LogIn"They have no idea, in my opinion, what they're doing."
Image Credit: Amazon
Amidst all the controversies and retcons introduced to the Fallout lore with the release of Amazon's TV adaptation of the legendary game series, one of the most questionable ones was their decision to outright nuke one of the most iconic Fallout locations, Shady Sands, leaving many fans of the original dilogy (and New Vegas, of course) disappointed with Fallout's writing for a gazillionth time.
For those who haven't had the pleasure of diving into Interplay's Fallouts and might not understand the significance of Shady Sands, here's a quick rundown. In the first game, the settlement in question is the first town one would most likely encounter on their journey for the Water Chip, situated conveniently between Vault 13, where the protagonist emerges, and Vault 15, where the game encourages us to go.
In Fallout 2, a once-shabby village is turned into a bustling city known as NCR, the capital of the Wasteland's largest nation, the New California Republic. In the years that follow the events of the sequel, the NCR matures into a real country, with its living conditions being not much worse than those in Fallout's pre-war world, establishes a massive and formidable army, and becomes one of the two most powerful entities in the post-war USA – all thanks to a small community of ex-Vault dwellers, which was mercilessly obliterated by Amazon's TV show and then made canon by Bethesda.
Image Credit: Interplay
With that in mind, it's no surprise that many die-hard Fallout fans, who were already discontent with Bethesda's writing choices even before the show's premiere, were displeased by Vault-Tec's annihilation of Shady Sands, viewing it as a disrespectful move towards the original games and claiming that its destruction contradicts the story of Fallout: New Vegas.
The sudden destruction of NCR's capital didn't sit well not only with the fans but also with John Deiley, a Fallout 2 Designer who had a hand in shaping the sequel's NCR, Vaults 13 and 15, the Enclave's Navarro base, and numerous other locations, who recently shared his perspective on the Fallout TV series.
Speaking to The Gamer, Deiley disclosed his discontent with Bethesda's handling of the franchise, claiming that, in his opinion, they have no idea what they are doing. While acknowledging that the studio has the rights for the Fallout series and is allowed to do anything it wants with it, Deiley lamented Bethesda's transformation of the franchise into something it was never meant to be.
"I do not like what they are doing. I think that they are slowly but surely changing the license into something that it was never intended to be by us designers and the original producers," the designer said in the interview. "But like I said, it belongs to them. The only thing that really bothers me is that every time I read the news or see a trailer and their name comes up on it, it really annoys the hell out of me because none of that was theirs. They have no idea, in my opinion, what they're doing."
Image Credit: Amazon
However, Deiley also made it clear that he doesn't harbor any ill will towards the show itself, mentioning being "proud" of it and expressing satisfaction that Amazon's creation, however flawed it might be, helped renew the wider community's interest in the Fallout franchise, an interest that has already translated into player numbers and sales.
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