In the harsh wasteland of Fallout, a generation of gamers discovered who they are.
Before you answer that question, really take the time to think about it.
The question isnt Who do you think you are?
or Who do you want to be?
Its Who are you?
At the very least, it doesnt have to.
No, the question of who you are is one that you answer every day.
You answer it with what you say and what you do.
If it seems almost impossible to truly answer, thats because it is.
After all, who among us plays a role so often that we are comfortable defining ourselves by it?
This is a lesson that takes many people years to learn and fully appreciate.
Yet,Fallouttaught it to the entire gaming industry on September 30, 1997.
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They allowed players to participate in the kind of adventures previously limited to the pen and paper format.
It certainly didnt help that many developers were still relying on the increasingly familiarD&Dstyle of rules.
Innovations in that field may have helped make up for shortcomings elsewhere.
It was called the Generic Universal RolePlaying System (or GURPS).
At some point, that project became known asFallout.
Life is cheap and violence is all there is.
That sentiment didnt sit well with Jackson.
According toFalloutexecutive producerBrian Fargo, Jackson objected to the games violent nature and didnt want GURPS associated with it.
Interplay backed out of their deal and requested that a new ruleset be quickly developed to replace it.
This is the origin ofFallouts iconic SPECIAL system.
Special is the best way to describeFallouts approach to character building.
Some of the least important contributions you will make to your characters identity occur on the initial creation screen.
Such logic is fairly common by modern standards, but the impressiveness ofFallouts methods goes well-beyond their historical significance.
In fact, you might argue thatFalloutimplements organic choice making better than most modern titles.
The quality ofFallouts intuitive role-playing can largely be attributed to the quality of the games writing.
Combative players will soon discover that The Master is significantly tougher than any other enemy in the game.
Its also possible to join The Master.
Falloutcasts you as a wanderer in a harsh wasteland.
As cruel as this world is, its also a blank canvas.
Theres a real sense that your actions can make a difference.
After all, what good is a canvas if each artist cannot convert it into his/her own vision?
In an ideal world preferably a pre-apocalyptic one such qualities would have madeFallouta global gaming sensation.
For that matter, neither were many of the early CRPG games.
It was a true role-playing experience that didnt ask Who are you?
and trusted you to honestly answer that question.
Instead, it offered a world where actions speak louder than any dialogue tree or chromatic karma bar.
Regardless, the role you ended up playing was always one of your own creation.
