There is often noticeable nostalgia and regret present in post-apocalyptic stories, and, writes Miller, "the underworld mood is there...because post-Megawar stories are about an afterlife" (Miller xv).
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Of dominant focus in this chapter is the idea of a nuclear apocalypse. While perhaps no longer as likely as an environmental catastrophe or the spread of some incurable disease (which may or may not turn us all into zombies), the notion of civilization and humanity decimated by nuclear war was once dominant.
--
Within the medium of videogames, too, are post-apocalyptic scenarios becoming popular, and the latest in the Fallout series is no longer the most recent example. That might belong to Borderlands, a first-person shooter (FPS) with role-playing elements, or to Fallen Earth, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in the Grand Canyon after a series of natural disasters decimate the U.S. population. 2010 will see the release of at least two more videogames with a post-apocalyptic bent, id Software's Rage and Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas.
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Another possible, tangential inspiration involves Winston Churchill, who appears as an inspirational hologram in Jack McDevitt's "Never Despair," and a malfunctioning Protectron robot which believes itself to be Button Gwinnett, second signatory of the Declaration of Independence, in Fallout 3's "Stealing Indepence" side-quest.
--
"Stealing Independence," though, represents a situation in which completion of the quest does not result in an automatic karma gain or loss. Dialogue options with Button include a self-destruct command and words of encouragement to keep fighting the good fight. As in most of the in-game situations, such options are rather black and white, but this still shows how the exertion of greater degrees of control and influence is often what causes the player to accrue good karma or evil karma.
--
I make explicit reference to these past written works not only to reveal some of the potential inspirations for the design and development of Fallout 3 as well as its morality and survival elements but also because the authors of such important literature often impart particular aspects in words better than those I might have chosen myself.
--
"If Megawar is committed by the superpowers, how long will survivors keep the illusion that somehow 'our' government is less our enemy than 'their' government, or that they are different from us?" (xix) Fallout 3 provides an answer to Miller's question, offering examples of human existence that are, to some degree, successful without government. Instead, the duality of morality and simple survival dominate, particularly in the smaller communities of Canterbury Commons and Megaton. Places with greater governmental control, like the Republic of Dave and Rivet City, have more evidence of conflicts of interest.
--
Rather than make reference to this sub-genre of science fiction as 'post-holocaust,' a term which saw greater acceptance in years past, Miller introduces "Megawar...another barbaric neologism" (xiii) to not only identify war at the end of civilization but also to not diminish the memory of the mass murder of Jews living in Europe during World War II. I think this different term also adheres rather well to Miller's later layout of nuclear armageddon, how, more often than not in this sub-genre, Megawar "happens offstage, between stories, and the rest is about the survivors, the orphans of a psychopathic civilization" (xiv). This is as much the case in Fallout 3 as in other Megawar-type representations.
--
Of dominant focus in this chapter is the idea of a nuclear apocalypse. While perhaps no longer as likely as an environmental catastrophe or the spread of some incurable disease (which may or may not turn us all into zombies), the notion of civilization and humanity decimated by nuclear war was once dominant.
--
Within the medium of videogames, too, are post-apocalyptic scenarios becoming popular, and the latest in the Fallout series is no longer the most recent example. That might belong to Borderlands, a first-person shooter (FPS) with role-playing elements, or to Fallen Earth, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in the Grand Canyon after a series of natural disasters decimate the U.S. population. 2010 will see the release of at least two more videogames with a post-apocalyptic bent, id Software's Rage and Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas.
--
Another possible, tangential inspiration involves Winston Churchill, who appears as an inspirational hologram in Jack McDevitt's "Never Despair," and a malfunctioning Protectron robot which believes itself to be Button Gwinnett, second signatory of the Declaration of Independence, in Fallout 3's "Stealing Indepence" side-quest.
--
"Stealing Independence," though, represents a situation in which completion of the quest does not result in an automatic karma gain or loss. Dialogue options with Button include a self-destruct command and words of encouragement to keep fighting the good fight. As in most of the in-game situations, such options are rather black and white, but this still shows how the exertion of greater degrees of control and influence is often what causes the player to accrue good karma or evil karma.
--
I make explicit reference to these past written works not only to reveal some of the potential inspirations for the design and development of Fallout 3 as well as its morality and survival elements but also because the authors of such important literature often impart particular aspects in words better than those I might have chosen myself.
--
"If Megawar is committed by the superpowers, how long will survivors keep the illusion that somehow 'our' government is less our enemy than 'their' government, or that they are different from us?" (xix) Fallout 3 provides an answer to Miller's question, offering examples of human existence that are, to some degree, successful without government. Instead, the duality of morality and simple survival dominate, particularly in the smaller communities of Canterbury Commons and Megaton. Places with greater governmental control, like the Republic of Dave and Rivet City, have more evidence of conflicts of interest.
--
Rather than make reference to this sub-genre of science fiction as 'post-holocaust,' a term which saw greater acceptance in years past, Miller introduces "Megawar...another barbaric neologism" (xiii) to not only identify war at the end of civilization but also to not diminish the memory of the mass murder of Jews living in Europe during World War II. I think this different term also adheres rather well to Miller's later layout of nuclear armageddon, how, more often than not in this sub-genre, Megawar "happens offstage, between stories, and the rest is about the survivors, the orphans of a psychopathic civilization" (xiv). This is as much the case in Fallout 3 as in other Megawar-type representations.