallout 2 of a deceased person whose grave bears the same name).
Cain begins by elaborating on what a Fallout Remake would actually entail, which essentially means updating the game to modern standards without changing the core mechanics or story of the game. This would keep all the parts we loved about it intact while catching up to modern tech.
Cain then proceeds to list some of the changes he would implement in the remake, with the first idea being an explorable map. This expanded map would introduce procedural generation, allowing players to explore various terrains, including mountains, caves, and old ruins.
Cain subsequently brings up the importance of a cleaner and more user-friendly UI, along with the need for enhanced AI for companions. Additionally, he suggests a complete overhaul of the game’s art to ensure it’s more finely detailed and suitable for high-resolution displays.
Another idea he floats is the introduction of creature respawning in various locations, which would inject more dynamism into the game world. For players who love a real challenge, it’s likely that a remake would come with an increased level cap, although Cain does hint that this could potentially be an optional feature.
When it comes to enhanced reactivity, Cain aims to make NPCs more responsive to player choices, including their equipment, companions, and past actions. Changes to maps during play would also be added based on the player’s actions, which would also trigger changes in dialogues to offer a deeper level of reactivity – something present, albeit in limited form, in the sequels.
If you relish seeing the choices you made throughout the game and how they’ve affected various characters, you’ll be delighted by the idea of improved ending slides. This includes fixing bugs from the original game and adding more ending slides that would detail the long-term consequences of a player’s actions.
The most interesting feature Cain highlights is a comprehensive overhaul known as the “massive mechanics pass” which would focus on several key aspects, including the SPECIAL ruleset (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck).
Cain suggests making Charisma more impactful by adding more Charisma checks, allowing it to influence party size, companion recruitment, and dialogue interactions. Intelligence would also be reworked along with Agility, which was considered highly advantageous. This would entail changing how skill points are distributed and making Intelligence more versatile, as seen in Fallout: New Vegas.
Skills would also be reviewed, as Cain mentioned cutting out Doctor and First Aid. He also plans to reevaluate the usefulness of gambling and potentially integrate it into other aspects of the game. Cain also proposes a thorough examination of perks, focusing on rebalancing and refining them.
Furthermore, a Fallout Remake would eliminate redundancy, ensuring that each perk contributes to character development without compromising the game’s balance. Cain acknowledged that some world map perks had minimal effects or even detracted from the experience. He plans to enhance or replace these perks, emphasizing their value in exploration and encounters.
Recognizing that the level cap affects perk availability, Cain intends to address this issue, either by raising the level cap or providing optional ways to extend character progression. Cain additionally plans to standardize and balance traits, ensuring that they offer meaningful choices for character development.
As he puts it, he wants players to consider traits based on their character’s role and playstyle rather than adhering to a few overpowered options like Gifted. If you’ve gone through these features in detail, you’ll observe that, despite the numerous changes, they don’t fundamentally alter Fallout’s core design principles.
Players will continue to traverse the game world from an isometric perspective (technically, Fallout uses a trimetric perspective, but we won’t get into that). Combat will retain its turn-based nature, relying on an action-point system, and the game will still operate on the SPECIAL attributes, albeit with a few minor adjustments.
So, what do you think? Are you excited about the idea of a Fallout Remake with these features, or do you have any specific ideas you would like to see implemented? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
