Baby Steps

**Baby Steps** is the first tutorial quest in *Fallout 3*.

## Synopsis

After being born, the child who will come to be known as the Lone Wanderer is subjected to a genetic projection and, much later, reads the book *You're SPECIAL!*.

## Walkthrough

1. A mostly automated quest. After the future Lone Wanderer clears Catherine's vagina, Dad will immediately focus on the newborn instead of attending to his wife. The player is prompted to select the gender of their character, then the name, and finally customize the appearance using the Gene Projector. Once these are done, Catherine promptly goes into cardiac arrest and dies.
2. The quest fast-forwards to Vault 101, where James took their child under Star Paladin Cross' escort and bribed his way in with his skills as a doctor. The sequence begins with a tutorial on how to walk. To continue, approach James. He will close the playpen, then leave on business.
3. The player can open the playpen and roam around the room. The following tutorial introduces item manipulation with the Z key and jumping. To continue, the player has to interact with the *You're S.P.E.C.I.A.L!* book and set the character's SPECIAL statistics. Afterwards, James will return, introduce the player to the main quest's arc words (Revelation 21:6) and leave.
4. The quest is completed by following Dad outside.

## Notes

* The player can "speak" by pressing the interaction button.
* Third person view is disabled, as there is no character model to show (the game uses a scaled down, terrifyingly warped teenager model).
* The music coming from the baby mobile is a portion of the Tranquility Lane music.
* James' mention of having to get used to the light in the Vault is the first hint that the player was born outside.

### Transition quotes

During the white transitions to infancy, the following quotes can be heard overlapping:

* "I'm sorry, Madison. I am. But what choice do I have?" (Dad)
* "I thought I knew you... I trusted you! We all did! How can you be so selfish?" (Doctor Li)
* "Selfish? This is my child we're talking about, Madison! My child!*"* *(Dad)*
* "It's you and me, now, okay? You and me. But that's okay. So long as we've got each other, that's all that matters." (Dad)
* "No, no, put that away. This one's on the house. And now a toast. To James and his cheery cherub. May your future be safe, bright, and boring as hell." (Colin Moriarty)
* "Shh... You're safe now. No more monsters. No more nightmares. Shh... That's it. Daddy's got you..." (Dad)
* "Yes, yes. Cardiology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry. Whatever your needs. You'll find I can handle, well... I can handle just about anything." (Dad)
* "All right. Just remember one thing. We need a doctor, not a deadbeat. Fail to meet my expectations, and there will be repercussions." (The Overseer)
* "Not so bad, huh? A bit chilly maybe, but we'll get used to that. A few decorations, some donated toys, and this place will feel just like home. Home..." (Dad)
* "Hmmmm... Good? Huh, is that good? Here you go... No... Not too fast. That's it. That's it. Everything on the spoon. Come on, you can do it." (Dad)

## Behind the scenes

* Early in development, at a demo at the Game Conference 2008 in Leipzig, Germany, the first quest was originally going to portray the Lone Wanderer as four years old.

## Bugs

* PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 After the line *"I want to show you something,"* the script may break. Reloading typically fixes the issue.

## References

1. ↑ *Fallout 3* preview, No Mutants Allowed