Fallout

I have been thinking of doing some kind of write up on the different approaches, but I think 3&4 have what I’d call “themepark” writing. Every settlement is its own very unique little post apocalyptic themepark. The aesthetic and creative conceits are often maxed out. 1776 LARPers, Lovecraftian horrors, giant robots, a bus full of kids making their own society. All kinds of interesting locations and interactions.

However taken as a whole, these locations don’t form a coherent setting. Lots of the more boring questions go unanswered in favor of making things exciting and novel.

New Vegas takes an approach where different settlements all have their creative elements and there are wacky ideas (an Elvis worshipping gang) but the wackiness is never to the point of pushing incredulity, and all the locations support a coherent whole even if many of them are less overtly exciting on their own.

I very much prefer NV but I don’t think either approach is somehow objectively wrong for a game.