Fallout: New Vegas Interview
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GB: The RobCo Pip-Boy mascot from the 2000 model was often confused with the Vault-Tec Vault Boy mascot in Fallout 1 and 2. The Pip-Boy mascot did not make an appearence in Fallout 3, but will he appear in New Vegas? If not, was he retired due to the confusion caused by his similarity to Vault Boy? Brian: No, I'm afraid that little guy seems to have been retired.
GB: New Vegas has several different factions, and we've seen a very distinct style for at least one - Caesar's Legion. Will other factions like the Khans, Chairmen, or Kings have similar recognizable styles? Is there any concern that enemies decked out to look like Romans or similarly unusual garbs might come across as a bit silly?
Brian: I hope they have recognizable styles, since I tried very hard to make sure they did when I conceptualized them :). I think in Fallout there's a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor that allows for things to get silly, and I'm okay with that personally, though I don't think they do.
Joe: We worked hard at making each faction distinct, not only with their garments but also with their residences, weapons and graffiti. Nothing is ever arbitrary. It's all for a visual purpose and even little elements are made to reflect the group's character.
I had no concerns with items coming off as silly. That would only happen if it were completely out of context, meaning there's no real reason how or why the outfits where made and also don't reflect the local surroundings.
In the case of Caesar's Legion, rather than making straight up reproductions of centurion armor, we build it with a foundation of found objects, in this case American football equipment. It makes sense they found a stockpile of football gear and decided to build their armor out of it and makes it fit in the world.
GB: From a visual perspective, Fallout 3's super mutants were distinctly different from super mutants we encountered in Fallout 1 and 2. New Vegas' version is again closer to the ones from the BIS titles. Take us through the process of designing and recreating the Fallout: New Vegas super mutants.
Brian: Specifically, we re-tooled the texture a bit, re-worked the head and brought the mouth straps back. Our animation team has also did some work to make them behave more like the mutants in Fallout 1 and 2.
Joe: We wanted from a story standpoint to have some of the mutants from the previous Fallout titles, partly for nostalgia but more so to illustrate the migration of creatures and folks from the west. We focused on the important parts, which we thought was the head and shoulders, since that is the focal point during conversation and is when players are most focused on them.
With this in mind, Brian worked on the concept and the character artist then took over and worked on integrating it into the game.
GB: The nightkin were a relatively minor class with no real distinct look in Fallout 1/2. Could you take us through their design, and what criteria they had to meet in order to properly fit into New Vegas?
Joe: Brian focused on a new texture treatment for the skin as well as adorning them with found and improvised items to reflect their unstable mental state. This mix and match of items found in the wasteland helps the Nightkin fit in the wasteland.
Brian: We started with the mutant but changed his skin tone to a grayish blue color. They're meant to be stealthy guys so I gave them hoods, fewer hard surfaces and sharp objects either as ornamentation or as weapons. I used reds in their attire thinking that as they appear form stealth mode, a sudden splash of color would help with the initial scare.
Also, by using objects the Nightkin may find in their wandering about to dress them, they have a "found object" sense of style. Ultimately, they had to be scary, which I think they are.
Thanks guys!
