Old World Blues: Environmental Storytelling

Following his perfect review of Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues on Screenjabber, author Nathan Hardisty has moved on to editorialize about why he holds Obsidian’s latest set of DLC in such high regard and the lengths he feels the team went to “in the name of environmental storytelling”. Spoilers abound, so be careful if you’re in unfamiliar territory:

Each of the Think Tank members has become dysfunctional in different ways with one of them becoming obsessed with the human body, one has lost their voicebox, another talks in a trashy 50s sci-fi trailer announcer guy like this: putting EMPHASIS on CERTAIN WORDS such as TERROR and the HORROR! There are three Think Tank members who have particular dysfunctional traits that are exploited heavily. Dr Klein is the leader of the group and has anger issues, Dr Dala is the body obsessed one and Dr Mobius (the main antagonist) has a drug problem.

These are just spouts of dialogue which give depth and texture to the character, which lead to why they are so different in their language. What is perhaps more interesting however is when the environmental storytelling comes knocking, when the player just so happens to visit the place that the Scientists spent when they were human called Higgs Village. Suddenly, little items like Mentats and teddy bears take on whole new meanings and it is haunting and heartbreaking to explore their homes. The juxtaposition between how hilarious the writing is and how emotional this exploration is makes Old World Blues a highlight of my New Vegas career.

Dr Klein’s home is filled with empty bottles and alcohol everywhere. Every room is stuffed with it, and as you explore his home, you only uncover more little bites of story. His clothes are about the place, his items are about everywhere and the house is packed with party gear. It seems a world away from Klein’s anger and perhaps his work took over his life and lead him away from his friends, developing his anger management issues. Dr Dala’s house is full of teddy bears, constantly referenced in her dialogue, and this reveals her obsession with the human body. The innocence of the teddy bears and way she could play with them is quite. creepy.