Fallout 4's brighter colors exist to cheer you up, but the world is still broken

When Fallout 4 was revealed by Bethesda, among the many cries of "It's finally real!" and "Shut up and take my money!", you might have also heard fans noticing a big change from the series' typical gray, green and brown color palette to something with a bit more variety. The sky is blue, for Pip Boy's sake! Well, there's a purpose to the change, as game director Todd Howard explains in a new behind-the-scenes video.

"Looking back at [Fallout] 3, there's this sameness to the environment. If you're playing the game for an eight-hour stretch, it can be a little depressing," Howard says. In other words, just because it's the end of the world, things needn't feel so glum like they have before. Of course, if you like your nuclear apocalypse to be dirty and dingy, there's a place for you, too.

"We actually have a part of the world we call 'The Glowing Sea,' which is where the bomb falls. That looks more like your classic Fallout 3 wasteland, but even moreso," Howard explains. In a move that sounds similar to the tornado scene from Mad Max: Fury Road, there will also be radiation storms that flare up and blow through the world. Sounds like players will be in for a lovely day.

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