Fall Ahead

The new Fallout looks a lot like the old Oblivion, but how does it play?
8/1/2008 5:11 PM | 3 Comments | Page 3 of 5

Crispy Gamer: So on the action/adventure scale, where does Fallout 3 fall, and why did you decide to work it that way?

Hines: It's whatever you make of it. If you want to spend all of your time talking to people and trying to avoid combat, go right ahead. If you want to run around like a psycho blowing things up and killing things, you can do that, too. We don't try to tell the player what to do, we just give them lots of options and let them decide how they want to have fun.

Crispy Gamer: Besides Oblivion and the previous Fallout games, what other games would you consider to be big influences on the gameplay of Fallout 3?

Hines: We find we are the sum total of all our experiences. Whether it's a sports game, or a shooter, or a puzzle game, you can always find things you like in other games to inspire you. The way they handle inventory or interfaces or what the sky looks like in their game -- you never know where you might get a good idea.

Crispy Gamer: Over time, your guns in the game will wear out and ultimately become less accurate. First off, how quickly will that happen? Am I going to have to buy a new gun after every battle?

Hines: All weapons in the game degrade over time. Many are beat up when you first find them. You either have to repair them yourself using your Repair skill, or find people who can repair it for you. It's not an immediate thing, but as you use a weapon you can see it start to degrade at what feels like the right level. So you have to find more of that weapon to repair it yourself, or pay someone to do it. If you have to do it after every battle, you're probably wasting a lot of ammo and are a terrible shot. It doesn't happen that fast.

Crispy Gamer: You can also combine old weapons into new ones, and to even make weapons out of ordinary household items. How difficult will it be to do this? Am I going to need an advanced degree in mechanics?

Hines: It's based on your skills, ability to find a schematic for one of these unique weapons, and all the parts it requires. If you stink at Small Guns, you aren't going to be able to create the unique Small Guns weapon.

Crispy Gamer: So have you figured out how many possible weapons there are in the game?

Hines: Over 50 at last count.

Crispy Gamer: You guys have talked before about how people can play as good guys, bad guys, or some combination. How exactly does this work? Do you run into situations where you can pull the left trigger to help someone or pull the right trigger to hurt them, or is it less obvious than that?

Hines: It's handled on a situation-by-situation basis. How you choose to solve problems and quests, whether you help people or hurt them or take advantage of them. We make it so the player knows what kind of choices they're making and the consequences/results of those choices are appropriate and satisfying to them.