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[Draugoth]

During a recent press event attended by the UK lifestyle tech magazine T3, Nolan said he didn’t create the series to appease players of the game. Figuring out how to make other people happy, Nolan said, is “kind of a fool’s errand.” As such, he explained that artists should focus on making art that makes them happy, and says he’s done that with Fallout, which hits Amazon Prime Video on April 11.

“I don’t think you really can set out to please the fans of anything,” he said. “Or please anyone other than yourself. I think you have to come into this trying to make the show that you want to make and trusting that, as fans of the game [ourselves], we would find the pieces that were essential to us...and try to do the best version.”

While he doesn’t intend to pander to die-hard Fallout fans, Nolan doesn’t plan to deviate too much from the series’ lore, either. He’s a fan of Bethesda Softworks’ franchise, saying Fallout 3 damn-near ruined his life. The chokehold the game had on him was part of the reason why he wanted to co-create the show to begin with.

Source

 

[Spyxos]

Just make another Halo series. Fans loved it.

 

[Danknugz]

i'm not interested in watching this at all but saying you don't care about appeasing people who played the game and then i the same breath sayin "fallout 3 ruined my life" is kind of conflicting, does not come across as a genuine statement.

 

[Generic]

I think you have to come into this trying to make the show that you want to make and trusting that, as fans of the game [ourselves], we would find the pieces that were essential to us...and try to do the best version

Sounds good. I will watch his show.

 

[semiconscious]

'But it's all right now
I learned my lesson well
You see, you can't please everyone
So you got to please yourself...'
- ricky nelson

 

[Gojiira]

I mean what he actually said is that fans have there own experience and expectation and therefore what they want from the show is going to be wildly different. BUT, the show looks to be based just on Bethesda entries in the series, so we can expect the garbage BOS, le wacky wasteland and of course the awful retcons Bethesda introduced. The trailer already leaves a bad taste in my mouth, ghouls look stupid, tone is just way too ‘Bethesda’ not as dark and moody as the good entries. It doesnt look ‘terrible’ per se but yeah not expecting much.
At least it cant possibly be as bad as Rings of Power…Right?

 

[Pelao]

I dunno, man, I look at the success of something as simple as the fucking 2023 Mario Bros. movie, which is clearly made for fans of the games, or even what happened with the changes to the Sonic movie, and I think maybe wanting to please the fans might be a good idea, rather than, you know, delivering a botched adaptation by another creative who thinks they can "make it better."

 

[Doom85]

I dunno, man, I look at the success of something as simple as the fucking 2023 Mario Bros. movie, which is clearly made for fans of the games, or even what happened with the changes to the Sonic movie, and I think maybe wanting to please the fans might be a good idea, rather than, you know, delivering a botched adaptation by another creative who thinks they can "make it better."

Mario was so desperate to “please the fans” they threw in so much fanservice and forgot to make an entertaining movie.

 

[Roberts]

More power to him. As long as he gets the essence of Fallout games, he can do whatever he pleases and after all there is too much fan service in the industry already - it’s dull and fucking boring.

 

[BouncyFrag]

Just mix in some dirty dirty nexus mod content from time to time…

 

[R3TRO]

I agree

 

[Rentahamster]

Don't please fans, but please yourself, but he is a fan himself.

OK gotcha.

 

[kazuyamishima]

He's not wrong.

They are trying to attract a new audience that possibly never interacted with any fallout game before

 

[thismeinteil]

Skip.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

Mario was so desperate to “please the fans” they threw in so much fanservice and forgot to make an entertaining movie.

I also think the movie was complete crap. Hella vanilla and cookie cutter. But it’s success speaks for itself no?

 

[StereoVsn]

He's not wrong.

They are trying to attract a new audience that possibly never interacted with any fallout game before

That worked wonderfully with Wheel of Time and Rings of Power….

 

[Laptop1991]

Well i've got no complaints about the trailers so far, i liked what i've seen, you can't please all of us Fallout fans as we like different factions and prefer different choices and endings, but as long as he is a fan of Fallout as he claims, then i don't think it will be that bad, as long as it doesn't end up a Witcher situation in the end, at least i hope it doesn't.

 

[Kings Field]

Over/Under on how many seasons until this gets cancelled?

 

[Doom85]

I also think the movie was complete crap. Hella vanilla and cookie cutter. But it’s success speaks for itself no?

I mean, the first four Michael Bay Transformers movies were extremely successful at the box office despite pissing off most Transformers fans, so not really. There’s a ton of factors in determining how much money a film makes beyond just “quality” and “being faithful” (which both are subjective themselves to a certain degree anyway).

 

[Clear]

The obvious thing to say is that there's nothing wrong with trying to do something original and interesting with an established IP, the key though is simply being mindful of not needlessly antagonizing the fanbase.

Too many people in Hollywood seem incapable of understanding that fandoms are a key value component of these franchises value, and that if you alienate that passionate and super-engaged audience you are more than likely to crash and burn. You can afford to lose a portion of them, provided what you bring attracts an equal or larger bunch of new fans... but showing disregard or even contempt for their expectations is never going to work out.

Not to mention if your opinion of a franchise and its existing fanbase is so low, why the fuck are you working on it?

 

[Majukun]

then why are you using the franchise at all??

 

[ProtoByte]

I kinda get the point, but this isn't the way you vocalize it.

That said, Fallout isn't the same as something like LOTR or TLOU. There's more opportunity for "deviation" here.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

You're never gonna please everyone no; at least he seems to be really invested in the source material.

 

[realcool]

always a good sign when they warn you beforehand

Spoiler

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

So basically "f the lore, we are going to do what we want" , just like all these other tv adaptions that flop.

 

[Trogdor1123]

People are over reacting to this. He is saying it’s impossible to please all the fans and that he will do something that fits his vision. Considering how often we hear people here complain about allowing game creators make the game they want and stop “clicking boxes” for whatever reason I’m a bit surprised. If the story and show are good, we should applaud him.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

I mean, the first four Michael Bay Transformers movies were extremely successful at the box office despite pissing off most Transformers fans, so not really. There’s a ton of factors in determining how much money a film makes beyond just “quality” and “being faithful” (which both are subjective themselves to a certain degree anyway).

Which again, it’s the point. Make money by appealing to the largest audience possible.

I seen better films, that don’t have mass appeal.

Twisted Metal is good example of making a silly car game appeal for mass audiences.

 

[Arsic]

Meh. After snored of the rings show, this will join it in the landfill of flops.

Seems like HBO hires people with talent to do game adaptions.

 

[WitchHunter]

Would've been better if he based the series on Fallout 2 and threw out the shit Bethesda pulled with the series after they created the abomination that is called Fallout 3. A good gut wrenching, ultra violent series like GoT in a modern, postapoc setting would've sent the whole thing into the stratosphere.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

He’s a fan of Bethesda Softworks’ franchise, saying Fallout 3 damn-near ruined his life.​

Saying this about a game that Elder Scrolled the franchise and eliminated many things made Fallout Fallout.

 

[March Climber]

People are over reacting to this. He is saying it’s impossible to please all the fans and that he will do something that fits his vision. Considering how often we hear people here complain about allowing game creators make the game they want and stop “clicking boxes” for whatever reason I’m a bit surprised. If the story and show are good, we should applaud him.

This headline I keep seeing spread around about the creator of this show might be the most clickbaited headline of 2024. It's ridiculous.

 

[Moneal]

All fans definitely. Most fans will be fine as long as the stories told are good and the feeling and key lore of the IP are upheld.

 

[Ribi]

This worked for witcher season 2, Ghostbusters women, and halo season 1. It's a proven formula I agree

 

[sankt-Antonio]

I don't understand this kind of logic. Fans bought the games/books etc. in droves. It's quirks and unique looks/story is what made them fans. Just redo it, additional fans will be created based simply on the medium (film) it is presented to the audience.
If your own take is so great how did the show runners not achieve to create their own beloved IP?

LotR showed it works, every other "we'll do our own take on the story" didn't.

 

[GymWolf]

So this is gonna be like the witcher serial uh??!

 

[IAmRei]

Mario was so desperate to “please the fans” they threw in so much fanservice and forgot to make an entertaining movie.

according to some, if not lot of people, they like it.

 

[NeonDelta]

Wonder how many people in here actually read what he said or are just reacting to the headline/thread title

 

[Robb]

Yeah, I don’t think you have to please fans. I do think you have to stay true to the source material, understand it, and care about it though. As long as you do that I don’t think most fans will complain anyway.

 

[yanhash]

Lets not pretend Dark Knight is 1:1 adaptation, also Mario bros movie was mid

 

[mdkirby]

During a recent press event attended by the UK lifestyle tech magazine T3, Nolan said he didn’t create the series to appease players of the game. Figuring out how to make other people happy, Nolan said, is “kind of a fool’s errand.” As such, he explained that artists should focus on making art that makes them happy, and says he’s done that with Fallout, which hits Amazon Prime Video on April 11.


While he doesn’t intend to pander to die-hard Fallout fans, Nolan doesn’t plan to deviate too much from the series’ lore, either. He’s a fan of Bethesda Softworks’ franchise, saying Fallout 3 damn-near ruined his life. The chokehold the game had on him was part of the reason why he wanted to co-create the show to begin with.

Source

By far the most important part of that entire statement is that he himself is a big fan of fallout 3. So he should have a grasp of what captures the core of fallout, but from HIS perspective, because we all take away something a little different from the things we love. So the way he tells it will be capturing his feelings on the world/lore, not trying to appeal to how others may have experienced it, which as we are all different, he would be right in saying is a fools errand.

Him being a fan is enough for me. These things are usually a disaster because the creators have no love for, or often even played the games.

 

[Negotiator101]

Just make another Halo series. Fans loved it.

They've already made two and a third is on the way, sarcasm doesn't work all the time

 

[GHound]

[Don't believe his lies intensifies]

 

[MaestroMike]

trailer looked fine i for one will be watching when it drops *marks calendar and clears schedule for april 11th* two days before ufc 300 might i add could be the best week I've had in a very long time im excited

 

[Braag]

By far the most important part of that entire statement is that he himself is a big fan of fallout 3. So he should have a grasp of what captures the core of fallout, but from HIS perspective, because we all take away something a little different from the things we love. So the way he tells it will be capturing his feelings on the world/lore, not trying to appeal to how others may have experienced it, which as we are all different, he would be right in saying is a fools errand.

Him being a fan is enough for me. These things are usually a disaster because the creators have no love for, or often even played the games.

Very true.
Alas, people misunderstanding the quote is sort of proving him right.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I don't understand this kind of logic. Fans bought the games/books etc. in droves. It's quirks and unique looks/story is what made them fans.

Fans are taken for granted, everyone is chasing that larger pie.

 

[mdkirby]

Very true.
Alas, people misunderstanding the quote is sort of proving him right.

Hahaha yep very much so…we’re also on a pretty outspoken niche gaming forum, which likely has some of the most passionate “hardcore” fans. ie we are the exact people he’s talking about

 

[Ammogeddon]

I think most fans just want movie/TV adaptions to be faithful to the source material.

One of the simplest ways to do that is maintain the aesthetic, which it looks like they have. The other is a general adherence to the lore. Other than that you can tell whatever story you like within the world.

I think the biggest challenge with adaptions is when they’re adapting a specific character and/or story. They rarely ever measure up.

 

[POKEYCLYDE]

It's easier to insert your own story into a video game universe as long as you're not using the source material and deviating from it.

For example, making a Halo show, using Masterchief, Cortana, Arbiter, etc. BUT changing it to tell your own story is a terrible idea. Using Geralt and the whole cast of the Witcher franchise but deviating wildly from the source is going to piss off fans.

You could easily make a Halo show focused on a random ODST, random Spartan or even a random soldier experiencing the horrors of the covenant. There are novels upon novels of side stories in the Halo universe. To pick the main cast to twist and bend and contort into a generic sci-fi story that you want to tell is asking for fan revolt.

All this to say, making a story that you want to tell in the Fallout universe while not pissing off fans should be pretty easy. Most of the games you're making your own character and experiencing story through the environment and quests. As long as the creators don't want to follow the main quests of the games, and just want to set their story in the Fallout universe they should be fine. Just get the tone and comedy of that universe right, and they'll be fine.

 

[SportsFan581]

That's basically the first creative principle right?

As soon as the creators start to respond to directly to the fan requests the art can get lost.

 

[Jack Package]

He's right.