Fallout 3 Was Going to Launch the Same Day the Bombs Dropped
Relax, the Nuclear Apocalypse didn’t kick off while you where rewatching the Fallout 4 trailer, but did you know that Bethesda originally wanted to release Fallout 3 on October 23rd?
In Fallout lore, that’s the date the bombs fell and Bethesda wanted this to fittingly be Fallout 3’s release date. Sadly, things didn’t work out as planned since the game was released on October 28th instead. There are also rumors currently spreading that Fallout 4 is set to be released on October 23rd.
The Programmers’ Children Did Voice Work
Moving away from nukes for a second, the voice actor during the first birthday scene is Jake Howard. Just who is Jake Howard, you ask? Well, he happens to be the son of director Todd Howard, and was one year old at the time. According to YouTuber ItsMatt, the voice clips were actually recorded on his first birthday party.
This isn’t the only kid voice actor related to the development team, either. The person who voiced 10-year old Paul Hannon is Luke Lafferty. He is the son of the game’s producer Craig Lafferty.
The Fatman Is Based on a Real-Life Weapon
The Fat Man launcher is the strongest weapon in Fallout 3, but it’s also based on a real weapon called the M-388 Davy Crockett. This was developed during the Cold War, and unlike the Fat-Man, couldn’t be fired over your shoulder. Instead, it needed to be put on a stand. While its payload wasn’t as powerful as a full-sized nuke, it was still a destructive weapon.
Gamers may remember it as the weapon that Colonel Volgin used during the Virtuous Mission in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
Also, because of the sensitivity of the atomic bomb attacks during World War II on Japan, the Fat Man was renamed to the Nuka Launcher in the Japanese versions of Fallout 3. Bethseda also removed the “Power of the Atom” quest which allowed players to blow up the town of Megaton for similar reasons.
Finally, did you know the bell that chimes after you reload the Fat Man is the lunchroom bell at the Bethesda offices?
The Xuanlong Assault Rifle Takes Its Name from a Dragon in Chinese Mythology
As many Fallout 3 players know, the Xuanlong Assault Rifle is the strongest Chinese Assault Rifle in the game. It’s also named after a King Dragon in Chinese mythology. According to YouTuber ShoddyCast in his Hidden History: Fallout 3 video, the Xuanlong Dragon “is a prominent figure in Chinese mythology. His is the highest tier of dragon and the most powerful among the King Dragons.”
Speaking of weapons, the Lincoln’s repeater, which you find in the Museum of History, is based on a Civil War weapon called the Henry 1860. This weapon was nicknamed “The Henry” and while it was very expensive for its time, soldiers praised it for its deadly accuracy.
Drug References Almost Kicked Fallout 3 out of Australia
Fallout 3 was almost banned in Australia because it originally incorporated real world drugs and was even going to have crack pipes and syringes. According to a copy of the Australians OFLC Board Ruling that was given to Gamespot in 2008:
“the game contains the option to take a variety of drugs known as chems using a device which is connected to the character’s arm.”
“These chems have postive and some negative effects (lowering of intelligence, or the character may become addicted to the chem). The positive effects include increase in strength, stamina, resistance to damage, agility, and hit points. Corresponding with the list of various chems are small visual representations of the drugs; these include syringes, tablets, pill bottles, a crack-type pipe, and blister packs. In the Board’s view, these realistic visual representation of drugs and their delivery method bring the ‘science-fiction’ drugs in line with ‘real-world’ drugs.
“The player can also select and use Morphine (a proscribed drug) which has the positive effect of enabling the character to ignore limb pain when the character’s extremities are targeted by the enemy.”
Fallout 3 was eventually allowed to be sold in Australia after Bethesda censored the drug content in all versions of the game. Bethesda’s Vice President, Pete Hines, later told Edge that:
“An issue was raised concerning references to real world, prescribed drugs in the game, and we subsequently removed those references and replaced them with fictional names.”
There Are No Ladders in Fallout 3 Because of the AI
While playing Fallout 3 and New Vegas, you may or may not have noticed that there are no ladders. This is surprisingly because of the game’s engine.
This was revealed by the game’s producer, Tom Howard, back in 2010 whe (during a panel at Quakecon) he said:
“Play our game; find a ladder that you can use. We don’t have them.”
Fallout 3′s AI kept encountering problems when they came across ladders. Tom Howard explained that the ladders were eventually cut because:
“One day, we tried to figure out why we wanted ladders so bad because we don’t really need them. It just felt like we’re game development pussies because we can’t do ladder.”
You Can Go Cow Tipping
After a hard day surviving random attacks in the Capital Wasteland, sometimes you’ll want a laugh. With that in mind, did you know that you can go cow tipping in Fallout 3? In order to do this, all you need to do is sneak over to one while your weapons are unequipped and press the active button. Doing so will cause the Lone Wanderer to push over a Brahmin with a unique animation.
Players have actually been able to tip over Brahmin since Fallout 2, and besides being hilarious, Brahmin tipping actually served a purpose in Fallout New Vegas were it counts towards the “Knocked Up” challenge.
There Was Originally Going to Be a Surgery Mini-Game
The world of Fallout 3 is an extremely dangerous place where players have to scavenge for weapons, armor, and medicine just so they could survive another day, but did you know the Bethesda originally planned to include a gritty surgery mini-game?
This mini-game was going to see players patch up particularly painful injuries and the player character would even scream in pain. While this would have fit in greatly with Fallout 3’s survival aspect, it was dropped because Bethesda felt that having players continuously stitching up their wounds would have slow down the game’s pace too much.
Fallout 3’s V.A.T.S Was Inspired by Burnout
Fallout 3′s V.A.T.S combat system was actually inspired by the Burnout series crash cameras. Not only that, but the sound effects that V.A.T.S uses are actually the same used at the beginning and end of combat in Fallout 1.
Also, the game’s artist Grant Struthers, prototyped the V.A.T.S weapon system by filming his The Incredibles action figures fighting.
You Almost Controlled Liberty Prime in the Final Mission
It’s only right that the final fact on this list should involve the big final mission in the base game, and Liberty Prime was going to be even bigger. Bethesda also originally planned for players to be able to control Liberty Prime inside of its head. This fact was revealed by Fallout 3 (and 4) lead designer Emil Pagliarulo in a interview with 1UP where he said this:
In the original plan, he was going to be massive, and the player was going to ride in his head, anime style. And, well, yeah — that never happened!
Also, despite what players might think, Liberty Prime was never named after Optimus Prime. In the same interview, Pagliarulo had this to say:
And then there’s the name. He was actually named long before the Transformers movie, and long before Optimus Prime sort of reentered the American consciousness. Honestly, he wasn’t named after Optimus Prime, as most people suspect. At least, not intentionally — but the subconscious is powerful thing, and I pull a lot of stuff from there unintentionally.
So that’s 10 things you may not have known about Fallout 3! Feel free to share any more fun facts in the comments below.
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