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Todd Howard on Fallout 3
Mr. Teatime writes "I've interviewed Todd Howard from Bethesda about Fallout 3. It includes an editorial from DarkUnderlord, another staff member on the site. Todd mentions a number of new things, including the fact that they plan to use SPECIAL in Fallout 3." From the interview: "Fallout really set the standard for me on believable people, good dialogue, and character choice and consequence. With Elder Scrolls, we do aim for something enormous, and we simply can't focus on say - 20 to 40 really deep strong characters and just do them."
If it's done well, it really doesn't matter to me. Deus Ex (the original) was the perfect hybrid game. You had the action of a first person shooter, and the in depth character development and storytelling of an RPG. If Bethesda can pull off the same kind of thing with Fallout 3, it will just freaking rule.
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This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck. S.P.E.C.I.A.L. It also includes the "perk" system that's been imitated many times since.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
SPECIAL stands for:
l ligence
Strength
Perception
Endurance
Charisma
Inte
Agility
Luck
and is the RPG character system used in Fallout 1, Fallout 2 and Lionheart. (I think Fallout Tactics, too.) It's a lot like GURPS - that is, skill-based, with selectable advantages / disadvantages (why would you pick disadvantages? Because they have a negative cost, so you get more points for advantages, skill points and stats).
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Doubting their ability to actually pull it off is one thing, but that statement sounded like they did get it. They didn't say they wanted to make thousands of "unique" charecters for Fallout 3. He was comparing and constrating Elder Scrolls and Fallout, and at least to me seems to be expressing the fact that he does understand that Fallout is at a much more personal scale and had a small number of charecters that actually try to be somewhat realistic, unlike their previous games.
I'm still a bit cautious about Bethsuda having Fallout 3, but there's no reason to scream about how horrible it's going to be before it comes out, especally when they are trying to go down the path the fans want rather than the one they used for their other games.
Umm, from TFA, the question he's answering:
"What, in your mind, are some of the things that differentiate the Fallout games (ignoring FO: Tactics and FO: Brotherhood of Steel, which didn't happen) from the Elder Scrolls series of RPGs?"
He's describing the DIFFERENCES between Elder Scrolls and Fallout. I think it's quite clear that he does understand. You're the one that missed the point.
I was pleased to hear that they were planning to stick with the SPECIAL system since IMO that's one of the things that made the first (and second) so great. It allowed you to create whatever type of character you wanted, and the game felt quite different each time through as a result. Want to be a sharpshooter? Some points in agility gives your character more shots per turn, perception gives you better accuracy and a few points in luck result in a nice chance for a critical hit. How about a frontline melee character? Strength and endurance come in handy for that path, plus you can try your hand at boxing and become the New Reno boxing champ. Maybe you'd rather be a diplomat who talks his way through the surprisingly deep (and often hilarious) dialogue trees. Then you could try charisma and intelligence, and what you lack in personal combat ability is offset by your ability to recruit more followers. The fact that there were so many equally viable options was an important part of the originals, here's hoping Bethesda puts some effort into that aspect.
One of my bigger concerns is what the game will be rated. Bethesda hasn't put out anything with a rating higher than Teen (to the best of my knowledge). Will they follow suit with FO3? I just don't think it would be the same without the foul-mouthed NPC's and the glorious critical hit kills that blew your enemies, quite literally, to pieces. Oh and lets not forget the prostitutes and porn stars!
actually the perk system was taken out of the GURPS system. So it, in itself, is an imitation.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
The gore, the profanity, the illicit substances, the very mild pornographic elements are all that solidified the series into what it is.
Fallout without all of that would be like watching 'The Terminator' where the Cyborgs did nothing but help the humans and give them hugs when they feel sad, instead of being hell-bent on destroying humanity. (When I say that, I am talking about ALL the cyborgs being friendly to humans...)
If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
It's so sad to see a fan base become this bitter. In the article and in the posts here, all you see is complaining about Bethseda and even bashing Morrowind (wtf? awesome game)
Come on guys, remember where Fallout 3 was BEFORE this press release? Nowhere. You have a beloved franchise owned by a failing company who are NEVER going to be able to do anything with. Then, lo and behold, it's swooped up by a respectable, wealthy company that - gasp - specializes in roll playing games! What is your response? Jubilation? Praise? or... whining. Yeah.
Bethseda software, winners of a bajillion awards for Morrowind, swimming in cash, with another hit game due to come out soon, picks it up - and all you can do is bitch about camera angles?
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Role-Playing consists of having engaging stories, typically filled with engaging characters and well thought out plots.
Role-Playing games can easily become Roll Playing games, the opposite is not true about Roll playing games.
If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
So many times as to make me ill from hearing it, in that game. Almost every NPC greeted me the same way, there was a bit of a plot behind the beautiful engine, but little straight direction as to what to do and where to go to get things done.
Don't get me totally, wrong. The Morrowind, the Elder Scrolls was a great start to what could have been an amazingly awesome game. They had a level editor, they had slick graphics and some excellent opportunities for gameplay. They left out the Multi-Player bit, which ruined its long-term playability for me.
I have more fun with Neverwinter Nights then I did in Morrowind, the Elder Scrolls.
Heck, the game would have been hundreds of times better if they had included the ablity to have 3 other people join in a game with you. If they put that bit of code into Morrowind, it would have a rabid following, possibly larger then the following that Neverwinter Nights currently has.
If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
I don't know, from the quote, it sounds like he got the point dead on for the difference between Fallout and the Elder Scrolls and he was sensitive to the more immersive characters in Fallout.