Fallout 3's Green Aesthetics Were Lost on Series' Game Director Because Tim Cain Is Colorblind
"I was blown away."
Bethesda
Tim Cain, the game director of the first two Fallout games, was invited to take a look at Fallout 3 after the franchise was handed over to Bethesda, which introduced many changes, but one of them Cain couldn't appreciate.
In an interview with Game Informer, he revealed that the famous green hue of the game was not an issue for him, as he's colorblind.
"I grew up right outside of Washington, D.C., so when Todd invited me up to see Fallout 3 at E3 2008 – this was before it shipped – I was blown away because I was like, 'Wow, that looks like the Metro station! And that there’s the Washington Monument!' And I’m colorblind, so the whole greenish tint thing didn’t apply to me."
But even if Cain saw the color, I doubt he or anyone else would have made Todd Howard change it. There was a whole "Great Green Debate" back then over the correct green color.
"I would say it's like electric green," Howard said, referring tothe Pip Boy. "And then we would go through endless shades of green and debates of green."
"[Art director Istvan Pely] would change it in the middle of development, and I'm like, 'You changed the green,'" Howard recalled. "And he's like, 'I don't even know how you could tell.'"
Pely remembers that time well: "Todd would call out, 'I don't think that's the right green. I think you should take another look at it.' And I'm like, I'm pretty sure it is.'"
Whether you like the green in Fallout 3 or not, it's here to stay (or to go if you don't mind mods).
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