A Surprisingly Filled Wasteland: Fans and Lore in Fallout

## The Vault Opens

In the connected age of the internet it seems fans are able to connect with each other more and more and discuss their favorite things. From Reddit, YouTube, or the Fandom wikias, the options are limitless to profess your love. Some of the readings we have had over the semester have discussed this very thing. Spoiling Survivor had its discussion about whether or not fans should be considered experts when it comes to the thing they love on fan sites. The article on Rick and Morty fans discussed the uglier side of Fandoms where the die hards go too far and can stifle progress.  And another talked about whether or not characters belong to the creators or the fans themselves, and while the question seems pretty simple, the idea that fans may be able to do more with characters than the actual creators seems pretty mind blowing. And while all of this appears to be a mixed bag, the one thing that stays true is the fact that fan love is what keeps it together. That dedication is the reason why any of these articles are penned, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in Fallout fandom.

Fallout is a series of role playing games set in the nuclear post apocalyptic wasteland stretching back to its first release in the late 90s. A spiritual successor to Interplay Studios’ Wasteland, the first game took place in the irradiated ruins of Los Angeles as the player tried to get a water chip for the bomb shelter, known as Vaults, they had been living in. And from those humble beginnings the series has seen four main series titles and several spinoffs and become a staple in the gaming world. But one of the hardest things for Fallout fans had to go through was the closing of Interplay studios and subsequent purchasing of the Fallout license by Bethesda Softworks in 2007. At the time fans were worried but Fallout 3 kept fans hopeful of what Bethesda could do with the license. Things began to look up once again with the release of Fallout New Vegas, which saw the return of Interplay developers in their new studio known as Obsidian. However with the recent release of Fallout 76 fans have become very wary of Bethesda’s practices and attitudes towards the Fallout license. Fans of this series have gone through a lot in a short time, but their continued dedication to the game and its world is something truly remarkable.

So what do Fallout fans do outside of just stick with the series through its many ups and downs even after 20 years of being around. Thanks to the game being a role playing game, it has allowed players to really immerse themselves and resonate with the game franchise. That and the love and care the developers have put in to the titles really does create a strong link between the author and the reader. It shows in just the amount of fan creation and dedication, which sometimes appears to eclipse that of the creators, that is poured out for this series. From fan creations to entire threads of people discussing inaccuracies in lore, it doesn’t take a lot to see just how hardcore the fans are. The fandom surrounding this game really gives a real life example to all the different readings discussed throughout the years.

## Remediation: "...a mutated hand has grown out of your stomach." - Prof. Brotch Fallout 3

With a fictional world that has been crafted so painstakingly like Fallout has, it isn’t hard to believe the fans are willing to let it end with just the games. The Fallout collection goes so much further thanks to some really creative groups within the fandom.

### Nuka Break

When you allow fans to become the character they play and fans are willing to try out a little role playing a beautiful thing is born. The people at Wayside Creations came together and created two complete seasons of a mini series on YouTube of the adventures of their own characters. Three adventurers traveling through the wastes looking for the perfect Nuka Break. A fun little creation that started out as only a solo movie, but thanks to loving fans their kickstarter was backed and they started working on the second season. Now with a prequel the group has gotten a lot of love thanks to those eager to see more from the wasteland.

### All Roads

While this may not be a fan creation, All Roads is a graphic novel written by Chris Avellone, a man who had worked on Fallout 2 and Fallout New Vegas, as a prequel to the game Fallout New Vegas. Taking place a week before the events of that game, readers are introduced to many of the same characters that they would meet in the game as well as locations, and items. Developers even went so far as to make sure that locations in the novel ended in game with remnants of the battles fought in the novel. Just something that if you read the novel you’d get more out of when you played the game. That is the sort of heart and dedication to world building and storytelling that keeps bringing people back to Fallout or keeping those who have already been on the train since the beginning.

### Fallout Tabletop RPG

This may be a bit of an outlier, but when the first game of the franchise was created it was supposed to use a system known as GURPS, Generic Universal RolePlaying System, which was meant for pen and paper, like Dungeons and Dragons, but had to change to its own unique SPECIAL, an acronym created by taking the first letter of the core stats in the game, Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. So with the roots of this game being so heavily rooted in pen and paper traditional role playing it isn’t hard to believe that some fans would come together and create a system based on the game and its SPECIAL system. While I haven’t had much experience with it, I know how hard and how much time is required to make a role playing system even with solid groundwork already laid.

### Full Game Length Mods

Creating a tabletop RPG takes time and dedication. Creating a whole live action show with a colorful cast and appropriate wardrobe takes even more. Now how about the fans that go the extra mile and create full game length additions to the already published games. Mods, or modifications, have kept the games alive and interesting, but then there are some that add an entire games worth of content. Things like Fallout: New California and Fallout: Miami are entirely fan created and feature their own stories, unique locales, and cast that players may never have seen if not for the hard work these fans were willing to put forth. To add their own stamp on the franchise.

Each of these may be different in ways but the root of why they were made is all the same, a love for the world Fallout. There is a ton of fan art, fan stories, and fan creations, like the Nuka Break, out there. And the fans keep it accurate to the lore and adding their own spins to the world the developers created.

## Interpretive Disputes: "Who the hell is this?" - Enclave Soldier Fallout 2

The world of Fallout has always been treated with a lot of care, by both fans and developers. Just look to the Fallout Wiki or Reddit to get an idea of how much goes on in this world, even down to the exact date of some events. And this is why when there are inaccuracies the fans are quick to jump on it.

### Fallout 76 Lore Disaster

So with a new Fallout game on the horizon there was a lot of hype for not only the introduction of multiplayer in Fallout, but a new locale, West Virginia. Fans eager to see what Bethesda had for them after the critical success couldn’t wait to see what new beasts and factions had spawned in a relatively untouched part of the American ruins. But when seeing what was being put forward and how the lore was being treated die hard fans were up in arms. Calling out things like certain factions not being created by the time the game had been set, or the impossibility of creatures existing in that setting because they hadn’t been created yet.

YouTube and Reddit  were alight with people debating whether or not Bethesda had killed the lore with this new game, and others saying that it was fine and there were explanations. Entire threads dedicated with people on both sides. Now while these debates weren’t always cordial, it was all people trying to show their side was right, but in the end all either of these groups wanted was clarification to the lore. This became so bad at one point that Bethesda had to release a statement explaining how one of the factions was able to be in one place when they were just getting started on the other side of the country. All of this because the fans were upset that the lore from previous games wasn’t being adhered to, that is pretty incredible.

### Fallout 4 Lore Problems

But Fallout 76 wasn’t the first time this happened. When Fallout 4 had released in 2015 fans began to notice inconsistencies with a type of power armor that had been described as a post-war experimental armor, to then appear in a pre-war location. While this may have been a minor issue a lot of people pointed out that it is these details that matter so much when creating a believable world.

Or another instance of a drug known as Jet, which Fallout 2 had stated was created by a kid using a pre-war protein and then altering it. Again a minor thing in a side conversation with an incredibly smart kid. This again stirred people up when the drug is mentioned, by name, in a pre-war log. While the argument could be made that the drug could have existed considering the kid in Fallout 2 was using pre-war research, to have it called the same thing raised red flags for people. Now some players have said that it doesn’t really matter in the long run as long as they get to see the things they love in Fallout, but others have had something else in mind entirely.

### No Mutants Allowed

Some fans have been here since the beginning on a site called No Mutants Allowed, and one look at their about us section gives you an idea their stance on the Fallout license. “The largest and oldest Fallout fan website on the internet. Running since 1997. We were here before the fall.” Not the biggest fans of Bethesda, but die hard fans of Fallout. These are the people who care the most and will bleed for Fallout, but may also be the toxic group described in the article about Rick and Morty fans who are unable to see that maybe change brings about better games. But this is the what happens in the unique situation that Fallout is in, and the fans who have been with it since its inception debating about the lore consistency and world building.

## Knowledge Communities: "Bah! What knowledge they need is to be found with sweat and blood, not some letters on a page." - Vault Dweller Memoirs Fallout 2 Game Manual

With all this talk about lore and fan creation, the average player may become a bit lost in the sea of information. And that’s fair because of the sheer amount that has been put out for this world. Thankfully those wishing to know more have two very helpful resources at their disposal.

### Fallout Wikia, Nukapedia

For general game play knowledge there is nowhere better to find out information than the wikia dedicated to giving players information on Fallout. From characters, to items, to background information of locations you can find it all on Nukapedia. And for those willing to learn more about the world, Nukapedia gives more than enough to help newcomers and old learn about the world around them, but there is a fun catch, most of this is found by players who take the time to explore and take note of all that happens throughout the games.

Dates and events can be canonically placed by the developers, but the little things here and there on the wiki are found and placed on the wikia by the players who found them. Spoiling Survivor talks about these fan communities and whether or not they break down the idea of experts when it comes to shows, or in this case a video game series. But here is the really cool thing, an expert is defined by Merriam Webster as, “one with the special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject”. So if someone were to take the time and just explore the game world finding out the small details that others may pass over, they become an expert in Fallout lore. Sure they may not get a degree, but it’s just playing the game and learning it all that grants that player the title of expert, and Fallout rewards that.

Just like those people who read All Roads and then go to those places in Fallout New Vegas you know more about why those things are there and then their experience is enriched. That player then posts that to Nukapedia letting other players know and suddenly they have become an expert in that part of the lore because they dug deeper. It’s this info that goes onto the wikia and lets other fans know what that player knows because they did something that lets everyone know more, and that is the beauty of this fan run information site.

### Fallout Bible

Do not let the imposing title frighten you because this is actually really cool. The original idea was from a Fallout community member to create one single book on the Fallout setting as the end all be all. But that never took off until in 2002 when Black Isle was getting ready to create their Fallout 3, Chris Avellone held a bunch of question and answer sessions for players to answer any lore questions that they might have had. This then became a series of 9 text documents that can still be found on Nukapedia hashing out the nitty gritty of the lore. Each of these are a blast to read, and really show the connections people had made with the game studio. You really don’t see this anymore and it saddens my heart to have learned the ultimate fate to this series of documents.

In 2011, Avellone tweeted out that the bible was no longer canon because Bethesda now held the license and decided what was canon or not. Bethesda themselves haven’t commented which has led players to believe that until they say something, the bible will live on. It really raises the question of who the lore keepers are. The article “Do Characters Belong to Their Fans or Their Creators?” seemed pretty cut and dry before. Creators decide what is canon and what is not. But when one of the creators passes on that decision making to someone else and the new owner doesn’t comment, it is up to the fans to decide what stays in the lore, and these fans have done just that.

## References "I record the knowledge of our ancestors for future generations." - Master Scribe Vree Fallout 1

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout\_(series)
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland\_(video\_game)
3. ↑ https://www.engadget.com/2007/04/12/great-geiger-bethesda-buys-fallout-ip/
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcgxXnEVVyM
5. ↑ https://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/All\_Roads
6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/8qrbzf/the\_lore\_and\_realism\_is\_fucked\_in\_fallout\_76/
7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xrghtlj1CU
8. ↑ https://www.denofgeek.com/us/games/fallout/276909/fallout-76-lore-bethesda
9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO50Sc1eguI
10. ↑ https://bethesda.net/community/topic/242149/im-i-the-only-one-who-don-t-care-about-the-lore-of-fallout
11. ↑ http://www.nma-fallout.com/
12. ↑ https://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout\_Wiki
13. ↑ https://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout\_Bible
14. ↑ https://twitter.com/ChrisAvellone/status/101700464676044800
15. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/315bux/is\_the\_fallout\_bible\_canon/