Fallout (video game)
A 1997 post-apocalyptic role-playing game by Interplay Productions.
Fallout (also known as Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game) is a 1997 role-playing video game developed and published by Interplay Productions. Set in a mid-22nd century post-apocalyptic and retro-futuristic world, it follows the Vault Dweller, a canonically male protagonist who must scour the wasteland for a computer chip to fix their vault's water supply.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Fallout
- Developer
- Interplay Productions
- Producer
- Tim Cain
- Designer
- Christopher Taylor
- Programmer
- Tim Cain · Chris Jones
- Artist
- Leonard Boyarsky · Jason D. Anderson · Gary Platner
- Writer
- Mark O'Green
- Composer
- Mark Morgan
- Platforms
- MS-DOS · Windows · Mac OS · Mac OS X
- Genre
- Role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Fallout was conceptualized by Tim Cain in 1994, initially based on the GURPS role-playing system. After Steve Jackson Games objected to the game's violence, Cain and designer Christopher Taylor created the SPECIAL character customization scheme. Interplay initially gave the game little attention but eventually spent $3 million and employed up to thirty people to develop it. The game was considered the spiritual successor to Interplay's 1988 game Wasteland and drew artistic inspiration from 1950s Atomic Age media, as well as the films Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog. Quests were intentionally made morally ambiguous. After three and a half years of development, Fallout was released in North America in October 1997. Notably, the game's protagonist, the Vault Dweller, is canonically male.
Reader's Guide
Fallout received acclaim for its open-ended gameplay, character system, plot, and setting. It won 'Role-Playing Game of the Year' from GameSpot and Computer Games Magazine and was nominated by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences at the Spotlight Awards. Commercially, it sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Often listed among the greatest video games of all time, Fallout has been credited with renewing consumer interest in the role-playing video game genre. It spawned the widely successful Fallout series, the rights to which were purchased in 2007 by Bethesda Softworks.
Did You Know?
- The SPECIAL system was created after Steve Jackson Games objected to Fallout's violence.
- The game's currency is bottle caps.
- The main antagonist is the Master, leader of the Super Mutants.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who developed and published the original Fallout game?
Interplay Productions handled both the development and publishing roles for the title, which launched in 1997.
What is the basic premise of Fallout (1997)?
You play as the Vault Dweller, a canonically male character who must trek across the wasteland to locate a replacement computer chip that will restore his vault's failing water supply.
What genre and setting does Fallout (1997) belong to?
It is a role-playing video game set in a mid-22nd-century post-apocalyptic world with a distinctly retro-futuristic aesthetic.
Who is the protagonist and what drives their story?
The player takes on the role of the Vault Dweller, a canonically male character whose central quest is to find a specific computer chip to repair the water system of his underground vault.
Why is the 1997 Fallout game considered significant in gaming history?
It established the foundational universe, mechanics, and tone that went on to spawn the entire Fallout franchise of subsequent titles.
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