Support NeoGAF

[Draugoth]

The Bethesda director spoke to Vanity Fair about the upcoming TV series, explaining that as a studio Bethesda “views what’s happening in the show as canon”.

“That’s what’s great,” Howard says. “When someone else looks at your work and then translates it in some fashion.”

Howard also delved into exactly what type of tone the show will take, stating that there were a “lot of conversations over the style of humour, the level of violence, the style of violence”. According to Howard, a Fallout series needs to “weave in a little bit of a wink” which he believes the show “threaded that needle really well.”

Whomever, if you follow Fallout lore discussions even casually, it won't surprise you to hear a lot of the complaints are around something that's gotten Fallout into lore trouble in the past: The Brotherhood of Steel.

Where to start? With three things, really. First, Todd Howard said in the recent Vanity Fair article that Bethesda views "what’s happening in the show as canon," which means the events of the show are fact within the greater Fallout fiction. Secondly, the same article revealed that the Fallout show takes place 219 years after the Great War, in the year 2296, which is only 9 years after Fallout 4 (2287) and 15 years after Fallout: New Vegas (2281).

Finally, we know the show takes place in Los Angeles, California. And that's all fans need: give 'em a date, a location, and a photograph, and they'll start digging up problems with all three. Some fans quickly noticed that while the Brotherhood of Steel is shown in great force in several of the new pictures, the NCR (New California Republic) isn't shown at all. How could the BoS muscle into Los Angeles with so much hardware and firepower when we know the NCR was kicking butt and taking names in SoCal?

Even a BoS gun shown in one of the pictures is being targeted by unhappy fans, though it's less of a lore issue. "The costumes look amazing but that one goddamn power armor user with the Fallout 4 assault rifle. I hoped that the franchise was leaving that god awful weapon design in 4," says a disgruntled fan. "I at least hope they make it clear that it's a weapon designed to be used in conjuction with power armour, [versus] a standard issue weapon," another responds. "I hope to god and back that they end up calling it a heavy MG, or something in the same category instead," someone else says. I hate to be the bearer of bad news for these Fallout 4 gun fanatics, but I'm pretty sure they're not gonna bring the show to a screeching halt to comprehensively explain one of its guns. It also makes me wonder what some of these fans really want from a Fallout TV show? For Walton Goggins to read the instruction manual for an assault rifle out loud to the audience? Oddly enough, this is essentially the same Brotherhood of Steel problem Fallout 76 had. Fallout 76 takes place in West Virginia in 2102, and according to the lore established in the earlier games, the BoS didn't become active until 50 or so years later when it finally left its Lost Hills bunker in California. Not only should the BoS not be in West Virginia, they shouldn't be in Fallout 76 at all.

Absolutely fascinated to learn how the Caswennan came to exist," one Reddit user says in a way that makes me think if the show doesn't explain it in great detail they'll be extremely disappointed. "Prydwen was designed from the ground up as far as we know as a next generation airship so has to be involved in this somehow." Others speculate that since the Prydwyn was destroyed in one of Fallout's endings, it's possible the Caswennan is a rebuilt Prydwyn. Which raises other problems. Would the BoS have been able to restore and relocate the ship across the entire continent in just a handful of years? And there's still the question of why the NCR didn't shoot it down the second it hovered into view.

Source 1

Source 2

 

[Joshmyersbv]

Todd has been playing fast and loose with fallout lore since Bethesda acquired the license. This isn't surprising at all and fans of the older games need to move on to something else because he clearly doesn't give a shit.

 

[Codes 208]

Todd has been playing fast and loose with fallout lore since Bethesda acquired the license. This isn't surprising at all and fans of the older games need to move on to something else because he clearly doesn't give a shit.

It still has potential despite the inaccuracies at least.

It cant be worse than the halo tv series, right….right??

 

[ungalo]

Todd has been playing fast and loose with fallout lore since Bethesda acquired the license. This isn't surprising at all and fans of the older games need to move on to something else because he clearly doesn't give a shit.

I don't give a shit either about what's canon in some extended universe...i don't give more or less value to some part of said universe because of what a guy said for whatever commercial reasons.

I don't think it will hurt the Fallout universe if it's bad.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Will the characters go scrounging around in pre-war supermarkets looking for 219 year old nonperishable foods?

 

[adamsapple]

'Fans' complaining is the least shocking thing imaginable.

The franchise doesn't have an over-arching lore through the games other than the broader beats about nukes falling and there being vaults, so this being 'canon' doesn't mean much.

 

[diffusionx]

Todd has been playing fast and loose with fallout lore since Bethesda acquired the license. This isn't surprising at all and fans of the older games need to move on to something else because he clearly doesn't give a shit.

I was about to post this. Right from the start they did whatever they want with it. I get it if you are an old school Fallout fan but it's obvious Bethesda just doesn't care.

 

[R3TRO]

I just want the show to be good.

 

[Wildebeest]

Brotherhood of Steel have taken over the Fallout IP to the point where it is a simplified caricature of what it once was.

 

[Ribi]

Don't listen to his lies.

"Translates in SOME fashion" already using weasel words

 

[RedC]

I just want the show to be good.

You may be asking for too much.

 

[MayauMiao]

Don't listen to his lies.

"Translates in SOME fashion" already using weasel words

He is just telling us some sweet little lies:

 

[Sethbacca]

As someone who just loves F3, NV, and F4, I could care less for the canon as long as all the story beats are there and the show is actually good. I do get how the lore nerds that go further back with the series could be upset by this though. The reality is that Amazon is more interested in having something to sell to the masses rather than appealing to a very small subset of gamers who actually pay attention to these things.

 

[fatmarco]

If all canon is up in the air, its time to finally make "Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel" canon and add Killswitch Engage, Slipknot and Meshuggah to the radio stations:



I mean it's "just a made up, silly, goofy fantasy world", so therefore nothing is actually true, and thus everything is permitted, right?

 

[Punished Miku]

Just realized that's Walton Goggins. And Westworld writers.

Kindaaaaaaaaaa optimistic.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

And Westworld writers. .

didn't that show shit the bed?

I only watched the first one and a bit of the 2nd seasons.

 

[Punished Miku]

didn't that show shit the bed?

I only watched the first one and a bit of the 2nd seasons.

It did but season 1 was good. Most of these shows can't even get a season 1 worth watching. It's not like Jonathan Nolan has zero talent considering he's co-written and helped on most of his brother's films also.

 

[Shut0wen]

Only fallout canon is fo3 and fo4 anything not made bethesda is left on the drawing floor because they cunts

 

[MiguelItUp]

People were getting up in arms over the look of the weapons, lol. Honestly, I think it's best to be patient and see how it all pans out before judging. I mean, visually I feel like it looks the part, or it's pretty damn close. But other than that, all we can do is hope for the best. It's cool knowing Todd has said anything at all about it, maybe it doesn't mean much at all, but on paper it seems neat, lol.

But again, I guess we'll see how it goes.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

 

[newtypepilot]

I expect this to be as good as their lord of the rings series lol

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Honestly, who even cares about Fallout "lore" (lol) at this point?

The games never had a continuous overarching story, and for good reason. I've played every Fallout game aside from 76 and I can't name a single character or important story beat. The games are entertaining on their own with fairly self-contained stories.

 

[kiphalfton]

I get it, deviating from the source material is annoying. But at this point every single live action adaption has deviated. And yet people freak out every single time. Go back and play the games or whatever. At least you know you'll have a good time.

 

[Terenty]

I will only watch it for Walton Goggins

 

[FunkMiller]

I see Amazon's trial run for how to do power armour in live action is nearly here then. Get this shit out of the way, and prepare for the proper power armour dudes.

Sadly, this Fallout series is likely to be a piece of crap, given who's involved in the writing, and the fact it's a show Jennifer Salke seems very keen on. She's very much responsible for a lot of what happened with Rings Of Power, so good luck Fallout fans!

 

[BouncyFrag]

Amazon would be hard pressed to write a narrative worse than Fallout 4.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Todd has been playing fast and loose with fallout lore since Bethesda acquired the license. This isn't surprising at all and fans of the older games need to move on to something else because he clearly doesn't give a shit.

Like Disney with Marvel/Star Wars.

I'm seeing a pattern here when big gobbles things up.

 

[DaciaJC]

I see Amazon's trial run for how to do power armour in live action is nearly here then. Get this shit out of the way, and prepare for the proper power armour dudes.

Astartes is so fucking good.