Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game

Steam News · Aug 22

Fallout dev Tim Cain says we should pay more attention to bad games: '[Publishers] often don't learn from failure because they only look at the games that sold well'

"Jesus Christ, I could write this shit:" The great Alan Moore once said that the sort of negative inspiration you get from reading drivel is even more fruitful for aspiring authors than the kind you get from reading the classics. Fallout co-creator and prolific video blogger Tim Cain took it a step further in a video he published Wednesday, saying everyone from bigwig publishers to the casual game...

Steam News · Aug 17

Even though turn-based and real time RPGs 'have their loud, vocal advocates,' Fallout developer Tim Cain thinks they both have a place in the genre

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, legendary developer Tim Cain weighed in on one of the great RPG debates: Turn-based, or real time? But Cain doesn't see it as a zero sum game, instead staking out a sensible, radical moderate position on a topic that can prompt forum knife fights... Read more.

Steam News · Jun 12

Microsoft is looking to speed up development of future Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo games

The resuscitation of Xbox has begun in earnest, but there's still much to be done, and still great uncertainty: Console exclusives are back but to what extent remains unclear, and of course the "reset" for a better future will almost certainly mean putting hundreds of people out of work. And it's possible that even bigger things could happen: A new report from The Information (via Reuters) says Mi...

Steam News · May 22

Fallout lead Tim Cain argues games industry crisis hasn't reached the level of the 1983 crash: 'I don't think there's ever been a worse time in the games industry'

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, veteran RPG developer Tim Cain shared his memories of the 1983 videogame industry crash. In particular, he emphasized that, although bad⁠—like, really bad⁠—he doesn't believe the current employment and studio closure crisis matches the impact of the infamous '80s collapse... Read more.

Steam News · May 16

Fallout's creator reveals you could have played as a snoring cow hater who believes in UFOs, had Black Isle stuck with its original licensed roleplaying system

The character system used in Fallout is famously based upon its roleplaying system called SPECIAL. But this wasn't always the case. In fact, for most of the original game's development, Fallout's mechanics were based upon a licensed, table-top roleplaying system called GURPS, which, yes, sounds more like a digestive tract disorder than a TTRPG ruleset... Read more.

Steam News · May 8

Immediately after putting The Elder Scrolls in Fallout 4, hero modder gets Fallout 1 working on the Pip-Boy too: 'This was so heavily requested, I couldn't pass it up'

Modder RPGKing117 has had a busy month: He committed the blasphemy of putting Skyrim quest markers in Morrowind, achieved the triumph of cramming Morrowind into Fallout 4, and has no come back for one last job: Making Fallout 1 playable on Fallout 4's Pip-Boys and assorted vacuum tube, monochrome computer terminals... Read more.

Steam News · May 2

Fallout designer Tim Cain thinks influencers have changed how people make and play games: 'more people seem to be abdicating their own judgement to that of people they see online'

In a new video on his YouTube channel, veteran RPG designer Tim Cain outlined how he's seen the internet change games and game development, from the first message boards to the ubiquity of streaming content. As with everything, there are pluses and minuses, but he seemed deeply concerned with the state of commentary about and around games... Read more.

Steam News · Apr 22

Fallout co-creator says non-linear design is all about never assuming how players will act, illustrates his point by fantasising about an NPC guard he seems to really hate

Fallout co-creator Tim Cain has a new video going over some of his principles for game design, and as you might expect has some strong opinions on the intersection between design intention, and what players actually end up doing... Read more.

Steam News · Apr 18

We owe Fallout's existence to an admiral and his officers teaching its designer to play D&D in 1979

In a new video on his YouTube channel, RPG veteran and Fallout Designer Tim Cain talked about the first time he was ever exposed to Dungeons & Dragons, a pivotal influence on the developer: Some of his mother's coworkers showed him the ropes all the way back in the Carter administration. Oh, and they happened to be high-ranking US naval officers... Read more.

Steam News · Apr 10

Former Bethesda artist says 'every single developer' has already brought up 95% of the complaints that made it to launch, but as Todd Howard told him, 'we can't do everything'

Bethesda games certainly aren't lacking in launch issues—the presence of charming bugs and funny physics glitches are sort of the studio's maker's mark at this point, although with the lukewarm reception of Starfield, that reputation's also begun to tip over into subpar features, too... Read more.