Editing Greg Fulton/Fanstratics Newsletters/29 (section)

== HoMM3 Recollection: Fallout ==
My first 'professional' video game job involved working for a start-up SNES developer in [[wikipedia:Monterey Park, California|Monterey Park, California]], in late 1993.  It was all very sketchy, and ultimately tragic, but under their employment, I rendered the initial design for a fantasy RPG.  While I eventually settled on conventional RPG mechanics, I did research a couple of different non-''[[wikipedia:Dungeons & Dragons|Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (''D&D'') role-playing systems.  One of these systems was ''[[wikipedia:GURPS|GURPS]]''.

Created by [[wikipedia:Steve Jackson Games|Steve Jackson Games]], and first published in 1986, ''GURPS'' is an acronym for Generic Universal RolePlaying System.  As stated in its name, the system was designed to apply to any general setting or genre.  After purchasing and browsing through different ''GURPS'' books, I came to appreciate what the system was attempting to accomplish.  Ironically... I found it inapplicable for the video game I was designing.  Eventually, the 'sketchy' video game company and its SNES RPG project collapsed, but when it was over, ''GURPS'' left an impression on me.

Later, in June of 1996, I purchased a copy of [[wikipedia:Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation magazine]] from the Village Center Newsstand in [[wikipedia:Westwood, California|Westwood, California]].  On page 74 of Next Generation 18 (June 1996), I read an excellent article previewing a video game named 'G.U.R.P.S'.  This was ''[[wikipedia:Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' before it became ''Fallout'', and because of my previous research into the ''GURPS'' system, I was curious about what [[wikipedia:Interplay Entertainment|Interplay]] was developing.  Then, in early 1997, Interplay dropped the ''GURPS'' license for ''Fallout'', apparently over 'creative differences', and developed its own role-playing system named SPECIAL.  Despite these changes, I was still curious.  When ''Fallout'' landed on retail shelves in early October, 1997, I was there on release day, at the Best Buy in Thousand Oaks, after work, purchasing a copy.

After enduring the 30-to-45-minute drive from Agoura Hills to my apartment in Westwood, I ate dinner as I installed the game.  Starting it up, I had two goals.  One... explore what Interplay had done with their converted GURPS/SPECIAL system.  Two... determine if ''Fallout'', a 2D RPG, could deliver a competitive experience in the middle of a growing 3D revolution.  Like ''Fallout'', ''Heroes of Might and Magic 3'' (HoMM3) was going to be 2D, and I wondered if there was still a market for non-3D game experiences.

From the outset, it quickly became apparent, ''Fallout'' was unlike any RPG I'd ever played before... either with pen and paper... or on a computer.  Obviously, the genre was not fantasy.  While I knew there were plenty of non-fantasy RPG's (''[[wikipedia:Gamma World|Gamma World]]'', ''[[wikipedia:Villains and Vigilantes|Villains and Vigilantes]]'' (which would later fuel my love for ''[[wikipedia:City of Heroes|City of Heroes]]''), and ''[[wikipedia:Cyberpunk (role-playing game)|Cyberpunk 2020]]'')... I had never played them.

In games like ''D&D'', the experience was mainly about monsters and adventure.  ''Fallout'' was about the dangerous wasteland environment, the surviving people, and their precarious situations.  With numerous branching storylines and natural consequences, you felt your decisions' moral and economic weight, making it the most dramatic RPG I'd ever played.  Helping create this sense of 'drama', were two elements of the original Fallout which often go underappreciated.

First was the game’s music.  Unlike the grandiose orchestrations of HoMM2, ''Fallout''’s music was tense and moody, much like [[wikipedia:UFO: Enemy Unknown|X-COM]] from [[wikipedia:MicroProse|Microprose]].

Second was the game's animations.  While I like ''Fallout''’s art style, the animations and accompanying sound effects were more impressive.  In fact, I was so impressed with the numerous and unique death animations, I restarted my game just so I could begin with the perk: ‘Bloody Mess’.

In fact, because ''Fallout'' was so different, I must have restarted the game at least three times.  With each restart, I learned something new about the game's scheme and mechanics, realizing my previous RPG experiences were inadequate.  Eventually, I settled on a satisfactory character composition and trekked into the wasteland.

My main quest was finding a Water Purification Chip critical to the survival of Vault 13.  Together with this necessary quest, I unconsciously determined I would play a ‘hero’ and pursue a good reputation path (eventually renamed Karma).  I purposely chose to be the good man in a grim world swimming in amorality... and it was challenging.  When I arrived in Junktown, everything changed, and... I couldn’t wait to tell [[Dustin Browder]] about it.

When the following Friday arrived, I drove to Dustin's condo in Van Nuys for another marathon session of network gaming.  Before starting, we ate dinner, socialized, and caught up.  This was also my opportunity to tell my 'Fallout story'.

 Me, "Did you pick up ''Fallout''?"
 
 Dustin, “Almost.  Wasn’t sure.  I’ve got copies of CGW and PC Gamer I haven’t read yet.  I think both of them have gave it good reviews.

For the record, these were the scores...
* Computer Gaming World: 4.5 of 5 stars.
* PC Gamer (US): 90%.
* GameSpot: 87%.
* Next Generation: 4 of 5 stars.

After explaining my personal history with ''GURPS'', and my justification for purchasing ''Fallout'', we got to the real meat of the conversation.

 Me, “Well, I bought it on release day.  Blind.  I’ve been playing it all week.  Highly recommended.”
 
 Dustin chuckled, “Okay.”
 
 Me, “Are you going to buy it?”
 
 Dustin, “Probably.”
 
 Me, “There’s something I want to tell, but I don’t want to spoil the game.”
 
 Dustin, “How far are you in?”
 
 Me, “Not sure.  15%?  20%?”
 
 Dustin shrugged, “Don’t worry about it.  I’m sure we’ll have different experiences.”
 
 Me, "Okay.  I've been working through the game, doing all the quests, building up a good reputation."
 
 Dustin, “It has a reputation system?”
 
 Me, “Yeah.  Do good things, get good reputation points.  Do bad things, get bad reputation points.  Your reputation influences how NPCs treat you."
 
 Dustin, nodding his understanding, “Okay.”
 
 Me, “Anyway, I arrived at this place called Junktown.  I meet this guy who runs a store.  He wants me to get a confession from this other guy who runs a local casino.  I record the casino guy’s confession, return to the shop owner, and complete the quest.  He then wants me to help him kill the casino guy.  I take the quest.  We pick up another NPC, then go to the casino.  We have a shootout.  Now, I’m probably under-leveled for this quest, so I spend a ton of Stimpaks to keep from dying.”
 
 Dustin, “Stimpaks?”
 
 Me, “Health potions.”
 
 Dustin, “Okay.”
 
 Me, "So, we kill the casino guy, and end up back in the guy's shop.  He thanks me and offers me a reward.  It's like a shotgun, some leather armor, and a couple of Stimpaks.  Well, I already have a shotgun, I already have leather armor, and I spent more than five Stimpaks to complete the quest.  All I really got was a little experience.  It was a net loss.”
 
 Dustin laughed, “So?  What did you take?”
 
 Me, “I took the five Stimpaks.  If I’d known the potential rewards before the fight, I’d have passed on it.  I felt like I’d been ripped off.”
 
 Dustin shrugged, smirking, “Okay.”
 
 I looked directly at Dustin and squinted, "So..."
 
 Dustin’s eyes widened, “What did you do?”
 
 Me, "Up to this point, I'd been walking the straight and narrow."
 
 Dustin covered his face with this hand, “Oh, no.”
 
 Me, “But, I’ve got an entire vault of people depending on me to find a stupid Water Purification Chip so everyone doesn't die.  What was I getting for being the good guy?  Nothing but abuse.  And once again, I was getting ripped off."
 
 Shaking his head, Dustin asked, “Did you steal all of his stuff?”
 
 Me, “Yeah... after I blew him away.”
 
 Dustin LOL’d.
 
 Me, “I mean, I would have asked for more, but there wasn’t any method of doing that.  He had an entire shop full of stuff, and my Steal skill was non-existent.  He would have seen what I was doing and shot me anyway.  So... I pulled out my shotgun... and blew him away.”
 
 Dustin, “Did that fail the quest?”
 
 Me, "No.  It was after the quest was complete."
 
 Dustin, “There weren’t any guards?”
 
 Me, “No.  We were the only two in the shop.”
 
 Dustin, “Really?”
 
 Me, "Yeah.  There's a ton of freedom in the game.  I took as much as I could carry and left town without any issue.  I sold everything I didn't need in the next town.  It was very profitable."
 
 Dustin, “So, you’re a bad guy now?”
 
 Me, "Either that or anti-hero.  I'm going to do whatever it takes to get the Water Chip, and the 'wasteland' seems to reward killers."
 
 Dustin, “Sounds like a pretty cool game.”
 
 Me, “Like I said.  Highly recommended.”

Continuing to play ''Fallout'', my singular goal was finding the Water Purification Chip within the roughly 150 days allotted by the quest.  Making my way through the wasteland, I painted a bloody path as I embraced my character's amoral philosophy, where the ends justified the means.  If killing an NPC got me closer to finding the Water Chip, I didn't hesitate.

Roughly 30 days before the conclusion of my quest to ‘Find the Water Chip’, I was able to locate and defeat the Master of the Super Mutants.  Completing this ‘ultimate’ quest allowed me to set my companions free and return to Vault 13.  It was time to finish the game.

At the entrance to Vault 13, I handed over the Water Purification Chip and ended the 'Find the Water Chip' quest.  Immediately thereafter, as the Overseer spoke, a sense of dread washed over me.  With the Water Chip now in his possession, he thanked me... and turned me away.  I was stunned.  I then LOL’d at what happened next.

Sitting there, I listened as the game narrated my impact on the world via a collection of pictures.

I was... affected.

Prior to ''Fallout'', I had been 'touched' by various video game experiences, but the emotions were typically happiness or exhilaration.  This was the first time I felt... sad.  Keep in mind, this wasn't a story-driven sadness resulting from the death of a secondary, well-loved character.  This was a sadness driven by 'personal rejection'.  My character traveled into the dangerous wasteland, became a monster to save the good people of Vault 13, and for my successful efforts... I had been cast out.

When I returned to work at [[New World Computing]] (NWC), I wanted to share the uniqueness of my ''Fallout'' experience.  I couldn't wait to discuss the game with someone... anyone.  After broaching the subject to several different people, it became clear... I was the only person at NWC playing ''Fallout''.  I was genuinely surprised.  Why wasn't everyone in this office playing ''Fallout''?

When Wednesday arrived, I caught [[Jon Van Caneghem]] (JVC) in his office.  There wasn’t any pressing game design to discuss, but I did want to talk about ''Fallout''.  It was laying the evolutionary groundwork for the future of RPGs, and if Jon wasn’t playing it, at the very least, I thought he should know about it.

 Me, “Have you tried ''Fallout''?”
 
 Jon thought about it for a second, "''Fallout''?  That's from Interplay, right?"
 
 Me, “Yeah.  Takes place after a nuclear war.”
 
 Jon's face soured, and he waved his hand, "Meh."
 
 Me, mildly taken aback, “Not interested?”
 
 Jon, “Not a fan of the genre.  Are you?”
 
 Me, “Uh... yeah.  Absolutely.  It's a unique universe.  There's also the ''GURPS''-like role-playing system, a huge number of branching storylines, and a reputation system.  There's a lot there to look at.  It's... honestly... the best RPG I've ever played."

Upon saying this, I realized, a little too late... I'd just slighted Jon.  I basically said, to his face, not a single ''Might and Magic'' was equal to the just-released ''Fallout''.  ''Might and Magic 3'' (MM3) was and is still my favorite RPG, but ''Fallout'' had built upon it and was, in my opinion, the current reigning king of the RPG genre.

While I had only known Jon for a couple of months, this was the first time I saw a blind spot in his creativity.  Jon's outright dismissal of ''Fallout'' was disconcerting.  Other companies were not only evolving technologically, but they were also advancing gameplay design.

''Might and Magic 6'' (MM6) was still in development and did not have ''Fallout''’s design depth.  Sure, it looked like a lot of fun, and to my understanding, in the years they were immediately available, MM6 actually outsold ''Fallout''.  Yet, NWC was quickly falling behind other developers regarding art, design, and technology.

It had been short two or three months since I joined NWC and [[3DO]].  Already, a seed of doubt had been planted regarding their shared future... and my future with them.

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