"Colorful, Shallow Theme Park": New Vegas Writer on Bethesda's Fallout

Cementing Brotherhood of Steel's status as Enclave 2.0, reducing Caesar's Legion from a ruthless and evil but effective society to a gang of sports-gear-wearing idiots, turning the New Vegas Strip from the Jewel of the Mojave Wasteland into a generic post-apocalyptic city backdrop, shooting The King – in just four episodes, season 2 of Amazon and Bethesda's Fallout TV show has already rewritten and/or downplayed numerous elements of the fan-favorite Fallout: New Vegas, sparking a gazillionth wave of speculation that the franchise's new owner outright hates Fallout and is trying to erase the legacy of the "original trilogy" – 1, 2, FNV – developed by Interplay and Obsidian.

Chris Avellone, senior New Vegas writer, designer of Fallout 2, and author of the Fallout Bible, has recently addressed the speculation, saying that he doesn't believe Bethesda actually detests the original Fallout games.

In his opinion, the studio doesn't fully understand the franchise's roots and likely doesn't particularly care to, since they own the IP and want to shape it however they see fit. Avellone went on to describe Bethesda's attempts at Fallout as "colorful, shallow theme parks" – with some exceptions like the Far Harbor, Point Lookout, and The Pitt DLCs – while acknowledging that some people do enjoy theme parks.

"As for me, I don't hate Bethesda, there are things they do well (open world exploration), and there are things they do badly (telling linear stories in open world games and their inability to understand how to use the Speech skill)," the writer concluded.

Earlier, Bethesda's Todd Howard and Emil Pagliarulo reminded the Fallout community that the events of the show are canon, noting that the series will influence Fallout 5, thus suggesting that the next mainline installment could be set on the West Coast, a setting Bethesda hadn't explored before Amazon's adaptation.

And what are your thoughts on Fallout Season 2 so far? Do you see its changes as a deliberate move to undermine New Vegas' legacy? Does the show's portrayal of New Vegas suggest that Courier 6's efforts were ultimately meaningless? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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