Bethsoft meets Fallout 3

[Bravo 1]

Well, I heard Turjan mentioning some game called fallout; more importantly he made a MW mod somewhat along the lines of it; well, this just in, Bethsoft has the rights to Fallout 3:

Bethesda Softworks to Develop and Publish Fallout 3

July 12, 2004 (Rockville, MD) -- Bethesda Softworks® announced today that it will develop and publish Fallout® 3 -- a sequel to the highly popular Fallout® role-playing game franchise. Bethesda licensed the rights to the Fallout® franchise from Interplay Entertainment Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: IPLY) in a deal that awards Bethesda exclusive worldwide rights to the Fallout® franchise on the PC, home consoles, handhelds, and other media, with the option to develop and publish additional sequels.

“We’re extremely excited about this opportunity and what it means both for Bethesda and for Fallout fans around the world,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “Fallout is one the great RPG franchises. Millions of Fallout games have been sold worldwide, and fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of a Fallout 3 title. Bethesda’s proven expertise in this genre, building on our experience and the tremendous success we have enjoyed with our cutting-edge Elder Scrolls® series, will enable us to create the next chapter of Fallout that is worthy of the franchise.”

Originally released in 1997, Fallout places a player in the role of a Vault-dweller, who ventures from his secluded, underground survival Vault into a post-apocalyptic world of mutants, radiation, gangs and violence. The game has been widely hailed as one of the outstanding role-playing games and video games of all time with its unique gameplay, style, and setting.

Commenting on this development, Interplay Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Herve Caen said, “This is a good agreement for both companies and for gamers. Although several parties had a high level of interest in licensing Fallout, we are most impressed by Bethesda’s execution of role-playing titles. Bethesda is an ideal steward of the Fallout franchise.”

Fallout 3 will be developed by Bethesda along with the next chapter of The Elder Scrolls, both under the direction of Todd Howard, executive producer of The Elder Scrolls. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind® won every national and international award of note in 2002, including Game of the Year and RPG of the Year, and is one of the best-selling games ever released on Xbox.

“We are overjoyed,” said Howard. “Fallout is one of my favorite games, and we plan to develop a visually stunning and original game for Fallout 3 with all the hallmarks of a great RPG: player choice, engaging story, and non-linearity.”

Future announcements about the release of Fallout 3 will be made as work on the title progresses.

Source:www.bethsoft.com/news/pressrelease_071204.htm

[Turjan]

I'd certainly be interested in Fallout Morrowind style, considering that's just about what I was trying to create in my weird mod anyway

Remains to be seen in which direction Bethesda will steer the concept now they're at the helm of the Fallout series, but it certainly can't be worse than leaving it in the insane grasp of Interplay's Herve "no longer resides mentally on this planet" Caen ;D

[Bravo 1]

From what I hear many people (who have played the originals) have very mixed feelings about Fallout going to Bethsoft; this quote from "The K" sums it up very well IMO:

Could be good, could be bad. It certainly won't feel the same as the original Fallouts. And just because Bethesda's name is on it doesn't mean it will be good, just look at Pirates of the Carribean. But if it works, who knows.

...the original fallout sound interesting though; the general plot does not see that original (Duke Nuke 'em, Doom...etc, etc), but I may stand corrected?

EDIT: Anyone play that Pirates of the Carribean game Bethsoft rel'd? I actually liked the movie, but am wondering what went wrong with the game; I didn't quite hear many raves about it...

[Carnajo]

IMHO Pirates was fun to play, but nothing spectacular. Though it was fun and enjoyable.

Thing is though, it had NOTHING to do with the movie other than the title. So I think that may have thrown a lot of people off, and perhaps dissapointed some. It was not a movie-game tie in, they just shared a name. Creative marketing on Bethesda's side perhaps.

[Turjan]

Bravo said:

...the original fallout sound interesting though; the general plot does not seem that original (Duke Nuke 'em, Doom...etc, etc), but I may stand corrected?

Ah, where to begin?

First & foremost, Fallout 1&2 are true RPGs as Morrowind is - i.e. skill development, storyline & characterisation are the key elements.

F1&2 also have a turn-based combat system which is totally skill dependent.

With those mechanics forming the skeleton of the gameplay, on top of that is the dialogue & quest system which is also skill dependent (high Intelligence allows for more dialogue options, for instance, whereas extremely low Int can result in dialogue options such as "Ughh.." and "Erm..." )

On top of all that is the story itself, which shares many elements in common with other post-nuclear settings, just as Morrowind shares elements with many fantasy worlds.

The Fallout world is one of barren deserts filled with mutants (both animal and human) who arose from the combined effects of radiation and exposure to a bio-weapon called the Forced Evolutionary Virus.

In the original Fallout, the player takes on the role of a Vault Dweller (i.e. a descendant of those who sought safety from the war in a massive, purpose built underground Vault). The Vault Dweller's job is to find a replacement water chip for the Vault's aging systems and return home with it.

That's the main quest, but of course in order to complete it, there are many sub-quests involved, NPC party members to acquire, as well as a ton of smaller quests not related to the main story thread.

The main story itself also has its fair share of twists and unexpected revelations, deepening the background of the Fallout world as the player progresses.

Fallout2's story takes place some time after the original, beginning in a tribal village where the Vault Dweller from F1 has assumed almost legendary status. The world hasn't changed too much (it takes time to rebuild from global catastrophe after all...) but there are still more story twists and novel quests, not to mention new gear & weapons to be uncovered in the Wastelands.

Generally speaking, everyone I know who's played the Fallout games has a special place for them in their gaming history hearts, with the exception of the Fallout spin-off "Brotherhood of Steel" which fans of Fallout1&2 tend to regard as a hideous commercialised monstrosity that was in no small part responsible for the beginning of Interplay's downward spiral.