Poll: Why do you like Fallout? A poll.

[Mr.Numbers]

Backstory:
This poll is of significance as I'm attempting to show that what can be deemed as an ultra violent game can be appreciated and enjoyed for reasons other than violence.

A lot of study goes into how violent video games make people want to act violent so I'v decided to do my FTV study/poll on...giving gamers a chance to speak up for their game choice. Fallout is the best example for this because:

1: Of the Bloody mess perk especially

2: The First Person Shooter is highly advanced

3: It's got a large and diverse fanbase

4:: It's the most highly developed example of games as a story telling and artform medium.

Just respond on why you like Fallout, why you play it, whether you agree violence in games affects you and whether you agree with the results.

I personally believe that rather than violent video games create violent kids, violent kids like violent video games and the "Studies" have it backwards.

I will be writing an exam on this so please keep your replies reasonably legible.

 

[chinangel]

it's a very open rpg experience. It lets me do what I wish and how I wish without punishing me for it. The world is ridiculous but not outrageously so: you can see a clear line of logic in this, as well as some rather comic book science.

Then there is the world itself. Wandering through the wastelands let's you see what probably happened here, where people played and worked, and the messages scattered throughout the skeleton of the world let's you feel that everyone here was a 3 dimensional person. Some were insane, others were just...odd and some just boring vanilla normal.

In other words: it's fun, and that's what a game is supposed to be.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I don't like Fallout for the violence (although, liquidising a Fiend's head from half a mile away with an anti-materiel rifle never gets old).

I love it for the dark, yet quirky atmosphere.

Where I can walk into an abandoned house and piece together how terribly the people died there based on their skeletons, then the next minute, listen to a radio broadcast of a Nightkin, interviewing herself, as her robot.

I love Fallout.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I like it for the atmosphere and setting. A 1950's apocalypse world, plus it's incredibly immersive and open.

Not for violence, but I do like violence.

 

[Gregg Lonsdale]

I liked Fallout because it featured a massive, beautifully expansive world full of characters and opportunity for exploration. Oblivion had the same thing, but it lost out for being dull and nerdy, two problems fallout rectified by having guns. Not that oblivion was less violent. In both games you could kill anyone (or everyone) you wanted in a variety of ways, but in oblivion it takes a lot longer. Maybe that alone makes it less violent, since you have to put in more effort to being genocidal, but i don't believe that's the case.

And I agree with what you say, violent games don't create violent kids. But I would personally expand on your statement to say "violent and stupid kids like violent and stupid games". I say this because i know of more violent games than fallout that are also mature and complex, which potentially explains their lowered popularity amongst children. The prime example of this is Condemned: Criminal Origins, a gritty and realistic first person game centred around an FBI investigator who is framed for murder of his colleagues. It has emotional depth, story growth, and some of the most brutal beatings and gruesome murders i've ever seen in a game. Perhaps you should look into that if you need some padding for your exam.

 

[Seventh Actuality]

I like it basically because I like westerns, and Fallout lets me play a Man With No Name-type running around a kind of old west equivalent spruced up with sci-fi and post-apocalypse elements.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

Because the idea that 90% of the world's idiots/assholes have been eliminated turns me on.

I kid, I kid.

I love it mostly for the barren dystopia. I know it sounds weird, but it's always been a way for me to mentally prepare for the apocalypse with graphical simulations.

From there, I fell in love with the characters, the story and the gameplay.

(And actually, these loves started with Wasteland, Fallout's spiritual predecessor.)

 

[Woulvain]

The reason I like fallout.
That is a difficult question to answer. The customisation that the game gives you is probably the thing I like about it most. That I can design a character to play exactly how I want it to. I mean it sucks that the character models were truly disturbing, but gameplay wise it was in depth and immersive. Probably the first time in my gaming career that I had run into such a system with Fallout3.

The freedom of choice that it gives you, that you can talk down an opponent instead of having to blow his head off is great. The fact that you don't HAVE to resort to violence was absolutely fantastic! I mean, as it has already been said, using a sniper in fallout is still a great joy, but when you don't it's still great fun.

The quirky characters and interesting (though occasionally repetitive) landscapes probably top it all off. All that awesome gameplay, interesting characters and expansive and varied landscape? You've got yourself a recipe for awesome! Plus the story in 3 and NV were pretty neat as well! Really got attached to some of the characters like Veronica, Cass, and everyone in Old World Blues.

To sum up. Fallout is brilliant! Sorry if this ends up being TL;DR

And to answer you're second question, violent video games, and violent media in general, do not create violent people. It desensitizes you completely to violence and such but it does not make you violent. I mean look at me! I've been enjoying relatively violent shows and games from a very young age, and I'm quite a shy and meek person, hating the idea of inflisting pain in another. But then again, I'm completely desensitized to most violence and a few other things.
Also. You CANNOT LEARN HOW TO SHOT FROM VIDEO GAMES! Thats probably my biggest annoyance about the media -.-

 

[orangeban]

*sigh* I can't be the only person who sees the title Fallout with no numerals following it, and assume they mean the original.

Anyway, Fallout 3 and New Vegas are... alright. New Vegas is much better than 3, because the writing and story are much better, and the choices more grey. I don't really play it for the violence, I turned off the fancy cinematic slow-mo kill shots because they got annoying.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

*sigh* I can't be the only person who sees the title Fallout with no numerals following it, and assume they mean the original.

/Raises hand, points to post

Same here. I always know that when I click on a thread with just Fallout in the title, I'm probably going to be disappointed that it's not OG Fallout they're talking about.

/shrugs

Signs of the times, I s'pose.

/shakes fist at young whipper-snappers

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

*sigh* I can't be the only person who sees the title Fallout with no numerals following it, and assume they mean the original.

You aren't the only one.
Anyway I like the fallout series for its goofy funny style, great lore and setting and overall being really well made RPGs that are full of choices.

 

[TonyVonTonyus]

Fallout=Futuristic Oblivion, that is why.

 

[Hoplon]

1: Of the Bloody mess perk especially

2: The First Person Shooter is highly advanced

3: It's got a large and diverse fanbase

4:: It's the most highly developed example of games as a story telling and artform medium.

Mostly this is just hilarious since it is either untrue or utterly unprovable.

The Bethesda fallout games aren't even as advanced as System Shock 2, a 12 year old game, this is largely because with the reset of the genre with the move to consoles a lot of what had been done with FPSes was ignored since people didn't think it could be done on the consoles.

The good thing it has done is to help prove that wrong.

The things l like most about it are the humour (better in New Vegas) and the openness, as much as there is a strong story to guide me around the world, I can also just bugger off exploring and the non-liner nature of the game means i don't get punished for this.

 

[Wintermoot]

1. the world
2. the mods
3. the music
4. the world (except FO3 which felt cramped in comparison to NV)

 

[ArtemusClydeFrog]

The funny thing is, I never thought of Fallout 3 or NV as extraordinarily violent games. I mean, it's obvious that they are, but the gore is cartoonish and exaggerated, the violence lacks a psychological dimension and the game constantly showcases a great sense of underlying (or extremely obvious) humor that somewhat detaches the player from the violence as a result.

I've always just seen the violence and combat as a game mechanic and as a means of exploring various choices with your character - be violent or diplomatic, "good" or "evil" etc.

I love the games for the massive sense of freedom, both in terms of character development and the game world responding to your character's actions. As a player you really get the ability to shape and affect the world around you.
And the setting and lore of the series are amazing. The dystopian post-apocalyptic sci-fi universe that merges with the 1950's nostalgia is unique and enthralling.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Poll. I don't see no

 

[Robert Ewing]

It's been the most immersive game I've played. Which is strange because the fallout games of late have some qualities that makes it not very immersive.

I guess because it doesn't fail to keep me interested. And always tricks me into playing it more. I love it because of this.

 

[Hawgh]

It's an interesting universe with a slew of humour and compelling characters on the side.

 

[Mr.Numbers]

snip

I'm looking at the game from the perspective of a Faux News reporter. I completely and utterly agree with you, and that's what I'm trying to prove.

However, my poll didn't work, any ideas on how to fix it?

Thanks to everyone who took time out to reply by the way, have a cookie.