After briefly talking about how the new Fallout game would be based in West Virginia, not only location-wise but including the stories and history too, we now have a better idea of how all this would be weaved into the game.
The Making of Fallout documentary from YouTube channel Noclip revealed more details on how the team came to the decision of setting Fallout 76 in West Virginia, and how that decision impacted the landscape, monsters, and narrative in the game.
Players can expect to see real-life landmarks like Morgantown, Summersville Lake, Harpers Ferry, as well as Bethesda’s take on The Greenbrier hotel, the decommissioned presidential nuclear bunker.
Different types of flora and fauna populate the different regions of the map, which include the floodlands, toxic wastelands, swampy woods, and a mountain range that divides them all. Key landmarks perched on the mountain tops, like watchtowers and telecommunications antennae are a great way for players to orientate themselves when they are deep in the ravines and valleys that can be found in West Virginia.
“Because the game is set 25 years after the bombs dropped, the studio can play with more outlandish creature designs. There’s more radiation, so you can expect “crazier mutants and giant plants,” said lead artist Nate Purkeypile.
There are a total of 63 creature varieties in Fallout 76, mostly designed from the ground up, but some would be instantly recognisable to returning fans.
West Virginia’s folklore has inspired a few spooky additions to the game, like the Mothman, The Flatwoods Monster, The Grafton Monster and the Snallygaster; all born from the imagination of villagers living in the wilderness of the land.
“The Mothman’s incredible. It’s a different thing. We’ve never done it before. We’re hoping to do stages to (sic) him. Early on in the game, maybe he’s just stalking you,” ” lead animator Rick Vicens shared. Presumably, the encounters will escalate in intensity, until he decides to attack.
The reason why you do not see these creatures in the previous Fallout games is due to the timeline of Fallout 76 being set just a mere 25 years after the bombs dropped. The increased radiation has allowed for more outlandish creature designs, and the canon is that sometimes these mutations are so bad that they died out soon after.
Well, if something can survive the intense radiation, it will surely pose a severe danger to you and other wastelanders out there, be warned.
Fallout 76 launches on November 14 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Access all of our E3 2018 coverage here!
Timothy is a freelance photographer and fellow geek. His professional work spans many genres and he shoots on film for leisure.
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