Creating any work of art in a corporate system is an odd business. Often, developers don't actually own the intellectual property rights of what they make, and sequels get produced at different companies. Fallout co-creator Tim Cain saw the series go from a humble isometric CRPG to one of the biggest gaming franchises ever, and he has mixed feelings about it.
"Bethesda took what was a tiny IP that had sold OK for back then and they turned it into this huge franchise," Cain says in an interview with The Vile Eye on YouTube. "So along the way, they must be doing something right." He says he is both pleased and disappointed with the direction the series has gone.
For many, myself included, Fallout 3 was our introduction to the series. It's still my favorite one – and yes, I have played New Vegas and the original game. But, bigger isn't always better.
"Did they expand it the way I would have? No, not at all, that's OK," Cain says. "And that's also somewhat expected. But there are things I just would have done differently or wouldn't have emphasized as much."
As for what Cain would have done, he says the game's "humor and style would have been different" if he were still making the games. "Fallout was what the '50s thought the future was, not the '50s." He believes the new games are too focused on the '50s as a time period, rather than "what the '50s thought would occur."
But while Cain notes "if I had continued to work on Fallout, it would be different," he also admits, "I'm not even sure it would have been as big. Because I think they did a lot of smart choices to make it more, I don't want to say casual-friendly, but a lot more people were interested in what they made than seem to be interested in what the first two games offered."
I'll always be interested in what Cain's ideas and hopes were for the series, as it's one I love deeply, but for now, we'll have to simply imagine what his vision of Fallout would look like – like the adventure game all about stealing from Vaults.
In the meantime, check out our ranking of the best Fallout games.
