Poll: Why do you like Fallout? A poll.

[FalloutJack]

Backstory:
This poll is of significance as I'm attempting to show that what can be deemed as an ultra violent game can be appreciated and enjoyed for reasons other than violence.

A lot of study goes into how violent video games make people want to act violent so I'v decided to do my FTV study/poll on...giving gamers a chance to speak up for their game choice. Fallout is the best example for this because:

1: Of the Bloody mess perk especially

2: The First Person Shooter is highly advanced

3: It's got a large and diverse fanbase

4:: It's the most highly developed example of games as a story telling and artform medium.

Just respond on why you like Fallout, why you play it, whether you agree violence in games affects you and whether you agree with the results.

I personally believe that rather than violent video games create violent kids, violent kids like violent video games and the "Studies" have it backwards.

I will be writing an exam on this so please keep your replies reasonably legible.

Well, you have to understand, of course, that the violence IS part of what I enjoy about it. There's no denying that. However, I'm also one of thos advocates for violence in games being theraputic, not catalytic, if you follow what I mean.

Still...the first thing, of course, is that I'm not even properly evil in the games. What I am is an adventure-nut. I like getting in and out of situations in acts of out-smarting the enemy and general cleverness. If not the direct approach, then the sneaky one. I like accomplishing goals and finding ways to do it that maybe even the game hadn't anticipated.

Even more, I am an explorer-nut. Okay, SO...you know how there is an area past Sloan in New Vegas which is choked with Deathclaws, right? As in, there are warning signs and people tell tell you and if you miss all that you DIE, because you're not strong enough? Yeah, so I decided to go around it. ALL THE WAY around it. I avoided Primm Pass for the same reason: Deathclaws. Thus, I dealt with all manner of smaller threats just to get around the big one and had myself a blast.

Aside from that, there is the funny and the weird and the creepy stuff. Fallout is known for it. Random stuff, pulled in there for a laugh or done to bring up the terror level. They're like Easter Eggs, of course. I like the little extras in the first two games AND the newer ones. Fallout 3, for instance... In one Vault, you have hallucinagenics screwing with your mind, making you see things. In another, a whole mess of clones all named Gary who say nothing but "Gary!". Crazy fun.

This help?

 

[Mr.Numbers]

http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=25887

For an idea of what I was reffering to as people who make these criticisms

 

[Alssadar]

The bloody mess just gives +5% weapon damage to all attacks. I don't see why anybody would have a problem with it, I find it quite useful for a being versatile with any time of weapon. It isn't game breaking, but nonetheless, a good perk to pick for any wastelander trying to survive.
Also, I just like the barren wasteland, post-apoc setting, where I am the deciding factor among the ruins of America. I also appreciate the 1950's anti-Commie setting for it's amusing jabs, along with the soundtrack that helps me snap my fingers while unloading my laser rifle into the skull of a drug-crazed raider.
In some alignment with the beginning of the above statement, I like the wide open spaces, and all the places I can go while my computer chugs along at a bearable pace. It's filled with unique and memorable places/characters that I appreciate, and will spend probably another 239 hours in (Combined from both FO3 and NV).

 

[Gaiseric]

I like the setting, the music, the atmosphere, the gear, saving the wastes, and the roaming around.

 

[Top35]

I love Fallout because it gives me a wide open world that feels like a dark and crushing place, but it also makes me feel like I can fix it a little piece at a time. Another reason I like it is because it lets you play it how you feel, without restricting you to a class or morality.

 

[Scorpid]

I like Fallout because, when i played Fallout 1 i was like 10 or 11. And the game with it's the intro took me from simple thinking of a child to thinking like a adult.

War. War never changes.

The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth. Spain built an empire from its lust for gold and territory. Hitler shaped a battered Germany into an economic superpower.

But war never changes.

In the 21st century, war was still waged over the resources that could be acquired. Only this time, the spoils of war were also its weapons: Petroleum and Uranium. For these resources, China would invade Alaska, the US would annex Canada, and the European Commonwealth would dissolve into quarreling, bickering nation-states, bent on controlling the last remaining resources on Earth.

In 2077, the storm of world war had come again. In two brief hours, most of the planet was reduced to cinders. And from the ashes of nuclear devastation, a new civilization would struggle to arise.

A few were able to reach the relative safety of the large underground Vaults. Your family was part of that group that entered Vault Thirteen. Imprisoned safely behind the large Vault door, under a mountain of stone, a generation has lived without knowledge of the outside world.
Life in the Vault is about to change.

EDIT: Btw my brother is six years older and bought it for himself. So being a little brother, when he wasn't around or didn't care i simply jacked that shit and had a genuine experience that i could never forget.

EDIT2: Also before Fallout i had played the standard games a child of the late 90's played. Mario, Zelda, Sonic, you get the picture. It was the first game i ever played that asked questions of the player like "What is it to be human?" "Does war matter compared to the cost?" "What is the cost of all this rapid technology growth?" "Are Americans that much better then those people we look down on?". It was dark in a sea of video game's smiling icons. Those sorta scenarios that they put you in, in the first and especially second fallout game were simply mind blowing to my child like thoughts

 

[Yokai]

I like it because of its brilliant retro-futurist setting. The idea of a future inspired by the ideas of the 1950s, the Cold War and McCarthyism included, is both an amazing and terrifying idea, and the exploration of what that society would be like in ruins is even more interesting. I don't know if the series always takes full advantage of its setting, but the premise alone is brilliant.

On top of that, it's a sort of quintessential RPG with a massive amount of choice when it comes to how you want to play. You can be an armored knight with a giant sword, a stealth-focused sniper, a bullet-spraying Rambo type, a monster slayer, a bounty hunter, a merchant, a gangster. And then some. It's wonderful how versatile the gameplay is, that all these things are an option.

And finally, I love the fact that I can punch a robot's head off while wearing a party hat.


As for violence in games--while I think it's likely desensitized me, it's only to violence in games. I still get squeamish with extreme violence in movies, and in real life it's horrific, as it should be. I will say that my gaming habit has made me lazier and more easily distracted, which is unfortunate, but I'm actually less aggressive and mean than I was when I was a kid. By a long shot.

Video game violence might have an effect on some people, but these people are likely very impressionable and/or stupid. I am not one of them.

 

[ChupathingyX]

Well, Fallout 1 because it presented an interesting look on the errors of humanity and what some people (or horribly mutated people) would do to fix these issues.

Fallout 2 was a more laid back and humourous approach filled to the brim with cultural references, this could be a good and/or bad thing. One thing that's for sure is that Fallout 2 had some really well written and voiced characters.

Fallout Tactics I haven't played so I can't really judge.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel doesn't exist.

Fallout 3 was a big disappointment and had all of the bad characteristics of Bethesda games such as Oblivion. The RPG elements were weak, the morality was too black/white, the story was extremely weak and there were plenty of lore inconsistencies.

Fallout: New Vegas was great because it implemented politics and society into its story and told a story of the issues that arise from a working society filled with power that growing civilisations would just love to take control of. It featured more grey morality and many hidden messages with various factions and characters, the companions in general were great and the way all of the DLCs are connected to the Mojave is a very nice feature.

To sum up I just love the whole story of rebuilding society and the factions and people that become involved...I always love a little politics in my games.

 

[Raddra]

I love exploring the wasteland.

Atmosphere is superb.

 

[tehlordofmyownworld]

It has a cool backstory,cool world, and I just generally like most aspects of the series.

 

[Ruedyn]

I love seeing what the mod community can do with a game, and fallout 3 and NV have great modding communities. Also the world in DC and the politics of New Vegas.

 

[Nightmar263]

The bloody mess just gives +5% weapon damage to all attacks. I don't see why anybody would have a problem with it, I find it quite useful for a being versatile with any time of weapon. It isn't game breaking, but nonetheless, a good perk to pick for any wastelander trying to survive.

The problem with the Bloody Mess perk has nothing to do with the damage bonus. Besides the 5% bonus, (which is pretty nice) the perk also causes enemies to explode whenever they're killed (well, all their limbs fly off and their head pops like a balloon) no matter how you kill them.

 

[Nightmar263]

I love all the little stuff they add in the game world.

As this is a really vague comment, I'll specify. In a typical outing you're likely to run across several interesting side...things. Stuff Bethesda adds in the game but never draws attention to in any way.

In a typical outing you'll run across a fridge stuffed with a stylish skeleton, a farm producing nothing but tumble weeds, or a (bethesda) building filled with unnerving flashbacks and vanishing bodies.

It helps add depth to the world. You get the sense that interesting things happened before you showed up, and that (surprise!) the world doesn't revolve around you, which is pretty rare in a video game.

 

[shadowshian]

oh for a moment i thought your referred the first fallout not fallout 3. now im dissapointed

 

[C-Mag]

http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=25887

For an idea of what I was reffering to as people who make these criticisms

Ahahaha! Them! I was introduced to that site after following a criticism of a game. I can't remember exactly what the site said but there were things about Satanism, homosexuality, pedophilia and, most importantly, genetic engineering.

The game? Minecraft.

I read the title and thought "You are shitting me!". A few seconds later I thought "Yes. Yes he is shitting me." I have come to the conclusion that it is a massive hub for a community, hundreds strong, who do nothing but satirise evangelical Americans.

OT: I like the FO games for all sorts of reasons. Probably the biggest one is the atmosphere and setting. This is why, on the whole, I like FO3 better than NV. Say what you want about the (crappy) story, Bethesda really knew how to build a game world. The Mojave felt boring and empty by comparison.

 

[Mr.Numbers]

oh for a moment i thought your referred the first fallout not fallout 3. now im dissapointed

It's about the entire series.

 

[Robertus2210]

I like the idea of the lawless wasteland, survival of the fittest, might makes right kind of deal.

having your pc being able to survive and even thrive in such an world gives a nice sense of accomplishment.

i like to play through them in a true merc style. taking any job without worrying about the karma gathering caps,guns,ammo and whatever else is needed to sit comfortably on the top of tree to look down at the rest of people.

in my opinion no fallout embraced this idea as much as fallout 2. you could do just about anything you damn well pleased. new reno being the best place of all, I loved that town of sin and everything you could do in it.

 

[Sir Boss]

1. the atmopshere.
2. the setting.
3. the loot.
4. companions (particularly in NV)
5. the ability to talk myself out of any situation.

 

[SillyBear]

I LOVE Fallout.

The only thing I don't love about it is a few problems in continuity. Like the fact that after 200 years society has barely rebuilt. Fallout 3 was fantastic, but the wasteland was unrealistically chaotic. I guess you can argue that humanity is rotten to the core and "war never changes" but come on - houses are still just lying there in wreck? No one bothered to clean anything up?

I dunno, it just doesn't make much sense to me. But I LOVE it!

 

[Reaper195]

The 1950's feel never really attracted my attention. Don't get my wrong, I don't actively dislike it, but I also don't actively like it. I find it simply an add-on. Fallout 3 was really the first RPG game I played, with the aside of FF7/8 and Fable 1. I had tried Oblivion, but got tired of the medieval setting extremely quickly. Had I not already known of Lord of the Rings, you could have had half the stuff from that series in Oblivion and I wouldn't have known they were two different things. Fallout 3 was an RPG that played like it should have been set in medieval (Considering it's massive similarities with Oblivion), yet was in a somewhat modern, post-apocalyptic world. By modern, I mean the game uses guns, metal buildings, etc. Yes, there are laser beams and robots, but that stuff is a lot closer than swords and bows and arrows and kings and psychic guards.