Conclusion of Fallout 3: What I've Learned

Education 222 is all about video games and learning, so I would be remiss if I didn't conclude this series of posts talking about what I learned from Fallout 3.

Lesson # 1: Actions Have Consequences

Oops

While in games such as Grand Theft Auto, you can go around shooting people in the face and blowing up cars and as long as you run away from the police for a couple of minutes everything is ok, your actions in Fallout 3 can come back to bite you. If you ever kill someone who you're not supposed to or steal something from a locked cabinet, you lose Karma, which gives you bad luck throughout the game and causes characters to interact with you differently. Last week, I was posed with an ethical dilemma - should I or should I not detonate the atomic bomb in the middle of Megaton. I did a little experiment - I saved right before the mission in which you have the option to detonate the bomb. In one game, I diffused the bomb and I became a hero throughout the town, so much so that a couple of residents decided to be my companion on my journey. However, in the other game, I decided to detonate the bomb. Instantly, I lost about as much Karma as you can lose - but how many chances does one have to cause an atomic explosion? It was worth it. However, as I played throughout the game, whenever I walked by people would cower in fear. Occasionally, I would be attacked by some survivors of Megaton. Luckily, since I had leveled up so much, I was able to dispatch them easily.

Lesson No. 2: You're Never Better Off Alone

Aawwwwww

Much of Fallout 3 involves wandering through a vast, empty wasteland, so it's nice to have some company. I had heard before I started playing this game that it was possible to get a dog to follow you around. I was wandering through a Scrapyard, and I encountered a large group of Raiders. I was outnumbered and about to be killed, but out of nowhere came the insensitively named "Dogmeat", who helped me fight off the Raiders. Ever since then, Dogmeat (hate calling him that) has been following my character through all his travails, helping me in my journeys and protecting me from some smaller attackers, such as rats and giant radioactive bugs.

Lesson No. 3: Ration Ration Ration!
If you're living in an apocalyptic wasteland, there's probably not much food to go around. Therefore you have to save what you got. After a particularly long trek through a desert, my character was about to starve to death. Luckily, I had some iguana bits in my back pocket. Doesn't sound appetizing, but you'd eat it too if you were about to die.

Lesson No. 4: Mastery of the Semiotic Domain
James Gee says that each game is a world to itself and as you spend time in that world and grow more familiar with it you learn how the world works. This clearly happened for me in Fallout 3. As I played more and more, the controls became second nature and I understood which responses to give to NPCs and what items to use as a second nature.

There are many more things that I learned from the game. I am nowhere near completing it. There are still many side missions and story missions that I need to complete. However, playing through Fallout 3 has been as spectacular experience, and I would recommend it too gamers and non-gamers alike.

Another note: Just because I am done with the game, probably doesn't mean I'm done with the website. I like the name that I chose too much, and I feel like I could find something to talk about most days. But it has been fun. Have a great summer, everyone.

Non-Playable Characters

In class, we've been talking about MMORPGs, or Massive-Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, like World of Warcraft and Second Life. Fallout 3, unfortunately, does not have any online elements to its play. However, Fallout 3 manages to avoid the lack of interacting with real people by introducing a cadre of interesting non-player characters.

One is Lucas Simms.

Hi, Lucas!

As you can probably tell from his clothes, he's an aficionado of Old West stories. He is the elected sheriff of Megaton and wears the star just like Gary Cooper in High Noon and has a rifle slung across his back just like John Wayne. Luckily for Lucas, but not as lucky for the rest of us, the USA has turned into an atomic wasteland, where only frontier justice reigns. Lucas has to protect his town from unimaginable terrors.

My favorite NPC, however, so far, might be Moira Brown.

Moira is a mechanic, who, despite her desperate surroundings, is unusually happy, almost bubbly. Moira is a great contrast to the depressed, laconic individuals that populate this desolate world. Moira is very helpful, as well, as she sells me supplies, such as weapons and food. Moira is attempting to write a book called The Wasteland Survival Guide and has enlisted my help.

While these NPCs are very interesting, they still are not a substitute for actual human interaction. Each interaction with these NPCs is governed by the response given to you by the game, based on your character's attributes. True conversation is impossible with these characters. Also, it is impossible for them to truly aid you on quests, because they will not always respond the way you want them to. However, these NPCs allow the makers of Fallout 3 to advance the story and to use the interactions between the player and NPCs to develop the character and enrich the environment of the game.