Examining the four main single player games in the franchise and its related spinoff games, this book explores the world of the popular role-playing video game, Fallout.
Kenton Taylor Howard examines the maps of the games, the design of their worlds, and how the franchise has been expanded through fan-created video game modifications and tabletop games. This book highlights the importance of worldbuilding in the Fallout franchise, examining the extensive alternate history the game creates – diverging from real-world history in the early 1900s and resulting in a world that is destroyed by nuclear apocalypse in 2077 – and exploring how the series builds this detailed world over the course of many games. The book also examines how the franchise has served as an extended commentary on American militarism and expansionism. The series is closely examined through the lens of critical media studies, as well as relying on theoretical frameworks relating to video game design and world design.
This book will be of interest to students, scholars, and enthusiasts of video game studies, video game design, media fandom and fan studies, transmedia studies, and imaginary worlds.
Introduction: War Never Changes, But Fallout Does 1. Origins of the World of Fallout: Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 2. Reviving the World of Fallout: Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 3. Expanding the World of Fallout: Fallout Spinoff Games 4. The World of Fallout as Told by Fans: Fallout 76, Fallout Mods, and Fallout Tabletop Games Conclusion: Success and Failure, Design Strategies, and the Future of the World of Fallout
Biography
Kenton Taylor Howard is a Lecturer in the Games and Interactive Media program at the University of Central Florida, USA. His research interests include video games, critical theory, and teaching. His work has been published in journals such as Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association, the Well Played journal, and One Shot: A Journal of Critical Play and Games.
