Friday, November 27, 2015

News & Views
11/21/15-11/27/15

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! I’ll keep things brief here today—I’ve got lots of holiday weekend relaxing still to do. So enjoy a hearty selection of great gaming writing below and see you all here again soon!

And of course you can check out the brand new episode of The Impact Factor podcast that was posted today! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or if you prefer other methods, check out our SoundCloud. We’re on YouTube too!

Spotlight
Colin Campbell, Polygon

Worth Reading
Keith Stuart, Eurogamer

Maddy Myers, The Mary Sue

Ed Smith, Kill Screen

Alex Wawro, Gamasutra

Bryce Duzan, Paste

With Comments
Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer
This is something I’m constantly struggling with in Fallout 4. The RPG experience has been simplified in so many ways, yet the game still relies on an archaic encumbrance system. I say without exaggeration it’s my least favorite part of the game.

Brendan Sinclair, Gamesindustry.biz
Imposter syndrome is prominent in biomedical science research. I’ve felt it often. This interview gave me a fascinating insight into the same feeling in the video game industry. Like I posited at the onset of this blog, research science and gaming have a lot in common.

Javy Gwaltney, Paste
From my limited time with the beta, Star Wars Battlefront was a beautiful but hollow experience. It looks like that same feeling comes across in the final release, too. What’s interesting about Gwaltney’s piece, though, is he interpretation of the shallow nature of the game: how it facilitates Battlefront as the perfect licensed game. A nostalgia factory. It’s an interesting take on an uncommon issue in the games space.
The Impact Factor Ep. 30: Team Justine
Podcast

Welcome to the 30th episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!

Please send your suggestions and feedback to: impactfactorpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode Alex and Fliss talk about blacklisting, PlayStation 2 emulation, Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne, Divekick, Bust a Groove, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, Neko Atsume, Game of Thrones & more!

 
For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com
For a blog about Japan, pop culture & more from Fliss, check out:
www.flissofthenorthstar.blogspot.com
Follow Alex @alexsamocha on Twitter. twitch.tv/megalodonphd
Follow Fliss @
thecfliss on Twitter. twitch.tv/flissofthenorthstar

Intro song:
You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License)
freemusicarchive.org/music/Indonesi…s_Compilation/
Transitions:
News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License)
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148785/
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148784/
Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)
freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/143994/

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Filled With Determination
Review
Undertale, Toby Fox (Mac)

Abstract: Undertale is easily one of the best games I’ve played all year. Toby Fox’s old-school inspired 2D role-playing game simultaneously exceeds and subverts expectations, be they narrative, game design, or otherwise. Undertale’s emphasis on the lingering impact of violence manifests itself in a gripping story and an innovative battle system: you can talk your way out of every encounter. Undertale is a peerless experience and serves as a perfect example of the power of auteurship in games. It’s one you shouldn’t miss.

I was in a hostile world, but not one without purpose. The echoes of damp caverns, the crunching of freshly matted snow under my feet, the bubbling and whizzing of a molten research lab. I saw and heard a lot throughout my journey, during which my resolve was tested and morality questioned. Undertale’s sweeping old-school JRPG introduction let me know I was in for a tremendous odyssey. What I didn’t know was how profoundly affecting my quest would be.

Undertale had the unfortunate weight of high expectations. I was a little late to the party. The game’s release was met with a small suite of glowing reviews from some of the voices in gaming I respect the most. They all pretty much said the same thing: Undertale is a game that subverts expectations, is exceedingly charming, and offers an unexpected commentary on the nature of violence in games. So, yeah, the bar had been set pretty high. Not only that, but Undertale is also a game that draws inspiration from perhaps my favorite genre: mid 90’s 2D Japanese role-playing games (JRPG). To live up to the hype, then, Undertale had to be an exceptional RPG on top of having an excellent story and a metanarrative on gaming as whole. I’m so happy to write here that Undertale both met and exceeded expectations.

Before I get into the meat of the review, I wanted to include a quick disclaimer: Undertale is a game that’s exceedingly difficult to meaningfully talk about without revealing the game’s many excellent twists, turns, secrets, and narrative surprises. Undertale is one of those games you should know as little as possible before going in. I’m glad I did. For that reason, I paid extra attention to keeping this review spoiler free. So I apologize if parts come off a bit vague.
 
Worry not! I keep things spoiler free. Undertale is best when you know
little to nothing about the game's plot.
Undertale opens with your young protagonist falling down a gaping hole in the ground, stranding the young human child in the world of monsters. Long ago there was a terrible war between humans and monsters that tore apart a once united world. Using the power of their souls, humans killed the monsters by the thousands, handily winning the war. As a result, monsters were banished to the underground, imprisoned below the surface by a seemingly impenetrable magic barrier. The monsters rebuilt their life in the dark, tainted by a lingering hopelessness and antagonism towards their human conquerors. As a human, the player finds themselves tasked with navigating this alien world in an attempt to make your way back to the surface. Very early in your journey you learn that there is an unexpected complexity to the monsters: they’re not just bloodthirsty creatures, but rather a group of diverse, sometimes funny sometimes friendly sometimes scary, individuals. Undertale’s roughly eight hour play through will take you throughout the underground, meeting friend and foe alike, as you try to decipher exactly what’s going on and how you can find your way home.

Your time with Undertale is largely defined by one impactful choice: how do I fight against the challenges with which I’m faced? Is there a way I can achieve my goals without resorting to violence? This is Undertale’s most significant design decision: it is an RPG you can beat without killing anything. You can kill, absolutely. But for the most part, the game encourages you not to. Everything and everyone you meet has a purpose, a personality, and feels like it exists outside of your interaction with it. Unlike so many other RPGs before it, where killing is the norm and your enemies are either maniacally evil or an undefined opposing force, Undertale is different. The game asks the player to think about what violence means and the effects it can have on those on the receiving end. The typical RPG hero is a genocidal maniac, with a kill count in the hundreds or thousands by the end of the game. Undertale provided an incredible feeling that, for the first time, I had agency in how I approached a hostile world. Because I (mostly) didn’t kill, I actually felt heroic. Every decision I made had weight to it—nothing was thoughtless.
 
Yeah, I'm a hero. No biggie.
This non-violence manifests itself in a thoughtful reimaging of combat encounters. Undertale redefines the very idea of a ‘battle’. All enemies you face, be they random encounter or boss, can be approached in one of two ways. You can ‘FIGHT,’ attacking your foe with your weapon and killing them. Damage is determined by an on-screen timing mini-game, where you need to press a button when a fast moving line is at the center of the screen. The other option? ‘ACT.’ ACT gives the player the ability to talk to their enemies—ask them about their life, laugh at their jokes, applaud them, pick on them, etc. Say the right thing the right number of times and the monster will be pacified, allowing you to ‘SPARE’ them. While you’re working to either kill or subdue the monster, they attack the player. Their attacks take form as a bullet hell mini-game. You control a heart-shaped cursor within a small box on the screen, which you’ll need to move around to dodge enemy projectiles. The system isn’t explained in any great detail, but it’s something I got the hang of pretty fast. Defeating enemies is all about memorizing their pattern of projectiles, knowing how and when you can move your heart around to avoid being damaged. The bullet-hell system is clever and, for the most part, fun.
 
Guide your heart through Undertale. Will you fight or talk?
I particularly enjoyed the boss fights, during which new & novel elements were added to your standard dodging. For example, in one boss fight, instead of freely moving, your cursor is given a weight and sent to the bottom of the box. You’re not dodging in the same way anymore, as this new mini-game tests a different skill set (it felt more like a platformer). All major boss battles dramatically change up the combat experience and were fun to figure out. All the former praise aside, though, the bullet-hell system was my least favorite element of the game. Dodging can be extremely difficult—to the point where I heard several game critics gave up because it was simply not worth the trouble. I consider myself fairly skilled at bullet-hell mechanics, and even I had a few frustrating moments on my way to finishing the game. Anyone who knows me knows I love a difficult gaming experience, but it has to fit within the core design of the game. The terrifyingly tough bullet-hell sections in Undertale worked counter to what I felt was the purpose of the game: to immerse you in this fascinating world and tell you a phenomenal story. Undertale still spectacularly succeeds in it’s goals, but a slightly toned down bullet-hell system would have been a boon to the experience.
 
I hope you like dodging. It can get pretty tough.
Speaking of story and world, Undertale is an unmitigated success. The writing in particular is one of the game’s clear strong points. Dialogue is witty and sharp. Characters felt well defined, whether your interaction with them was brief or prolonged. The world is diverse but cohesive. Undertale’s story can also be appreciated on many levels—it’s a game where the truth, the full depth of the narrative, is obscured by complexity. Undertale asks the player to dive deep and pay close attention to your endeavors, as even brief interactions can shed light onto what’s truly happening in the world. Unfortunately (for some of you out there), you cannot get every single piece of information in one play though. This didn’t bother me at all, however. My time with the world was memorable and affecting. It told me a story I hadn’t quite experienced before and answered a lot of the big questions I had at the start of the game. Lingering questions remained, but I was happy to let those stay in the ether. My Undertale was compact, concise. Excellent. Maybe one day I’ll go back for the rest. To avoid getting into any spoilers here, I’ll stay vague. But Undertale is a game that tries (and succeeds) at saying something meaningful about violence, trust, loss and love. It also offers a great metanarrative about how we play games, what it means to kill in a RPG, and player expectations of core gameplay mechanics. Perhaps most impressively, Undertale accomplishes all of this while still being a game that’s actually fun to play.
 
I enjoyed my conversations with everyone in Undertale. Yes, even the
shopkeepers. The writing is so good.
Undertale isn’t content to just subvert narrative expectations, though. It messes with the very vehicle of games too. Old standbys like an experience system and save points are tweaked in new ways. Undertale also has a few moments in which it breaks the fourth wall, commenting on the experience of playing a game. The game was also designed to remember when you quit: characters in-game will sometimes change based upon how & when you exit out of Undertale. Certain actions cannot be undone, to the point where playing a certain way can permanently change the world in all future play throughs, regardless if you play differently later. Undertale also messes with its own established rules. There’s one boss fight early in the game, for example, that seems impossible to complete without resorting to violence, which goes against what the game has been trying to get across to the player. Figuring everything out, and seeing how Undertale constantly tries to make you think about the nature of games, is fascinating.

When looking at the games space as a whole, Undertale has easily been one of the most impactful games of the year. It’s a game that’s spawned so many great discussions about game design, narrative, and more. Undertale has people thinking and critiquing games on a deep level. It is an accomplishment that should not go unacknowledged. Even as I wrote this review, huge topics darted around my mind. Like the dissonance between killing and narrative in Undertale, how the game balanced childlike wonderment with tough as nails bullet-hell & what that’s trying to say, the meaning of full plot revelations being locked behind doing things the game explicitly tells you not to do, or how Undertale has an accessible maturity.

Finally, critical analysis aside, Undertale is a game that was a joy to experience. I felt a warmth inside while playing. For brief moments I felt transported back to my childhood, sitting three maybe four feet from a small CRT TV playing Tales of Destiny or Chrono Trigger. Undertale is also so, so funny. I laughed out loud more than a few times while playing. Undertale is genuine, sweet, and hilarious. It also has the best soundtrack of the year. Seriously, go listen to it. It’s a game that I didn’t want to end, like when you wake up to a cold morning and don’t want to get out of bed.
 
Not much more to say. Undertale is amazing.
Undertale blew me away. It simultaneously exceeded and subverted expectations. It’s at once funny, tragic, engaging, complex, frustrating and rewarding. Undertale is a perfect synthesis of smart game design with a story worth telling. Undertale is fantastic. Go play it.

Undertale
5/5

Monday, November 23, 2015

TIF Plays: Fallout 4! [3]
Gameplay

Fallout 4 is already shaping up to be one of the year's biggest releases. I'm a big fan of Bethesda open world RPGs, and ever since its announcement I was chomping at the bit to head back into post-nuclear war America. In this series of TIF Plays, I explore, kill, loot, and more! Stay with me for the journey. Check out an archive of my stream linked below, and be sure to catch me when I go live by following me on Twitter (@alexsamocha) and Twitch (MegalodonPhD) Enjoy!

TIF Plays: The League of Explorers! [2]
Gameplay

The League of Explorers is the latest adventure that's made its way to Hearthstone. With 4 wings bringing 45 new cards, the league seeks adventure and booty! Here's part 2 of a 4 part series, in which I tackle the many challenges the new adventure has to offer! Check out an archive of my stream linked below, and be sure to catch me when I go live by following me on Twitter (@alexsamocha) and Twitch (MegalodonPhD) Enjoy!

Friday, November 20, 2015

News & Views
11/14/15-11/20/15

Finally! The experiment week to end all experiment weeks is coming to an end. I suppose that’s a slight exaggeration, but when you do 3-4x as many samples than you’ve ever done in one week, you would be tired too! Thankfully I’ve had the amazing Justine and Fallout 4 to keep me sane.

News & Views is back, as always, with a meaty selection of great writing about video games. Check out the links below for stories about Until Dawn as an interactive movie, how AAA games have stopped innovating, the dissonance of violence & narrative in Tomb Raider, and an argument that you cannot be evil in Fallout 4.

And of course you can check out the brand new episode of The Impact Factor podcast that was posted today! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or if you prefer other methods, check out our SoundCloud. We’re on YouTube too!

Spotlight
Karen Russell, The New Yorker


Worth Reading
Adi Robertson, The Verge

Thomas KL, In the Games of Madness

Josephine Maria, FemHype

Patrick Klepek, Kotaku

Simon Parkin, Gamasutra

With Comments
Stephen Totillo, Kotaku
This is one of the most important pieces that has been written all year. The industry has struggled for a long time to establish its identity. Most coverage of video games is modeled off entertainment writing: with reviews, previews, & other heavily PR/marketing guided content. A handful of individuals, several of whom work at Kotaku, have been attempting to bring ‘real’ journalism to games. It’s an argument I can see both sides of. I applaud Kotaku for bringing the issue to everyone’s attention.

ZiggyD Gaming, YouTube
ZiggyD presents an interesting question: can you truly be evil in Fallout 4? Gone is the morality system of games’ past, and almost no one reacts (or remembers) your unscrupulous actions. It’s certainly something I’ve noticed as well. As a counterpoint to his argument, though, I’d propose that your companions help to define the player’s morality. For instance, ‘evil’ actions are reflected in companions’ disapproval. Kill someone innocent or steal or use drugs, and you’ll be audibly scolded by your traveling buddy. They will also like you less. Regardless, I’m glad there’s already great Fallout 4 discussions happening around the web.

Patrick Klepek, Kotaku
Oh man oh man. I almost forgot about this game. Thanks for helping me remember, Klepek. I sank an embarrassingly large number of hours into Teras Kasi. Luke was my main (his unblockable, homing, highly damaging super Klepek writes about may or may not have been the reason why). I can still hear the announcer saying ARDEN LYN. Good times. Bad game, but good times.

Ben Croshaw, The Escapist
Croshaw is known for his inflammatory statements. He even has a show devoted to (mostly) ‘telling it like it is’ about new AAA releases. That said, I found myself largely agreeing with what he writes here. AAA releases often feel comfortable more than actually interesting. I find my novel ideas, gameplay, and other innovations in the indie space. It’s been nice.

Illusory Wall, tumblr
The interconnectedness of Dark Souls’s world is one of the best elements of one of the best games ever made. This article is extensive and fantastic. I’ll let reddit user dratyan speak for me here:
 What really makes Dark Souls a masterpiece IMO, by perfectly uniting all its elements, is the world of Lordran. Its cohesive design made me question every videogame world I'd experienced up to that point. From the wastes below the backbone of the land up to the very top of the tallest tower of the tallest castle, the world's vertical and intrinsic design never fails to maintain its authenticity and unimpaired flow. After transversing the map not too many times, I could - and still can, months after actively playing the game - definitely draw a convincing transcription of it, with all its shortcuts and intersections. It's amazing.”

I couldn’t agree more.
The Impact Factor Ep. 29: No, Zeldo Is The Boy
Podcast

Welcome to the 29th episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!
Please send your suggestions and feedback to: impactfactorpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode Alex and Fliss talk about Nintendo, Zelda, Star Fox Zero, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Super Smash Bros, Valkyria Chronicles, Dragon Fin Soup, Fallout 4, Star Wars Battlefront & more!

 
For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com
For a blog about Japan, pop culture & more from Fliss, check out:
www.flissofthenorthstar.blogspot.com
Follow Alex @alexsamocha on Twitter. twitch.tv/megalodonphd
Follow Fliss @
thecfliss on Twitter. twitch.tv/flissofthenorthstar

Intro song:
You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License)
freemusicarchive.org/music/Indonesi…s_Compilation/
Transitions:
News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License)
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148785/
freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148784/
Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)
freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/143994/

Thursday, November 19, 2015

TIF Plays: Fallout 4! [2]
Gameplay

Fallout 4 is already shaping up to be one of the year's biggest releases. I'm a big fan of Bethesda open world RPGs, and ever since its announcement I was chomping at the bit to head back into post-nuclear war America. In this series of TIF Plays, I explore, kill, loot, and more! Stay with me for the journey. Check out an archive of my stream linked below, and be sure to catch me when I go live by following me on Twitter (@alexsamocha) and Twitch (MegalodonPhD) Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Nuclear Bomb: The Fallout Effect
Article

Abstract: Fallout 4 was one of the year’s most anticipated games before it was even officially announced. The game profoundly commanded the narrative of the industry: fans and critics alike. Fallout is part of a small, elite group of IPs that are able to elicit a reaction so strong it defines the present and future of gaming. But why Fallout? What made these IPs so impactful? I argue it comes down to four things: peerlessness, developer trust, chronology, and nostalgia.

Not many games are the biggest release of the year before they’re even officially announced. In fact, the number of titles could probably be counted on one hand. The thought of one of these games gets critics giddy, YouTubers shouting from the mountaintops, and fans foaming at the mouth. It’s a strange and fascinating phenomenon of the video game industry. A select few titles hit like a nuclear bomb. Only a few IPs can elicit such an effect. 2015 saw the release of one of these infamous titles: Fallout 4.

Fallout 4 is a game everyone saw coming. Bethesda Softworks had been quiet for quite some time following the release of their previous title, Skyrim. Speculation, and excitement, had been running rampant in the months (even years) leading up to the game’s official teaser. You had forums claiming they found websites about the game, alleged former Bethesda employees ‘leaking’ information, and fake screenshot after fake screenshot. So it should come as no surprise that Fallout 4 was a hit before anything was even shown. The moment that the “Please Stand By” site was posted, everyone already knew what his or her most anticipated game of the year was. No contest.

'Please Stand By': Fallout is going to be foremost in your mind
 from June through the end of the year.
This excitement dominated the narrative of the industry’s biggest event: the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). It was no small feat. In my several years of follow E3 coverage, the ‘biggest’ game is almost always some surprise announcement. Like Watch Dogs or The Division from E3’s past. Or if we took at look at this year’s E3, a game like the Final Fantasy 7 Remake or Horizon Zero Dawn. But that was not the case this year. Fallout 4 dominated. Fallout 4 released their first trailer two weeks before the show. It showed fans exactly what they wanted to see: the game was more of the Fallout they know and love. By the time E3 2015 got rolling, Fallout 4 was (mostly) a known entity. The game was shown off in a substantial way at Bethesda’s Sunday night press conference. The on-stage demo showcased improvements to the base game systems, new gameplay modes, improved graphical fidelity, and the semi-unexpected confirmation that Fallout 4 would release this fall. When it came time to give conference awards, Fallout 4 cleaned up shop. In spite of not announcing the game at the event, and showing what everyone pretty much expected, Fallout 4 ignited an excitement that only a precious few IPs can muster.

E3's game of the show could have easily been Horizon or The Last Guardian or
FF7 Remake. But for most, it was Fallout 4.
The Fallout effect continued well into the Fall as we neared the game’s November 10th release. New releases were big, but none of them were Fallout. You found this everywhere. Critics would say how much they loved playing Metal Gear Solid V or Until Dawn, but in the very next breath mention how they’re still eagerly awaiting Fallout. Some of the fall’s biggest releases have been swallowed whole by the excitement surrounding Fallout. Despite great review scores for several of this year’s marquee titles, all had remarkably short news cycles following (and even leading up to) their release. Halo 5, despite being the first new Halo game in 3 years, had excitement that lasted about a week or two. Treyarch’s sequel to one of the most beloved Call of Duty games, Black Ops 3, had little to no time in the spotlight. Rise of the Tomb Raider struggled to get even let fans know the game had shipped. And that’s all because of Fallout 4.  2015 has been one of the best years in gaming in recent memory, and even still, many of the great games that came out can’t escape the power of Fallout. The power of a game that shipped 12 million units in one day. A game that sold nearly 2 million digital copies in three days.

It's competition may be as strong as a Deathclaw, but Fallout 4 has power armor
and a mini gun. It's opponents didn't stand a chance.
No matter how I think about it, the hype for games like Fallout 4 is a strange phenomenon. As I alluded to in the opening of the article, only a few handful of IPs are able to command this kind of all encompassing attention. Some would argue the franchises that have this impact are subjective. I can agree to a certain extent. I’d argue, however, that there are a precious few IPs that are objectively ‘nuclear bombs.’ Namely: Fallout, Grand Theft Auto, and The Legend of Zelda. Small spin-offs aside, each new entry into these three franchises drums up a fervor that’s unmatched in the industry. The create a kind of excitement that fuels massive surges to console purchases, break sales records, or are the largest entertainment release of the year. But why these three? It’s a question that I couldn’t get out of my head in the weeks leading up to Fallout 4’s release. Why does a new GTA or Zelda or Fallout dominate so much of the games conversation? Why are the fans of these franchises so passionate, so vocal, and so large in number? Why couldn’t I stop myself from feeding into this hype cycle?

Mini nuke? Nah. Just Fallout 4 hitting stores.
After much reflection, I came up with four reasons why I think Fallout, and it’s group of elite peers, are ‘nuclear bombs.’ I’ll touch on each briefly.

Peerlessness

Want to know the number one reason why I was (and am) so excited for Fallout 4? Because no other game I’ve played can provide me with the same kind of experience. Many other games have tried, but none have been able to create as compelling a setting, as content dense a map, and as rich an open world as Bethesda RPG’s. Fallout has no competition for the type of experience it provides to you. The skill with which the team at Bethesda puts their games together is incredible. They are able to create worlds that you want to get lost in. Every piece of content in their immense games feels meaningful. The world is filled with secrets both obvious and obscure, both exciting and tragic. Fallout allows you to role-play to the fullest extent. You have full control of all character customization, skills, stats, morality, weapon preferences, armor, and many more.

I have mixed feelings about open world games, generally. So many open worlds are bland, lifeless. Exploring and playing them often feels like an excise in tedium. One of my chief complaints about ‘bad’ open world games is locomotion: how fun it is to get from point A to B is paramount. That’s because the space between A and B is usually devoid of interest. Fallout 4, and Bethesda RPG’s generally, make every single square inch of their world worth spending time in. You’ll find hidden stories, great loot, new allies, and more. No other open world game, even some of the best (The Witcher 3 or Infamous) can replicate this feeling. Every aspect of Fallout synergizes to create an unmatched experience.

Many have tried, but there's nothing quite like Fallout.
Developer Trust

The fervor for Fallout 4 began as early as it did because the game’s developer, Bethesda Softworks, has a long and (mostly) spotless history of great games. Developer trust is a significant part of why Fallout is part of such an elite group of franchises in the gaming industry. To put it simply: you know exactly what to expect when you boot up your copy of Fallout 4. You can trust the game will be massive, content rich, gripping. Most importantly, you know that it will match or exceed the quality of previous entries. Bethesda hasn’t released a bad Fallout. Bethesda hasn’t pulled the wool over fan’s eyes with a suboptimal game. Every Bethesda RPG, every modern Fallout game, has that same stamp of quality. This is where so many other IPs are unable to achieve the notoriety that Fallout or GTA or Zelda have been able to achieve. One bad game release, or even one particularly egregious element in an otherwise great game, can sink the franchise. As a quick example: Mass Effect. Despite BioWare creating an extraordinary new series, missteps with the third game’s ending and issues plaguing some of the studio’s other releases resulted in the erosion of trust. Though excitement is still high for Mass Effect Andromeda, it hasn’t and won’t reach the same levels as Fallout 4. The developer trust isn’t there. I felt justified in my excitement for Fallout 4 because I had confidence it would achieve the same level of excellence as Fallout 3 or Skyrim. And, in my 15 or so hours that I’ve been able to play so far, I can confidently say that my assumption was right. Bethesda doesn’t release bad games.

You see this logo? You can be confident in knowing that the experience will meet expectations.
Chronology

Want to play a new Fallout game? A new GTA or Zelda? You’re going to have to wait. But in the case of these IPs, that’s a very good thing. There are many games that, in my opinion, are as good or better than Fallout games. There isn’t a Fallout title in my top ten games of all time. I can say without exaggeration, however, that Fallout 4 was my most anticipated game of the year ever since it was announced. It had been so long since I’ve played Fallout. It’s been seven years since the last game in the series. Fallout 3 released when I was a freshman in college; Fallout 4 released during my fourth year in graduate school. That’s a long time. A lot has happened. It’s given me (and others) the time and space needed to gain perspective, distance myself from my time with the previous game, and fuel my hunger for more of the same. Just like developer trust, an ideal chronology is another element that many other IPs fail at achieving. Despite the wide-spread critical acclaim and fan excitement for Assassin’s Creed 2, the yearly releases of sequels has driven excitement into the dirt. People still play and enjoy Assassin’s Creed, sure, but it’s hard to argue that people are that excited to get their hands on the latest version. Bethesda, Rockstar and Nintendo all take their time with new mainline entries to Fallout, GTA and Zelda respectively. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. And in games, time is distance.

New Fallout games are few and far between. Perhaps the rest are still locked
up in the Vault.
Nostalgia

Nostalgia’s role in building these megaliths of the gaming industry is a complicated one. Certainly a much larger subject than can be covered in one short paragraph here. Though, it matters, and I wanted to mention it briefly. Nostalgia acts as a combination of peerlessness, developer trust and chronology. The groundbreaking GTA3, A Link to the Past and / or Ocarina of Time were formative experiences for so many gamers. Playing a new entry in these franchises calls back to the time you spent with previous entries—a time that, for so many, defined who you were or how you thought as a gamer. Fallout is interesting when considering nostalgia. Fallout and Fallout 2 were huge, certainly, but don’t command the same sort of import as early GTA or Zelda titles. But Fallout 3 was so profoundly impactful it’s created its own type of nostalgia. Fallout 3 created a new era of fans talking about how fantastic the game was, how much it did well and how it was an experience unlike any other. That’s created a ravenous, nostalgic void for Fallout 4’s release. People are excited either because they played Fallout 3 and thought it was great or, for many others, because they heard how great Fallout 3 was and want to finally enjoy the franchise for themselves. Fallout 3 was that flashpoint—the game itself didn’t sell well at launch, but gained momentum over time. Regardless, a culture of longing for previous entries is essential in forming the kind of craze I’m writing about it. Nostalgia is a powerful motivator.

I feel a twinge of 'nostalgia' for Diamond City already. Fallout makes a deep connection
with the player almost immediately.
_____________________________

What do you think? What are the reasons you think franchises like Fallout and Grand Theft Auto and The Legend of Zelda make such an enormous impact on the industry? What other IPs do you think are peerless, are emblematic of developer trust, have a compelling release chronology and make you nostalgic? I’d love to know. In the meantime, I think it’s time to get back to playing Fallout 4.