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Bethesda ignored Fallout nutjobs when making Fallout 3 photo

Bethesda has come under fire from many an obsessed Fallout lunatic, accused of ruining the game by daring to take it in a new and interesting direction. Anything that isn't exactly like the Fallout of yesteryear is treachery and should be destroyed. Well, Bethesda has wisely chosen to ignore the lunatic fringe, instead concentrating on its own vision for the Fallout IP and waiting for opinions from those playing the game, not those who refuse to play it because they're too busy pretending to be fans of the series.

"You have to take feedback from the people who are actually playing the game," explained Bethesda's Pete Hines, who also had this to say when asked how much input his team had taken from fans:

"Not much. When you're designing a game, you have this group of people on the inside who are working on it every day and who know everything about the decisions that are being made. You don't just take a chunk of that, throw it out to the community and say, 'We don't know how this question works, so let's ask the fans.' You're working and changing every day - it's a constant, fluid process. It's not like we say, 'Okay, everything is done now, let's see what they say then go back and change it.'

We're big believers in playing the game, putting things in and then letting folks see how it feels, as opposed to 'Oh, that sounds terrible!' It turns out that ideas that sound terrible, when slightly tweaked, can be f**king awesome in the game. And it's sometimes the case that awesome-sounding ideas will suck when you actually put them in. You're never a slave to how something is written on paper - you put it in the game an play it. You have to take feedback from the people who are actually playing the game."

Sounds like a good plan. Let's face it, if Bethesda had listened to "fans," we'd have a carbon copy of the very first Fallout game. Then people would complain that Bethesda had done nothing new.








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43 comments | showing # 1 to 43
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vexed alex's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 14:38
vexed alex
Agreed, Mr. Sterling. Agreed.
Darren Nakamura's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 14:45
Darren Nakamura
Also, they should use fewer colors. Oh wait, I'm getting my irrational rabid fanbases confused.
Knigge's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 14:49
Knigge
Good for them, because everything I saw from that game at PAX looked fucking rad, even if it does feel like Fallout: Oblivion Edition. Which ain't a bad thing at all.
TUoAnonymous's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 14:51
TUoAnonymous
Excellent closing note.

I've been a Fallout fan for longer than I can remember now, anything in the isometric view would have been perfect admittedly - but that is the exact reason Interplay went bye-bye, nobody is going to buy a game like that bar a very small nieche audience.

Morrowind, Oblivion, both seem nieche games on the surface, however I know from my experience in sales that despite those initial impressions they are played by all sorts of players, from casual shooter, to hardcore sports fan.

A combination of the Elder Scrolls style and the truly amazing Fallout setting can only be a success, and will appeal to a much larger audience than that which the Elder Scrolls had. First because it will be an immediate purchase for any Elder Scrolls or RPG fan, but with the addition of guns it will also appeal more to the less expected audience.

Yes, it will upset some of the more obsessive fans. But, I bet people were peeved when they killed off Uriel Septim. People were mad when they played MGS2 as Raiden. People were sceptical of GTA making the transition to 3D.

There's always going to be people who cuddle their metaphoric teddy-bear of memory in the corner, who can't accept change. There's always going to be elitists who nobody can please, and Bethesda were completely right to ignore them. The series needs new fans.

Can't please all the people all the time.
GuitarAtomik's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 14:54
GuitarAtomik
What TUoAnonymous said.
stevesan's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 14:55
stevesan
Well, there's clearly a continuum between.... ah fuck it. I'm getting old.
Tull's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:02
Tull
Funny thing about the lunatic fringe gamers. If bethesda did follow their feedback and the game turned out to be awful, thse same fringers will complain that Bethesda shouldn't have listened to them or that they didn't understand what the fringe wanted.

Like fringe on clothing...they're meant to be cut off and tossed away as useless.
sinny's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:02
sinny
well they didn't hear Elder's scrolls fan when making oblivion...
then game sells and everything is alright except that oblivion was worst than the previous elder's scrolls games.
Then they do shivering isles and i forgive them .
I will wait to play the game , but i think that bethesda can find a center between what the fans want and what a "gears of war fan" wants....
heretrix's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:03
heretrix
From what I've seen it looks fucking amazing. I can't wait to play it. I wasn't happy that they changed it to an FPS, but I realize that this isn't Interplay's Fallout, it's Bethesda's.

I'm willing to give it a chance because I thought Oblivion was pretty good.

(I know, I suck right? Fuck you)
Scientist tz's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:04
Scientist tz
I wouldn't have bought an isometric turn-based new version of Fallout. I will eagerly buy the game they actually ended up making.
mix's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:26
mix
What GuitarAtomik said...

I love the Fall Out 2 (and tactics from what I can remember) and I am damn excited to try this game out as, so far, I like the ideas behind it and where they went with it.
Timmeh's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:37
Timmeh
Because every Fallout fan wants a shitty isometric game that looks like it was made in 1990 hurr hurr amirite?

Some people just would have liked a sequel that was based more on the predecessors (minus graphics) than on Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and dumbed down for the lowest common denominator. It's totally awesome that it's possible to play the game as a straight up FPS without ever realising it's really supposed to be an RPG right? It's great that despite the initial denials of Fallout 3 being Oblivion with guns this is how it is essentially being talked about by Bethesda now (including, according to several sites the same things that underwhelmed with that game).

I guess it's more amusing to ignore all the more constructive criticism that's been written about the game and just mention the smaller number of people who have convinced themselves that the only good Fallout is a carbon copy of the first two.
Timmeh's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:46
Timmeh
Not that this doesn't look interesting of course, I'm sure it'll be worth a purchase (even if it's a pre-owned one) but I'm disappointed that this is going to be how the next few Fallouts are.
CountingConflict's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:47
CountingConflict
BEST GAME OF PAX... no discussion
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 15:48
Holyetheline
Dude I am so glad they're doing their own thing with this game. It can only turn out amazing in the hands of Bethesda.
Stonedfox's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:03
Stonedfox
I think sinny has the wrong view on the game, I only see a resemblance to gears of war through the level of gore and...human characters I guess. In reality, they are balancing old and new ideas. They have the general vibe, story, and ideas from the original game, but it's been rehauled for a new generation. People are mad about this, why?
Phantom Spaceman's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:08
Phantom Spaceman
And thank God they did. As someone who never played the first two Fallouts when they were new, I have a perspective on them untainted by nostalgia.

The games themselves are unintuitive and hard as balls(A wide-open world to explore isn't that fun if absolutely everything in it fucking obliterates you in seconds).

Besides that, the visuals are boring as hell, and no I don't mean ZOMG NO BUMP MAPPING AND SHINY SURFACES. I mean for all it's highly-touted retro-futuristic/art-deco style, the majority of the games is just the same tiled brown one story building or tiled bunker environment. Add a shitty isometric perspective that blocks everything and these games are about as immersive as Wii Music.

I tried to love them, I really did. I am however, looking foward to Fallout 3 with a fervor that would drive me to eviscerate baby seals if it would speed up the release date.
MechaMonkey's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:11
MechaMonkey
Fallout fundamentalists fear farce, Bethesda bypasses boisterous bigots.
the_real_one's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:22
the_real_one
the most rabbid Fallout fanboy site ever: nomutantsallowed.com their forums show appear in comedy central!
Paroxysm's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:24
Paroxysm
"This weapon turns you hand into a LITERAL battering ram"
followed by
"Now this door is locked so we'll have to use our lock picking skill"

Of course all criticism must be by rabid fanboys who just want a carbon copy of the original fallout because there's no way that Fallout 3 isn't ball licking perfect is there Jim?
Jetsetlemming's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:25
Jetsetlemming
You mean Fallout 2. Fallout 1 is seen by the raving fans as a nice start to what was made into gaming perfection for the sequel.

Also it's FAR from just those people who have complaints about Fallout 3. The color pallet and in general graphics are really lacking (I can forgive a nuclear wasteland being all grey and brown. But why the fuck was the inside of Tennpenny Tower entirely mustard!?), the gore looks retarded, character models fall apart way too easily and the ragdolls are unnatural, and that whole qurestline about blowing up the town was retardedly played out. Dude tells you to blow up the town in public, in front of the bar patrons, you tinker with the unexploded unclear bomb in front of everybody without anybody caring, and then you blow up a nuke only a short distance away in a nearby pristinely kept tower that is remarkably undamaged despite an atomic bomb going off nearby.
Fallout 3's got a lot of promise but there are plenty of complaints and issues to be had thus far.
spiderfish's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:37
spiderfish
Rule of thumb:

Sensational title => Jim Sterling

and I never miss!
Kyvon08's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:39
Kyvon08
We'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. Though the outcome is looking quite obvious.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:40
king3vbo
As a rabid Fallout 1 and 2 fanboy, I have every confidence that Fallout 3 will be amazing. I played it at PAX and it blew me away
Phantom Spaceman's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:52
Phantom Spaceman
@Jetsetlemming: Nitpicky much?
balth's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:57
balth
I will only buy an isometric turn-based new version of Fallout.


.

..


...


Aw shit, who am I kidding? GOTY! 11/10!

that is all.
burzumy's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 16:59
burzumy
I really like Fallout 1 & 2, and therefore I'm psyched that the series is continuing at all, particularly in the hands of what I consider to be a responsible and talented developer.

Also, people who complain about games that they haven't played themselves are lame, punctuation-hating basement dwellers. As Jetsetlemming already proved.
Jim Sterling's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 17:00
Jim Sterling
"Of course all criticism must be by rabid fanboys who just want a carbon copy of the original fallout because there's no way that Fallout 3 isn't ball licking perfect is there Jim?"

Yes that is exactly what I said.
Eschatos's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 17:08
Eschatos
I'll admit I wish it was more RPGey and less Shooterey, but the game will still no doubt be amazing.
AngelsDontBurn's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 17:08
AngelsDontBurn
I agree with Phantom Spaceman, that's pretty much classified as being nitpicky. The gore? The ragdoll? That's not going to effect the game at all. I think the game is going to be amazing. Sure, alot of people may be tired of the FPS genre nowadays (I'm not) but it's the best way to put a player in the character's shoes. I'm looking forward to it, big time.
Krow's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 17:16
Krow
@AngelsDontBurn

There was gore in the original Fallout's. A lot of it.

I'll be happy with this new direction for the series as long as they keep the trademark dark humor intact.
Murumasa123's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 17:55
Murumasa123
Whats with all the hate?
Honestly no mutants allowed is useful for finding out the latest on the game that will be GOTY if you ignore some of their comments on how Bethesda raped their mothers. And for downloading mods like the restoration pack and original copies of the game so peopel like me who are desperate to get their fix on the fallotu world can play the original two.

Only thing I can complain about is the lack of child killing. Which if they had in prey (and I didnt like it in a horror setting0 why cant they have it in fallout?
ATuin's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 18:00
ATuin
Are there elves in this? Cause I'd like to shoot them. Oblivion with guns and funny is just plain fucking awesome sounding.
Capn Birdseye's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 18:00
Capn Birdseye
@ heterix - Oblivion is one of the best games ever made. Don't let the haters get you down, they don't know shit.
the_real_one's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 18:07
the_real_one
ok time to go on forums of nomutantsallowed.com i'm putting the popcorn in microwave...
the_real_one's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 18:22
the_real_one
LOL those fanboys...
http://lookongames.blogspot.com/2008/09/lol.html
Click on the pic to enlarge, u have scroll down a bit.
Kyousuke Nanbu's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 18:37
Kyousuke Nanbu
Good, listening to your fans is a terrible idea, everytime some property gets remade or a movie of some comic or whatever comes out its the same shit, people want one thing that caters to their every whim and that one thing will never work.

If someone started making a game and left all choices in the hands of fans, it would be the most ridiculous game on the planet.
Sharpless's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 20:00
Sharpless
Exactly as it should be. Too many cooks spoil the broth. Listen to your fans, but never let them dictate what you do.
scorpius's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/03/2008 21:51
scorpius
YES! This is so great of Bethesda. By ignoring the Fallout freaks, they have successfully pulled ahead of the curve and give us something original. Kinda.
swiftly's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2008 01:57
swiftly
I only played through the original Fallout for the first time this year, and loved it but a 2008 isometric Fallout game?. That was never going to happen as Bethesda is a business, not a fanboy charity. Oblivion with guns would be fine by me, as long as Bethesda has hired some actual writers to do the script, some actual actors (and more than four of them) to do the voices and some animators that can actually animate more than 4fps.
The Amazing Shenazin's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2008 11:50
The Amazing Shenazin
people complaining about Fallout 3 and the lack of "grimdark" in Diablo 3 (despite supposedly wanting more color in games) proves the internet is fucking retarded
Aziel13's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/05/2008 00:22
Aziel13
Fudge them
fudge them all
gimme my Fallout3
The Grudge's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/05/2008 19:51
The Grudge
I am under whelmed by this new take on the Fallout series. This of course is based on the few videos of gameplay I have seen. I am hoping for the best. I definitely am a fan of the Fallout games, having played 1 and 2 and thoroughly enjoying both. I hope I am proved wrong with regards to the reservations I have of the game, and it turns out to be a GOTY quality game.
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