Fallout 4 Details, Todd Howard Interview Recording

Information about Fallout 4’s mechanics and world is slowly trickling out of E3 after Bethesda’s very well-received presentation at its own E3 showcase, courtesy of the company’s panels in Los Angeles.

GameInformer has 19 details on the game. This covers everything from the combat, to the size of the world, to the crafting, to the technology powering up the game, so it’s a recommended read if you’re interested in the game. A few of them:

– Fallout 4 is the most detailed, dense environment Bethesda has made to date. The world has so much content even game director Todd Howard hasn’t seen everything in the game.

…

– Fallout 4’s narrative has a lot more branching paths and overlapping of “if that than this” than Fallout 3. They want the game to handle all the fail states of missions instead of forcing players to reload saves.

…

– Bethesda has always valued player freedom above storytelling, but with Fallout 4 the team wants to bring more emotional resonance to the plot thread running through the game. This is why they chose to recruit voice actors for both the female and male protagonists the player can make their own.

– Combat is receiving a major stimpak thanks to some consulting with id Software to improve the second-to-second shooting. Bethesda’s goal? To have the shooting stand shoulder to shoulder with the other great options on the market. The studio even hired away some Bungie talent to help with this remodel. With the new, built-from-scratch shooting system, Howard says Fallout 4 plays much more like a modern shooter. You can aim down the sights, use V.A.T.S., and play in first or third person.

A fan also recorded large parts of Todd Howard’s interview at E3. Howard talks about the art design, explaining that Bethesda decided to go for vibrant colors because Fallout 3’s extremely restrained palette could get tiresome in the long run, though he also noted that some areas, like the “Glowing Sea”, will retain the aesthetic of their previous title.

Bethesda’s game director also explains why Bethesda added a weather system and why graphics are important in the game. While unfortunately he confirms that some areas will be separated by loading screens, Howard still notes that there will be a lot less than in the previous title, and gives broken houses as an example of interiors that won’t need a loading screen compared to Fallout 3.

There’s more in the interview (apparently the biggest news item for many press member that sat through it was the fact that Dogmeat is an essential NPC, even though companions were essential NPCs in both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas), so I recommend you watch the full recording, especially considering many of the reports will be based on it: