Fallout 3 is the iconic post-apocalyptic open-world game that introduced a new generation of gamers to the stories set in a world ‘after the bombs fell’ in the Great War of 2077. The game introduced many new things to the old-school CRPG style that was used in the first two Fallout games. The shift to a first-person perspective, with the option to play it also in third-person was a notable departure from the old formula. But they were welcome ones.
Much could be said about Bethesda’s take on the post-apocalyptic setting. It was a world that was familiar but also unique in its own right. A new gameplay system like VATs enables new mechanics from the gunplay; the monsters and the many factions. Today our focus is on the location: specifically where do the events that make up Fallout 3, the action RPG released in 2008 take place and what is its significance?
Fallout 3 – Welcome to the Capital Wasteland
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So where does Fallout 3 take place? The answer: the Capital Wasteland. But seriously though, the question for the reader would be: what is its significance? What is it about the Capital Wasteland that makes it a (disturbingly) appropriate locale for the game to take place? Many things actually, but a few key points stand out. First, the idea of a story about a post-apocalyptic world starting out not just inside a vault that is buried deep underground, but in a vault that was located near the heart of the capital of the United States of America, is an impactful one.
The fate of the Lone Wanderer who goes in search of this father is made more meaningful as it in some ways reflects the search of a destroyed nation for its lost identity. The many different quests the protagonist embarks upon and the factions he encounters in the process highlight the surviving humanity’s search for order and restoration, albeit in a crude and messy way. It’s a key aspect of the game’s storytelling.
A Post-Apocalyptic Washington DC – How We Got Here
A lot can be said about the origins of the Great War: the conflict between a nuclear-armed China and America that led to the events of October 23, 2077. This is when the bombs fell and destroyed much of civilization, with the capital of the free world at the epicenter of Fallout 3. At this, one might be tempted to visit the backstory to the backstory. The narrative strand deals with ‘Mothership Zeta’.
But in case the reader is not aware, I will not spoil it for you. For now, it is enough that we agree on the fact that the Great War resulted when two nuclear-armed nations decided the other must die for them to survive. Everyone knows how that ended. What is interesting to note about the Great War and its climatic moments, was the evolving nature of the conflict. The conflict between China and the United States had raged on for years (2074 – 2077), and in that time the technologies that would become commonplace in the post-nuclear world would be developed. They were developed almost in preparation for the inevitable.
What Makes the Capital Wasteland an Ideal Fallout Setting
There’s one primary reason the setting is ideal: world-building on a destructive scale. For those who were introduced to the game back in 2008 (a time when some of us were just starting our foray into video games), the Capital Wasteland offered an intriguing mix of depth, expansiveness, and realism that was ahead of its time. One got the feeling that this was a ravaged, messed-up world holding many terrors. And in the backdrop stood the remains of the great US Capitol. Now but a shadow of its former self, it provided that distinct perspective for Fallout 3. What more could an RPG gamer ask for?
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