Inside the Fallout Universe, Gaming’s Most Surprising TV Hit
The post-apocalyptic TV show is back to Prime Video, and it's safe to say that audiences were agreeably astonished by the excellence of its debut season. By depicting the retro-futuristic, nuclear-ravaged United States through the lenses of three distinct characters, it effectively portrayed different facets of the player's journey.
We followed Lucy the vault dweller, attempting to act with integrity and finding that the wasteland made that incredibly hard; Max, the militant faction new recruit, who starts doubting his organization's dogma and creates plenty of trouble in powered exoskeleton; and the Ghoul, a standout performance who has completely shed any sense of morality out in the irradiated wastes.
Building Anticipation for a New Chapter
The show's first season conclusion revealed key information about the culprits behind the nuclear war that sealed a group of people in underground vaults for an extended period. It also posed numerous mysteries open for the upcoming chapter – and, this time, expectations are considerably elevated.
“We'd gladly accept ‘not terrible’ – let’s get that on a poster,” says the show's co-creator.
“Starting the initial season, everyone’s like, ‘Just get it right’,” states a key figure from the games. “We are ecstatic with the response to the show, so now people are coming in with more excitement and different expectations.”
The Mojave Beckons for the Next Installment
The new season is located in New Vegas, the location of the beloved game Fallout: New Vegas, which is widely regarded for having the sharpest dialogue and characters in the franchise, even if it was technically flawed at launch.
“It’s more of a desert vibe, a Southwestern essence, that’s so essential to that game,” explains the co-creator. “That parched, desolate iconic highway aesthetic of the game is so much fun to translate into the show.”
In the series narrative, a significant amount of time has elapsed since the events of the New Vegas game by the time the characters make their way there. Nevertheless, the creators suggest that it acknowledges the gamer's experience.
The Importance of Physical Sets
The Fallout TV series is distinguished by its physical authenticity – its production team ensured physical models and environments were fabricated, mirroring the cobbled-together nature of the towns in the games.
“As a sci-fi fan, so many shows I watch, I’m conscious that they’re all standing in front of a blue screen,” observes co-creator Geneva Robertson-Dworet. “The key objective of an translation, especially of a video game, is to appear as if it’s authentic.”
Indeed, pretty much each creature you see on-screen is physical, even the infamously terrifying irradiated monsters known as Deathclaws. In the show, they are brought to life with puppets, and were reportedly quite terrifying up close.
Made by Fans, for Fans
The Fallout series works because it is developed by accomplished storytellers who are also longtime fans, with the help of the visionaries behind the source material. This shared passion for the universe is clear in the end result.
The second season is being released on a weekly basis rather than as a binge-able batch, representing a shift from the previous season. This format will create a new weekly discussion, a dynamic the creators themselves are excited to observe.
“It's richer, it’s larger in scale, it’s funnier, it has a lot of twists,” promises the game director. “I am excited to seeing what people think.”