Fallout world FAQ World . Why does the world look like 1950s even though the Great War was in 2077 ? The " Fallout " series is set in an alternate timeline that diverged from ours in the 1950s . In the 21st century , it looked like the future as imagined in the 1950s pulp science fiction . E . g . instead of transistor s you have huge vacuum tube - based computers with artificial intelligence and monochromatic terminals , robotic servants , a pseudo - utopian society based on 1950s values , black and white TV , music from the 1950s considered all - time classics , and most modern musical genres never appearing , etc . . Weapon development was also different from ours and thus plasma and laser weaponry was introduced , 10mm became the most common ammunition type , etc . The modern high - tech weapons were never created - instead , weapons based on how people in the 1950s thought 21st century weaponry would look like are used . How did the Great War start ? . . " The situation leading to the war included China invading Alaska , and the United States ' annexing Canada . The European Commonwealth reacted to the Middle East ' s raising of oil prices by taking military action . As the United Nations tried to keep peace , many members pulled out of the UN , and within two months of this the UN was disbanded . This period of conflict was called the Resource Wars . Many smaller nations went bankrupt in the ensuing conflict . The Resource Wars were ended by The Great War . " . . . Read more about it in the Great War article . Great War Were the US and China the only countries affected by the War ? No , they weren ' t . Fallout intro : Fallout 2 intro : Jesse Heinig , one of the " Fallout " designers : The very first " Fallout " timeline by Scott Campbell and Brian Freyermuth ( from which all other " Fallout " timelines in existence are derived ) : Emil Pagliarulo , " Fallout 3 " lead designer : Tim Cain , one of the main creators of " Fallout " : Why do some ghouls talk about the war like they were in it ? Certain ghouls , such as Set or Carol talk about the Great War , and what it was like before and during the attack . The reason of this is because when ghouls are transformed , their genetic code mutates , causing them to live much longer than normal humans . People like Michael Masters and Typhon were actually born before the war , and were mutated during the nuclear launch / fallout . Not all ghouls were created during the war though . Read more in ghoul s . Creatures . What are deathclaws mutated from ? The deathclaw s were originally created before the Great War by the United States military , in order to replace humans during high - risk close - combat search - and - destroy missions . They were Jackson ' s Chameleons genetically modified with DNA of various other species . The Master also experimented on the deathclaws early on , but his experiments were not very successful , and eventually they were not used in his army . However , some of the modifications he made to their genome refined them into even more dangerous beasts . What are super mutants ? Super mutant s were originally created with the use of the Forced Evolutionary Virus . It ' s clear that they start as humans , and are mutated into stronger , more brutish , yet often less intelligent humanoids , who are bent on mutating all humans into their own kind . Super mutants on the West Coast originated in the Mariposa Military Base , while ones on the East Coast are from Vault 87 . Yao guai : The mutant descendants of bears . Yao guai are mutated bears that roam throughout the Capital Wasteland and Zion Canyon . They have mutated over time as a result of radiation exposure from the nuclear bombs . They are extremely fast and vicious , making them arguably some of the most dangerous creatures of the wasteland . according to myth and tribal beliefs , the yao guai are the reincarnations of mistreated animals . ( Also see Ruzka . )