Dogmeat Almost Didn't Make It Into Fallout

Susan Arendt

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Jan 9, 2007
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Dogmeat Almost Didn't Make It Into Fallout

Though he eventually became one of the most iconic pieces of the Fallout universe, Dogmeat almost never made it into the game at all.

Dogmeat became a beloved companion in the Fallout series not only because he's a tough fighter that's great in a fight, but also because he's unwaveringly loyal to you. But as Michael Fiegel explains in this week's issue of The Escapist, some tricky tech nearly kept him out of the Wasteland completely:

If there is one person to thank for Dogmeat, it is likely Heinig. Tim Cain, Lead Programmer and Designer of Fallout and currently the Design Director of Carbine Studios' unannounced MMOG, notes that Heinig was the one who figured out how to get followers working in the first place. ("We never planned for them in the design," says Cain.) No followers, no Dogmeat.

Fiegel's article also makes it clear Dogmeat was inspired both by Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog, but what I'd like to know is whether or not Sam of I Am Legend is based on Dogmeat. True, one's a Blue Heeler and the other's a German Shepherd, but there definitely seems to be a bit of an homage going on -- or is that just me?

Be sure to catch the rest of Junktown Dog [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_211/6283-Junktown-Dog] in Issue 211 of The Escapist.



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scnj

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Nov 10, 2008
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The wasteland would have been a much lonelier place without him...
 

MercenaryCanary

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Jon Etheridge said:
Is sent him to get food and he never came back. I've always wondered what happened to him.
This somewhat made me laugh.
"Dogmeat? Dogmeat?! DOGMEEEEEAT!!!!!"
 

RebelRising

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Jan 5, 2008
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Meh. I liked him as a character, if only for the sole fact that he's a German Shepard, but I soon just ended up leaving him at my Megaton house for the rest of the game. He always gave away my position when sneaking, and he died incessantly. It was better off just to go solo.
 

7moreDead_v1legacy

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Feb 17, 2009
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I got Dogmeat...Then for some reason Dogmeat died, pretty much as quickly as you read this.

So unfortunately I never really got too know him.
 

Torque669

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What would happen if you told Dogmeat to find some Dogmeat?

I love Dogmeat though like a baby. Hes great and when I accidently had to put him down because he got stuck behind a rock I made sure he went out with a bang. The special fatboy which fires 8 nukes sort of "bang".
 

Sgt Doom

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I found him to be rather annoying, so when I found him I just left him at Vault 101's entrance.
 

GonzoGamer

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Thanks Heinig!
If it wasn't for Dogmeat, I would never have found the Firelance.

Wasn't dogmeat also in the original Fallout?
 

Valiance

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Jan 14, 2009
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Been my friend since Fallout 1...
I loved it when they brought him back in Fallout 2...

It didn't even make sense that he was where he was and is still there in Fallout 3, but the very idea was so awesome, I couldn't give a damn. I just told myself "the old ones had puppies and one of them somehow got from California to DC."

But yeah, he's my companion forever. I quicksave/quickload to make sure he doesn't die. But I wish I had him before I did the Dunwich building, lol.
 

Ayjona

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Susan Arendt said:
but what I'd like to know is whether or not Sam of I Am Legend is based on Dogmeat. True, one's a Blue Heeler and the other's a German Shepherd, but there definitely seems to be a bit of an homage going on -- or is that just me?
Boy, I knew Fallout was old, but I had no idea it was released before 1954.
 

Nincompoop

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Torque669 said:
What would happen if you told Dogmeat to find some Dogmeat?

I love Dogmeat though like a baby. Hes great and when I accidently had to put him down because he got stuck behind a rock I made sure he went out with a bang. The special fatboy which fires 8 nukes sort of "bang".
That was very sweet of you. He would have wanted it that way.
 

Susan Arendt

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Jan 9, 2007
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Ayjona said:
Susan Arendt said:
but what I'd like to know is whether or not Sam of I Am Legend is based on Dogmeat. True, one's a Blue Heeler and the other's a German Shepherd, but there definitely seems to be a bit of an homage going on -- or is that just me?
Boy, I knew Fallout was old, but I had no idea it was released before 1954.
Oh, don't be so snarky. If Sam was in the original version of I Am Legend, just say so. I've only seen the most recent version.
 

Flap Jack452

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I usually just kill Dogmeat in unusual ways when I get bored in Fallout 3. Always after I save though, I love that little guy!

But one day, tragedy occurred. I was about to go do some questing, so I told him to chill out at my house in Megaton. When I came back, he was gone, and I was never able to find him again. It was sad :(