I have never played Fallout.
Mostly because the last time a Fallout game was released, I still had to ask my mum for permission to use the computer, and my dad for permission to use his feature phone.
I did not know Fallout existed until Bethesda announced their first-ever E3 press conference; everyone started getting excited about the long-awaited next instalment of Fallout, while I, on the otherhand, was self-evidently the clueless gamer with an incalculable amount of apathy towards all of it.
Therefore, for Fallout 4 to prove its relevance to the uninitiated like myself, Bethesda has to make a few well-intentioned efforts to capture our unadulterated hearts and minds.
1. What in the blue hell is Fallout?
I have absolutely no idea. I know it’s a video game that a lot of people have been looking forward to for many years, but what the heck is it? Everyone can just say “play the games,” but when you only have a laptop that crashes every time its processor and graphics card from the previous decade chokes on itself, playing the games just isn’t a viable option. Plus, one would need to invest a significant amount of time to play through all the games in the series.
Reading the wikis seems like a good alternative, but what do we really get out of reading something that should be experienced interactively? Bethesda has all the tools to both refresh the memories of fans and educate the minds of outsiders on Fallout lore step-by-step, and it would be a missed opportunity if Bethesda doesn’t at least try to get people up to speed about why Fallout is as important as it is to so many.
2. Not another open-world RPG
A beautiful open world with a plethora of things to do, characters to interact with, and choices to make; we’ve heard this many, many times. These days, every triple-A game seems to have an open world with a story that is either lackluster or brilliant. With so many open-world games being released, one can’t help but feel a sense of open-world fatigue, where we’re just tired of traversing these huge worlds that seem to burst at the seams with tiresome things to do.
Bethesda needs to get Fallout 4 out of that tedious hole and show people that the game isn’t just another open-world RPG where players have to go around doing stuff that might not matter in the long-run. Bethesda needs to show that Fallout 4 provides a wholesome experience that matters, and isn’t just your typical dragon-killing fantasy with unrealistic story arcs. If Bethesda doesn’t prove it can innovate, then why play Fallout 4 when we have a ton of other RPGs we can sink our teeth into?
3. What are we supposed to do?
Are we supposed to fall out with people? Are we supposed to find fallout? Or maybe we’re supposed to fall in love? Outsiders like me could use a little help from Bethesda in knowing the goal of Fallout 4 and what we’re supposed to achieve in the game.
Once Bethesda reveals what kind of story we’re going to play through, some might be put off by their approach, while others might be attracted to their new concept. Ultimately, people will be informed of what Fallout 4 entails, and will be able to decide whether or not it’s worth their time. By letting people make these decisions, Bethesda can get more eyes on Fallout 4, and, as the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity.
4. Not another shoot-and-kill
Most importantly: gameplay. If the game isn’t fun to play, it’s boring; simple as that. Bethesda needs to demonstrate that Fallout 4 isn’t just a run-of-the-mill shoot-and-kill kind of deal. There has to be unique mechanics and sophisticated systems that keep the player involved to entice newcomers to the series. Many games make the same mistake of just giving players all kinds of different weapons without changing anything intrinsic in how the game is played.
Outsiders want to know that how Fallout 4 is played changes according to how players choose to play the game. The ability to approach enemies and environments in any number of ways is attractive, and Bethesda would do right to craft that special experience in Fallout 4.
After years of excitement, Fallout 4 has finally been revealed. We might not have been given much information from the first trailer, but with the full reveal coming up at Bethesda’s E3 Showcase on June 14th, we are expected to know much more of a game so highly-anticipated for half a decade. Me? I’m looking forward to knowing more of something I know nothing about, so for now…
Please Stand By.
