When it comes to the “Fallout” series, many players will think of the huge IP that now spans games, TV series and various derivative works. However, Tim Cain, one of the creators of the series, recently revealed that when developing the original “Fallout”, he actually never seriously thought about the sequel!
When sharing his development experience on his personal YouTube channel, Tim Cain said that he has spent a large part of his career in a state of learning by doing. Therefore, when developing games, he often focuses on how to complete the current work, rather than planning the future trilogy or the blueprint for the entire series. For him, being able to successfully make the game is already the biggest challenge.
There are no sequel plans for “Fallout” and “Arcanum”?
Tim Cain mentioned that not only “Fallout”, but also “Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura” later developed by Troika Games. He said that he did not deliberately leave a lot of foreshadowing or room for future expansion during the development process. Nowadays, many game companies have already begun to think about sequels, DLC and even film and television adaptation plans before the first work is launched. However, Tim Cain admitted that the development environment back then was completely different from now. The team is more often worried about budget, schedule and whether the game can be launched smoothly, rather than thinking about the development route for the next ten years.
From surviving to creating a legendary IP!
Looking back, this kind of development thinking has created many classic works. The original “Fallout” was a huge success after its launch in 1997, and later gradually developed into one of Bethesda’s most important RPG brands. Although “Arcanum” has not achieved the same level of commercial success, it is still regarded by many old players as a classic masterpiece in the CRPG field.
Tim Cain also said with a smile that his career often progressed in stumbling steps. Many decisions were not carefully planned, but were slowly figured out during the development process. Such a statement may surprise modern players. After all, many large-scale games now have planned content blueprints for the next few years from the beginning of the project.
Sometimes the most classic works are just an attempt when they are born.
Tim Cain’s remarks resonated with many players. Some netizens believe that the game industry now likes to talk about long-term operations, universe plans and future layout, but it is easy to ignore that the most important thing is to make the first game well. After all, who would have thought that “Fallout”, when the development team only wanted to complete the game smoothly, would eventually grow into one of the most influential doomsday RPG series in the gaming industry. In a way, this is perhaps the most interesting part of creating it, because some legends, no one knows from the beginning that they will become legends.