The Missing Potential Of

[Poet Olette]

Lately, I've been playing Fallout 4. While playing I've noticed (finally) the potential of Fallout 4 and what it could have been. My opinion for a long time now has been that the only potential fallout 4 has was to become a shooter as the game feels more combat oriented which also unfortunately has led quite a lot of mods and modders to a certain opinion. 

 

More enemies and difficulty means more immersion.

 

This I disagree with. I'm seeing more mods every day that want to add more difficulty and Enemies to the game thinking that this is in fact what the game is missing, but I feel thats the opposite of what this game needs.

 

After taking a step back and exploring and watching some videos of Oxhorn who likes to go through the lore and side stories of fallout 4 I feel as though I've finally seen the true potential of fallout 4. I personally do not like the main story and I feel like they decided on one thing and didn't fully commit to it leaving us with so much missed potential.

 

First of all, the side stories, small or large are very good, most of them anyways. Some are much more compelling than the main story. Unlike the past fallout games this main story is quite forceful with you're character and the back story, even fallout 3 which had you growing up in a vault, that in its self wasn't even in you're face about it, where as fallout 4, you're either a lawyer or a war vet depending on the gender of you're character, not only that you have a house, a son.

 

And of course as soon as a baby was mentioned I knew exactly what was going to happen, not fully of course, I couldn't know that he would be a old man, but I knew we weren't going to see the baby again and I knew that we probably wouldn't even have the chance to see him as a child either, not counting the synth shaun.

 

Simply put, after playing the witcher, a game that has more interesting characters and a interesting story that is not afraid to do things and push the boundaries, I knew Bethesda was not brave enough to do the main story justice as any good story telling is usually left for the side stories as they are then able to hide it and its never in you're face about it.

 

Most of what is good in this game is secondary. Back stories of companions, the hidden side stories that I was talking about, the stuff you have to go exploring for, or pay attention to you're surroundings to fully understand the story or even notice that there is a story to be told.

 

So, in keeping with the idea that you're character is far more developed than other main characters in the fallout series, how could we fix this?

Well I have a few ideas, ideas that are being used now in a mod.

 

Have your spouse survive. The two of you out in the wasteland trying to survive and keep you're relationship going as you search for you're child, knowing that the chances of finding him are slim. How would that effect you both? Separate. Perhaps blame one another. You're spouse having a randomly generated moral code, so perhaps one playthrough the spouse is more evil, or good, but of course having speech options to persuade them to change. And have you're moral choices effect them, to the point where you might become enemies, or stay together until you find shaun.

 

I have no real suggestion for the main story other than one thing. Finding Shaun. Again keeping with the ideas of Bethesda but also going outside the box a bit, depending on decisions made through out the game, perhaps have you find shaun as a old man OR a child. I would prefer to find him as a baby but of course that would never happen. But think about it, if we are being forced to play a parent then lets do it, lets commit to that. Have a child, teach him the ways of the world of fallout, good or bad. Perhaps you're spouse didn't make it for what ever reason, or maybe you went you're own way and they don't have any idea that you found Shaun. What would it be like to raise you're child without the other parent?

 

Take him with you to explore the wasteland, talk to him about you're findings, let him be curious about the world, in doing so you yourself have to take the time to figure out what you or you're character is like and what you're opinions of situations are and of the world around you. 

 

 

Another thing I believe the game needs is more choices. They give you situations that are sometimes black and white but a lot of the times that are grey, but leave you with choices that only let you do more black and white choices sometimes, its not true for everything, but for a lot. Allow the player to take a step back, to take there time, to really think about whats happening, let us actually truly talk to characters without constraints. The world doesn't need to be so black and white, we don't need to be this, lawbringer or raider or a coward(the three main things we get told our characters are) let us make more intelligent meaningful choices or at least let us try to explain ourselves. Instead of take the quest or no, maybe later, how about never.

 

I have so much more to say but I don't wanna make this any longer. What do you all think fallout 4 needs? Or maybe you think it needs nothing.

 

Personally, overall, i think the game needs to slow down a bit and stop with the gimmicks. Its sad to see so much work go into side stories and notes all around the wasteland that have amazing stories and yet for the main story and for what is shown to our faces is so little.