wimples-sr

[wimples-sr]

it's ironic that fallout new vegas is viciously critical of american settler-colonialism but at the same time has an insanely reactionary and uncritical view of "tribes" and "tribal society"

[wimples-sr]

can we talk about the huge difference in how fo1, fo2 and new vegas talk about old-world america versus how fallout 3, 4, and now 76 seem intent on portraying it

[wimples-sr]

every terminal in fallout

Log 1: the boss man is makin us do these status reports regularly now

Log 2:Dont tell anyone but we use human Bones in our food, ok?

Log 3: Date:  October 22, 2077: my wife is giving birth tommorow! fucking win!

[wimples-sr]

I mentioned this briefly in passing during my last serious Fallout kick, but it's striking to me how much Caesar resembles the median protagonist of an Edgar Rice Burroughs outing, as experienced by everyone in that guy's way. A learned man from "modern" civilization embarks on an expedition to parts unknown (with a couple plucky sidekicks along for the ride.) He gets captured by the natives, wins their respect by applying his knowledge of "modern" science and military strategy to their local conflicts, leads them to decisive victory over all their rivals, kicks ass to the top of the local political totem pole and reshapes society as he sees fit. He's David Innes, he's John Carter, He's Hank Morgan, He's Travis Morgan, He's Alan Quartermaine, he's the successor to any of the slew of stories about an American or European overtaking and surpassing the natives at their own game, in contexts historical, subtropical, subterranean or extraplanetary.

Where it splits off, of course, that it's aware of the fascistic-slash progressive-eugenicist undertones of that entire character archetype and the zeitgeist that produced it. Rather than following the script in lockstep his plucky sidekicks peel off one by one-Bill Calhoun out of moral horror at the overreach of his imperial project, Joshua Graham after flying too close to the sun in embracing a power fantasy that only has room for one true protagonist. A slightly more involved knowledge of military strategy specifically doesn't translate into enlightened philosopher-king status; the "new society" he's trying to create is a sham, informed more by his myopia and personal hangups than it is by anything that made Rome-as-it-actually-existed a successful polity. But this isn't the kind of genre where the Hero receives pushback on the sustainability of his power fantasy. And it isn't sustainable; he built a political machine that reproduces his initial successes at scale, but that's all that it can do. In the referent stories, it's not uncommon for the protagonist's forced departure to cause their grand ambitions to unravel in their absence (gotta make room for a sequel somehow! We're getting paid by the word.) In New Vegas that prospect is presented with a sigh of relief rather than framed as a tragic regression.

All of this feels fairly deliberate; gesturing at a space in pulp fiction even if it isn't dropping names directly. New Vegas, more than any other game in the franchise, is Doing Genre as part of its commentary; in addition to the usual B-movie sci-fi extravaganza it's a spaghetti western, it's a gangster flick, it's a war story. Burroughs and the Burroughs-adjacent are a corner of the pulp lineage that's severely fallen out of the zeitgeist compared to those first three, in no small part due to how they were cannibalized for parts by many of the more immediately recognizable science fiction and adventure subgenres that Fallout is pulling from. But Caesar's brand of power fantasy is still in there- you are what you eat. There's still room for his archetype. It's just that that archetype functions most intuitively as an antagonist once we're a century-removed from a zeitgeist that can spin amoral empire-building as a cracking good time for hot-blooded youths.

[wimples-sr]

🍀

[wimples-sr]

[wimples-sr]

our adorable champion 

[wimples-sr]

Art I made of my Courier and friends!

[wimples-sr]

you make me feel like a woman!

[wimples-sr]

🔆

[wimples-sr]

i wanna see more discussion about the role of gambling in fnvs story. like. its a central stylistic component to the game but also seems ripe for discussion of the other themes present. bennys line "the game was rigged from the start" is obviously #iconic #girlboss #realshit but like actually though it is really interesting to think about the setup to the three main endings of the game, two of which are presented to you as a fixed dichotomy you assume you will have to choose between (ncr vs legion) with the secret risky third option being the most optimistic and #rewarding option you can get. like the game was rigged from the start obviously is referencing houses convoluted scheme to get courier six to deliver the platinum chip, a plan thats been in place for centuries, in which courier six was always destined to "lose" (especially from bennys pov, which is that its nothing personnel kid hes just always gonna be after that platinum chip) but ALSOO the game of fnv is indeed rigged - thats video games! you are always going to end up at the dam, you are always going to have to witness and contribute to the fight between the two biggest military powers in the mojave, you were always going to deliver the platinum chip to house, etc. right right the chain of quests literally called the house always wins, the independent quest being wild card, the style is cunt etc.

its funny the relationship the game has with the concept of gambling is all. like it certainly acknowledges the actual real life evil of gambling addiction and the evil of the gambling industry (see: Mr. House the Character) but it also really loves the stylistic flair of gamblings associated settings (fair enough - if youre going to write a villain called Mr House, personified technocratic oligarchy with emphasis on exploitative addiction industries, youre gonna want to write that story in las vegas, and youre gonna want to really milk that setting for all its worth). but ALSOOO its interesting how they use gambling as an extended metaphor for hegemony vs liberation. mr house will always hedge his bets and models his whole life after following probability to the safest options and courier six and the independent route are about placing your bets on the 1% chance itll all work out. in that very specific way it doesss remind me of de's line about placing your bets on the 1% chance on building communism, despite how its failed over and over and over and over again. fnvs not nearly so eloquent nor steadfast in its commitment to that idea, but i dooo think it follows a comparable train of thought in the games overall setup

[wimples-sr]

Sometimes Reddit has some gems, this was under someone asking why good old Doc is so good to the Courier (charges less for services etc) and this was the top answer.

I really like this take of Doc being the Anti-Benny and being a moral anchor for the player to make them think about their actions as the Courier.

[wimples-sr]

Part 3 of my FNV DLC design series. Now going into the divide.

[wimples-sr]

it's so funny that Ringo is the guy to teach you about caravan. he's just like "hi. i'm in hiding because there's a group actively trying to kill me. do you wanna play cards."

[wimples-sr]

let all that is mortal die, and nature will reclaim the rest

post-human wasteland, anyone?

[wimples-sr]

send better assassins next time

[wimples-sr]

ohhhkay 🤨 ill...do my best! 😊😒🙄