History Videogame / Fallout

* TheDragon: The Lieutenant to the Master in ''1'', Frank Horrigan to Richardson in ''2'', and Colonel Autumn to Eden in ''3''. In ''Vegas'', Caesar's right hand is Legate Lanius, while President Kimball's number two is General Lee Oliver. [[spoiler:Benny]] was this to Mr. House (and you can take his place), and [[spoiler:Yes Man is this to you, if you choose the Independent path]]. In ''4'', Lancer-Captain Kells is this to Elder Maxson, [[AvertedTrope but there is no real character that fits this role]] for Father.

* EagleLand: The Pre-War United States depicted itself as beautiful but in fact was heavily boorish. ''Fallout'' is one of the very few cases in Western media in which the USA is actually depicted as being outright villainous; the Pre-War government was an Orwellian nightmare that makes the real-world Soviet Union look positively warm and fuzzy in comparison, and their successors, the Enclave, are ''even worse''. Most frightening of all; given the nightmare the world was becoming on the eve of the Great War, it's not much of a stretch to think the United States became the way it was out of the need to survive the Resource Wars. When nations are annihilating each other over what few resources still exist on a global scale, looking out for your own country and people at the expense of all others becomes a grim necessity.

** ''VideoGame/FalloutTacticsBrotherhoodOfSteel'' (semi-canon)

** The Ghouls may make third degree burn victims look pretty, but they are immune to radiation, can't [[TheAgeless die from old age]], and can seemingly enter a sort of hibernation [[TheNeedless where they don't need food, water, or even air.]] In fact, if they were able to breed they might be considered an improvement over humanity. Sadly, some ghouls seem prone to eventually degenerate into a 'feral' condition that reduces them to a (hostile) ape-like level of intelligence. In Fallout 2, you can stumble across a ghoul who was BuriedAlive in the cemetery outside New Reno. He complains that it took you long enough. In New Vegas, you encounter a group of ghouls who plan on leaving for their lethally-radioactive "promised land" to escape persecution from humans. In ''Fallout 4'', you can discover Billy, a Ghoul boy who has been trapped in a fridge for 210 years (he used it as a way to take shelter from the bombs, but got stuck)

** The Pre-War world struggled with resource shortages, oppressive governments, and brutal warfare for twenty-five years before it all ended in a blaze of nuclear fire. Whats worse is that most of their problems could easily have been fixed as the technology for renewable energy and resources already existed before the War broke out, but the surviving nations had been fighting the same war for so long they were incapable of changing. Ironically, many of these technologies survived the war, hidden away in protected government bunkers, and can be found and revived by the player.

** ''VideoGame/Fallout76'' (non-canon)

** ''VideoGame/Fallout76''

** ''VideoGame/FalloutTacticsBrotherhoodOfSteel'' (non-canon)

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Fat Man launchers that appear in the games were inspired by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device) Davy Crockett portable nuclear launching device]]. The real-life example was abandoned for reasons that become immediately obvious to those who use the in-game version without adequate skill and plenty of Rad-Away.

* AntiRadiationDrug: the series abounds with various anti-rad drugs that are an essential part of any player's inventory when exploring the more heavily-irradiated parts of the wasteland. Two of the most common ones featured across the series are Rad-X and [=RadAway=]: when taken, they increase resistance to radiation and lower the amount of radiation absorbed, respectively. Some perks available to the player can enhance the duration or efficacy of Rad-X and [=RadAway=].

* ForWantOfANail: While it's clearly not the only factor, a major reason the history of the ''Fallout'' world diverges so greatly is that the transistor was not adopted on as large a scale as it was in the real world.[[note]]Different developers have given conflicting statements over if the transistor was invented at all, or if it was and just didn't get used as much. There's also FridgeLogic at play because vacuum tubes wouldn't be vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse, but transistors would; on the one hand, robots are vulnerable to [=EMPs=], but on the other hand, a lot of computers and robots are still functional after the Great War despite atomic bombs generating massive [=EMPs=].[[/note]] This had a cascading effect across the technological, social, and political landscapes: without the wide-spread use of transistors, microelectronics didn't catch on and circuitry continued to relied on vacuum tubes, which were much larger and consumed more electricity. Powerful computers were the realm of government and military usage, personal computers for private citizens were a luxury item, as were color televisions, cell phones don't seem to exist at all, and the internet was much less developed and mostly limited to intra-company messaging systems. With technology being much less energy-efficient, the world consumed fossil fuel sources at an accelerated rate to meet consumer demand, leading to mass environmental damage, wars over fuel resources, and inflation rising to ridiculous levels. These factors combined meant that governments grew more powerful and invasive, corporations became more greedy and corrupt, and most citizens either didn't notice or didn't mind due to their limited access to information media.

* '''''VideoGame/Fallout3''' (2008)'': The third [[NumberedSequel numbered entry]], which {{Genre Shift}}s to a {{First|PersonShooter}}[=/=]ThirdPersonShooter-RPG. Its setting and story are a DarkerAndEdgier take on the TheVerse, though the trademark BlackHumor is still present. Takes place in Maryland and Virginia, including the ruins of UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC.

* KillEmAll: In the original game, it's actually possible to personally murder every single living thing in post-apocalyptic Central California, [[spoiler:including the usually-unkillable Overseer at the end of the game.]]

* GlobalCurrency: Bottle caps in the first game, endorsed by the Hub Trading Companies due to their rarity and the difficulty in counterfeiting them. New California Republic Dollars in the second, as the NCR is the dominant power in the region. ''Tactics'' used the ring pulls off soda cans. Caps show up again in ''Fallout 3'', implying that the popularity of caps caught on in the East [[note]] ''Fallout 4'' establishes that the East is aware of the existence of the NCR, so no doubt trade routes and communication have been restored to some extent.[[/note]] Caps again in ''New Vegas'' because the NCR lost the gold it backed its dollars with and the trading companies are honoring old promises. There is NCR paper money and Legion coin, but those are treated as barter items in most cases.

** Zigzagged with Unarmed in ''Fallout 2''. While unarmed combat is a viable, if inefficient option, the player never needs to spend skill points on it -- the game offers numerous ways to increase Unarmed by several points, and it's possible to get 100 points in it with no skill points. Played straight with Unarmed in the first ''Fallout'', where there is no variety to unarmed attacks and only three weapons that use the skill.
** Barter. It only affects the price of objects you ''buy''. You always sell your stuff at the same price. Money isn't really a problem in either game, making the usefulness of this skill debatable.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: The pre-war America was ''not'' an okay place to live. On the surface it's the idyllic image of the "world of tomorrow" envisioned in the 50s -- people live comfortable lives in suburbia with robot assistants, swanky-looking cars, and not a care in the world. Even dipping your toes into the world also reveals that the government ran multiple discrete surveillance programs to spy on citizens, frequently engaged in human experimentation, and brutally put down any protests to the rule of law. The pre-war {{Megacorp}}s were also so rich and powerful that they essentially controlled the government and could do anything they wanted, which included badly polluting the environment, willful neglect of safety laws, mistreating employees, and worse. Inflation was so bad that common household products could cost hundreds of dollars, corruption was rampant with bribery and embezzlement at every level of society, and the rich and powerful flaunted their influence without repercussion. Finally, keep in mind this is just what was happening ''within'' the United States -- we're not mentioning the geopolitical turmoil and the dwindling fossil fuel supplies that led up to the Great War.

After World War II, [[RunningGag the United States became an okay place to live]]. The shift towards nuclear energy gave way to technological wonders previously relegated to science fiction, from [[RobotMaid robot butlers]] to [[SuperWristGadget wrist-mounted computers]]. Unfortunately, the good times would not last: this [[PunkPunk inefficient technology]] depleted fossil fuels even faster than in the real world, causing massive "resource wars" in the early-mid 21st century. In 2066, China and the United States clashed over the Alaskan oil fields, leading to an 11 year military conflict between the two superpowers... then, on October 23, 2077, somebody - nobody is entirely sure who - ordered a nuclear launch.

* RiddleForTheAges: Who started The Great War? Was it the United States, China, Russia, Vault-Tec, rogue [=AIs=]? There's even a hint it might have been aliens. There's never been any concrete evidence to prove who it was, just hints and nudges that are circumstantial and/or come from biased and untrustworthy sources. It's dubious we'll ever know for sure, since most characters who would know it are dead and most records that would reveal the answer are lost. It's heavily implied it was the Chinese who fired first, which would make sense in-canon, but it isn't confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt.[[note]]All the evidence that directly points the finger at China is either unreliable or simultaneously presents evidence to cast doubt on the claim.[[/note]] Regardless, many characters espouse it ultimately doesn't matter who fired first, the world burned in nuclear fire all the same, and the global superpowers that were responsible are a long-dead distant memory.

* '''''Fallout: Resource Wars''''': A hypothetical game proposed by J.E. Sawyer at various points, set during the eponymous Resource wars of 2060-2077 in the collapsing European Commonwealth. Focused on team-based multiplayer, the gameplay would be a blend of ''VideoGame/MotocrossMadness'' pacing, ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942'' foot and vehicle combat, and slightly longer-than-CS duration rounds. A salvaging element would be included giving the player the choice of either repairing damaged vehicles/weapons for use in the next round, or scrapping them for parts. The plot would involve a crew of soldiers from the Royal Armoured Corps, who become stranded in a war-torn anarchistic northern Italy, and have to fight their way to the English Channel in quickly degrading vehicles, while scavenging for replacements, fuel, and weapons as they go.

* '''''Fallout: Resource Wars''''': A hypothetical game set during the eponymous Resource wars of 2060-2077 in the collapsing European Commonwealth. Focused on team-based multiplayer, the gameplay would be a blend of ''VideoGame/MotocrossMadness'' pacing, ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942'' foot and vehicle combat, and slightly longer-than-CS duration rounds. A salvaging element would be included giving the player the choice of either repairing damaged vehicles/weapons for use in the next round, or scrapping them for parts. The plot would involve a crew of soldiers from the Royal Armoured Corps, who become stranded in a war-torn anarchistic northern Italy, and have to fight their way to the English Channel in quickly degrading vehicles, while scavenging for replacements, fuel, and weapons as they go.

* '''''Fallout Online''''': An MMO that Creator/InterplayEntertainment announced and began development on... ''after'' they sold the rights to Bethesda. Despite the obvious legal issues surrounding such a move, development continued until January 9, 2012, when they finally gave up in the face of an expensive and drawn-out lawsuit. It was to take place in and around Seattle. Eventually Bethesda would go on to develop their own [[VideoGame/Fallout76 Fallout MMO.]]

* RareGuns: Desert Eagle, G11s, the automatic shotguns of ''Fallout 2,'' and several others from the list.

->''"... men do, through the roads they walk. And this road has reached its end."''

* TheAllegedCar: Or rather, The Alleged Everything. 80% of the tech you find is literally falling apart, broken, or [[AIIsACrapshoot trying to kill you]]. However, [[ILoveNuclearPower that]] [[InvisibilityCloak doesn't]] [[RobotBuddy mean]] [[HumongousMecha that]] [[EnergyWeapon technology]] [[PoweredArmor is]] [[KillSat useless]]. There's also an actual AllegedCar that doubles as a CoolCar, the Fallout 2 Highwayman.

* ILoveNuclearPower: Both subverted and played straight. Most of the wildlife has been hideously mutated by the various mutagens, from bio-weapons to radiation. Take the Forced Evolutionary Virus for example. This mutagen which has ''itself'' been mutated by the radiation. Most mutated creatures in the game are that way because of radiation (radroaches, yao guai, radscorpions, giant rats, geckos, giant ants, ghouls -- if it's basically a giant or slightly mutated version of a normal creature, radiation did it), while others are the result of deliberate (if not entirely according to plan) genetic engineering with or accidents stemming from FEV (super mutants, centaurs, floaters, wanamingos, deathclaws -- if it barely resembles any real living creature, it's probably in this category).
** Certain perks give the player character various bonuses while being irradiated or while suffering from various degrees of radiation poisoning. These include health regeneration, increased strength and speed, and more Action Points (essentially faster reaction time).
** There was also a bug (or a feature?) in Fallout 1 and 2 that allowed your attributes to "mutate" (numbers changed, not always for the better, sometimes far far better) if you took extreme doses of radiation (near deadly levels) and then got cured after living with it for a while. Though it did not seem to "work" if you got cured by doctors. Only by using lots and lots of Rad Away.