User: When was the first Fallout game released?
Assistant: Fallout (1997)
Released in October 1997, Fallout takes place in a post-apocalyptic Southern California, beginning in the year 2161. The protagonist, referred to as the Vault Dweller, is tasked with recovering a water chip in the Wasteland to replace the broken one in their underground shelter home, Vault 13. Afterwards, the Vault Dweller must thwart the plans of a group of mutants, led by a grotesque entity named the Master. Fallout was originally intended to run under the GURPS role-playing game system. However, a disagreement with the creator of GURPS, Steve Jackson, over the game's violent content required Black Isle Studios to develop the new SPECIAL system. Fallout's atmosphere and artwork are reminiscent of post-World War II United States during the Cold War era and the fear that the country was headed for nuclear war in the real world.