Brevity
04-04-2003, 01:02 PM
Source: HomeLAN Fed Fallout: BOS Interview
The post-apocalyptic setting of Interplay's Fallout franchise has been used for two PC RPGs and a tactical strategy title. Now the franchise heads to the PS2 and Xbox console later this year with Fallout: Brotherhood Of Steel. In the first online interview about the game, HomeLAN got a chance to chat with Interplay producer Chuck Cuevas to find out more about their plans for Fallout.
HomeLAN - First, How did the idea for creating a Fallout console game come about?
Chuck Cuevas - The original Fallout was an RPG created for the PC back in 1997. People loved it – the post-apocalyptic world, the dark humor, the story, the characters, everything. Sequels kept that world alive for the fans, but this was all for the PC. We thought it would be a great idea to bring the world of Fallout to the consoles. One of our designers – a huge fan of Fallout – put together the idea for a console action game set in the Fallout world, a title that branches off the original series with new console-oriented game play in a really awesome setting, complete with underground vaults, super mutants, and turbo plasma rifles. Everyone was into it, thus we began to develop Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.
HomeLAN - Fallout has a huge cult following for many gamers. How does the following for this series affect the development of the game?
Chuck Cuevas - When we started discussing a Fallout console game, we looked at the fan sites and what they wanted out of future Fallout titles. The hardcore fans aren’t into consoles or action games, so we knew from the outset that some fans wouldn’t get into the idea. But at the same time, we felt that the Fallout universe is a rich, wonderful game setting, and many Fallout fans as well as console gamers who aren’t familiar with Fallout will love playing around in it. Many members of the current development team are Fallout fans. Many of the ideas incorporated into the story, art, and design come straight from Fallout 1 and 2. With all of this in mind, we took a different direction from the PC titles, putting together a game experience that appeals to a broad console audience (a group with different expectations than the hardcore PC gaming crowd). And in the end, we feel that what makes a game Fallout isn’t turn-based combat or sprites or a keyboard and mouse. It’s about a setting and storyline that’s going to be cool no matter what platform it’s on. Ultimately we’re hoping to broaden the appeal of the Fallout world so that we can make more Fallout titles for all platforms, all types of gamers.
HomeLAN - What can you tell us about the storyline for the game and how it fits in the Fallout universe?
Chuck Cuevas - The story takes place shortly after the events of Fallout 1, where the mutant army was defeated and dispersed, and the Brotherhood of Steel began to grow in strength. It begins with a Brotherhood of Steel initiate (the player character) sent out on a training mission – with no supplies. Traveling to the small desert town of Carbon, the player character is supposed to rendezvous with a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood in order to receive further instructions. But things get complicated. The Brotherhood officer doesn’t show up, and the player has to interact with people in the town to find out what happened. The townspeople have their own problems – raiders. What was supposed to be a training mission turns into full-scale battle.
More locations and characters figure into the story as the player tracks the Brotherhood officer across the wastes, running into a cult of ghoul fanatics, psychotic malfunctioning robots, and a powerful faction of the super mutant army.
HomeLAN - What sort of playable characters will be available in Brotherhood of Steel?
Chuck Cuevas - Currently there are three characters available at the start of the game, with a couple of extra characters for the player to unlock as well.
Nadia is a female Brotherhood initiate who grew up in a rough urban area with no parents and few friends, stealing and foraging for money and food. One day a troop of Brotherhood soldiers came to town, cleaned out the trash, and fed the hungry. When they left, Nadia followed them and joined the Brotherhood of Steel. Nadia specializes in small arms and quick maneuverability.
Cyrus is a Brotherhood initiate who grew up in a semi-tribal farming community. This community had its share of problems with raiders, radscorpions, and the like, but was finally devastated by the mutant army when he was just a boy. So, like a lot of adrift-in-the-wilderness youths, he wandered briefly, hearing stories about the defeat of the mutant army and the forces that opposed them. It was inevitable that Cyrus would go to join the Brotherhood of Steel. Cyrus is good at hitting hard and handling big guns.
There will be a third playable character, but we’re going to keep people in suspense about specifics right now.
HomeLAN - What kinds of weapons and items will be featured in the game?
Chuck Cuevas - Lots and lots of items, ranging from stuff cobbled together from post-apocalyptic junk to standard military issue to sleek implements of mass destruction straight out of 1950’s sci-fi. There are three main classes of weapons – melee, ranged, and explosive. In the melee class, the player can find and use anything from bare knuckles to a Power Fist, from a rusty shiv to a giant Plasma Saw, from a spiked baseball bat to a gleaming Super Sledgehammer (which knocks enemies around like they were helium balloons). In the ranged class, you’ve got your guns. Pistols, machine guns, shotguns, flame throwers, rocket launchers. But there’s more than the conventional stuff; there are plasma pistols and home-made laser rifles and lots more. And then there are the explosives. Lots of different types of explosive devices that you can toss over a sandbag wall or set up as a trap on the ground. The diversity between the types of weapons and how the player can use them makes for some great variety. And not only can the player use lots of different weapons, but he can develop his skills in different classes, depending upon his preferences. Then there’s the different sets of armor, stimpacks, drugs, and so on. Really tons of stuff for the player to collect and use throughout the game.
The post-apocalyptic setting of Interplay's Fallout franchise has been used for two PC RPGs and a tactical strategy title. Now the franchise heads to the PS2 and Xbox console later this year with Fallout: Brotherhood Of Steel. In the first online interview about the game, HomeLAN got a chance to chat with Interplay producer Chuck Cuevas to find out more about their plans for Fallout.
HomeLAN - First, How did the idea for creating a Fallout console game come about?
Chuck Cuevas - The original Fallout was an RPG created for the PC back in 1997. People loved it – the post-apocalyptic world, the dark humor, the story, the characters, everything. Sequels kept that world alive for the fans, but this was all for the PC. We thought it would be a great idea to bring the world of Fallout to the consoles. One of our designers – a huge fan of Fallout – put together the idea for a console action game set in the Fallout world, a title that branches off the original series with new console-oriented game play in a really awesome setting, complete with underground vaults, super mutants, and turbo plasma rifles. Everyone was into it, thus we began to develop Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.
HomeLAN - Fallout has a huge cult following for many gamers. How does the following for this series affect the development of the game?
Chuck Cuevas - When we started discussing a Fallout console game, we looked at the fan sites and what they wanted out of future Fallout titles. The hardcore fans aren’t into consoles or action games, so we knew from the outset that some fans wouldn’t get into the idea. But at the same time, we felt that the Fallout universe is a rich, wonderful game setting, and many Fallout fans as well as console gamers who aren’t familiar with Fallout will love playing around in it. Many members of the current development team are Fallout fans. Many of the ideas incorporated into the story, art, and design come straight from Fallout 1 and 2. With all of this in mind, we took a different direction from the PC titles, putting together a game experience that appeals to a broad console audience (a group with different expectations than the hardcore PC gaming crowd). And in the end, we feel that what makes a game Fallout isn’t turn-based combat or sprites or a keyboard and mouse. It’s about a setting and storyline that’s going to be cool no matter what platform it’s on. Ultimately we’re hoping to broaden the appeal of the Fallout world so that we can make more Fallout titles for all platforms, all types of gamers.
HomeLAN - What can you tell us about the storyline for the game and how it fits in the Fallout universe?
Chuck Cuevas - The story takes place shortly after the events of Fallout 1, where the mutant army was defeated and dispersed, and the Brotherhood of Steel began to grow in strength. It begins with a Brotherhood of Steel initiate (the player character) sent out on a training mission – with no supplies. Traveling to the small desert town of Carbon, the player character is supposed to rendezvous with a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood in order to receive further instructions. But things get complicated. The Brotherhood officer doesn’t show up, and the player has to interact with people in the town to find out what happened. The townspeople have their own problems – raiders. What was supposed to be a training mission turns into full-scale battle.
More locations and characters figure into the story as the player tracks the Brotherhood officer across the wastes, running into a cult of ghoul fanatics, psychotic malfunctioning robots, and a powerful faction of the super mutant army.
HomeLAN - What sort of playable characters will be available in Brotherhood of Steel?
Chuck Cuevas - Currently there are three characters available at the start of the game, with a couple of extra characters for the player to unlock as well.
Nadia is a female Brotherhood initiate who grew up in a rough urban area with no parents and few friends, stealing and foraging for money and food. One day a troop of Brotherhood soldiers came to town, cleaned out the trash, and fed the hungry. When they left, Nadia followed them and joined the Brotherhood of Steel. Nadia specializes in small arms and quick maneuverability.
Cyrus is a Brotherhood initiate who grew up in a semi-tribal farming community. This community had its share of problems with raiders, radscorpions, and the like, but was finally devastated by the mutant army when he was just a boy. So, like a lot of adrift-in-the-wilderness youths, he wandered briefly, hearing stories about the defeat of the mutant army and the forces that opposed them. It was inevitable that Cyrus would go to join the Brotherhood of Steel. Cyrus is good at hitting hard and handling big guns.
There will be a third playable character, but we’re going to keep people in suspense about specifics right now.
HomeLAN - What kinds of weapons and items will be featured in the game?
Chuck Cuevas - Lots and lots of items, ranging from stuff cobbled together from post-apocalyptic junk to standard military issue to sleek implements of mass destruction straight out of 1950’s sci-fi. There are three main classes of weapons – melee, ranged, and explosive. In the melee class, the player can find and use anything from bare knuckles to a Power Fist, from a rusty shiv to a giant Plasma Saw, from a spiked baseball bat to a gleaming Super Sledgehammer (which knocks enemies around like they were helium balloons). In the ranged class, you’ve got your guns. Pistols, machine guns, shotguns, flame throwers, rocket launchers. But there’s more than the conventional stuff; there are plasma pistols and home-made laser rifles and lots more. And then there are the explosives. Lots of different types of explosive devices that you can toss over a sandbag wall or set up as a trap on the ground. The diversity between the types of weapons and how the player can use them makes for some great variety. And not only can the player use lots of different weapons, but he can develop his skills in different classes, depending upon his preferences. Then there’s the different sets of armor, stimpacks, drugs, and so on. Really tons of stuff for the player to collect and use throughout the game.