Retrospective Interview with Tim Cain (Fallout Developer) at RPGCodex
After leaving Interplay Tim moved to help start up Troika Games where he helped develop other RPG gems such as Arcanum and Temple of Elemental Evil. After Troika folded in 2005 Tim went on to Carbine Studios, and starting working at Obsidian Entertainment in 2011.
A snippet of the most relevant part for people who have only played Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas:
The whole interview is worth reading so read it. You can find the full interview at RPG Codex.
9 comments
Strawman. And the main quest-line is not one of those situations, as the choice between killing the BoS or killing House is a design-deficiency at best. I accept that win-lose and lose-lose situations can happen, but it's a glaring design-flaw (at least to me) when i don't feel like i'm actually in that situation.
Maybe i was being a sophist on this one, but killing a bunch of people who aren't doing anything but hiding in a hole since who-knows-how-long-ago doesn't sit well with me. This might get a little tangential, but their continued existence baffles me, seeing as how they've collectively outlawed themselves and dug themselves into their own grave. You'd think they would have to come out and get real jobs by now, but maybe they know how to make Ruby's casserole. They're essentially cavemen now, and they can either join civilization for the first time or stagnate. Basically, i don't understand this as a situation where any significant degree of good is achieved that is worth a mass-slaughter of people, many of whom are accomplices at worst.
Strawman. And it's not like the assassination and the final battle are going to put themselves on hold until after all House's wishes are granted in order. It kind of breaks the fourth wall when my non-compliance to someone's whim causes an entire war to stalemate.
That is some consolation, yes. I am glad that New Vegas tones down on the whole demigod of good or evil aspect, among other unrelated things. Fallout needs more 1930s Conan the Barbarian and less He-Man, if anyone gets my dated references.
Sometimes it's impossible to do only good things, not because of fake melodrama, because that's how the world works and certain individuals act. Politics are always dirty.
Also, whether or not such ambiguous things are immoral is relative. One could argue that BoS are simply terrorists whose destruction would not be missed, could only help the Mojave and sometimes drastic measures must be taken for the greater good.
Also, you may think of creative ways, but Mr. House *won't* and doesn't care. It's a trade-off for his progressive leadership: he's an egomaniac whose unwilling to deviate from his perfect, coldly calculated masterplan. This quest was not supposed to be logical: it was all about his whim.
If it's any consolation for New Vegas, lack of any choices regarding your Dad/essential characters throughout the Fallout 3 or inane "evil karma" alternatives in the binary good-evil moral system, like blowing up Megaton for the lulz were much, much worse.
And that Fawkes option was added only in Broken Steel to fix that terrible ending, he wouldn't do it in vanilla "because it's your destiny lol".
There's no logical reason to have to murder anybody; the game just herds you into it. I can think of a number of creative ways to not have to murder the BoS or Mr. House.
For instance, have the quarry workers help you set off a huge explosion in the scorpion gulch, and lie to House about having eradicated the BoS. Alternatively, just take away House's securitrons without opening his isolation chamber, and let the Followers study him.
It's not that hard a choice, but the game wants you to have to do something immoral, because melodrama.
This really ruined FONV for me, whereas at least in FO3, [spoiler:] you could be not-stupid and get Fawkes to save the purifier.