Joystiq

Penny Arcade's original Fallout 3 webcomic debuts

Randy Nelson — 2008-07-23T21:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, First Person Shooters, RPGs

We didn't even need to play Fallout 3 at E3 to know that it's going to be a very big deal (but we're glad we did, and have a hands-on coming soon). In continuing to ramp up excitement for the game's upcoming release, Bethesda is collaborating with the Penny Arcade crew on a weekly series of Fallout webcomics, the first of which debuted today.

According to Bethesda's Pete Hines, the idea was actually pitched to PA's Gabe and Tycho "years ago," ultimately resulting in an original story focusing on a Vault other than 101, which is the kick-off point for Fallout 3. Click here or on the panel above to read the entire three-panel debut strip. New strips will go up on the Fallout 3 site every Wednesday, come rain or nuclear holocaust.

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Bethesda defends E3, says it needs to change

Jason Dobson — 2008-07-22T11:58:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, E3, Business

After returning to its old stomping grounds, last week's E3 was a bittersweet reminder of not only what the annual event used to be, but also what it had become, its once bustling halls now comparatively vacant as handfuls of press scurried past. Even so, while some continue to call the occurrence irrelevant, others, such as Bethesda marketing front man Pete Hines, believe that E3 remains an important event for the gaming industry.

"I'm a firm believer that we need an E3," Hines told TechRadar UK in a post-show interview. However, the exec qualified his statement, adding that "we just can't have it like this year." Hines instead feels that E3 needs to become an "improved version" of 2007's Santa Monica beach side trek, or even a more controlled version of previous years' media bazaar. It will be interesting to see where E3 goes from here; with the event being a few pounds short of a megaton, we couldn't shake the feeling that we were attending both a showcase and a wake.

[Thanks Adam]

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Splash Damage hires four industry vets for multiplatform mystery

Jason Dobson — 2008-07-22T08:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

After getting all BFF with fellow developer Bethesda, Quake Wars dev, Splash Damage, has begun to ramp up for its "genre defining" multi-platform project, announcing the appointment of four industry vets to its team.

Among the company's new hires are Rainbow Six: Vegas' Olivier Leonardi as art director; Burnout Paradise's Chris Sweetman as audio director; Mass Effect's Tim Appleby as the project's lead character artist; and Driver: Parallel Lines' Chris Dawson as producer. The company still plans to double the size of its current team to more than 60 staff as a result of the project, which to this point remains a mystery. However, with Sweetman and creative director Paul Wedgwood both taking to the stage next week at Develop 2008, perhaps it won't be long before we find out just what these folks are up to.

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Joystiq interview: Bethesda's Todd Howard on Fallout 3

Kevin Kelly — 2008-07-21T07:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, First Person Shooters, RPGs, Interviews, E3

Hopefully we're not in danger of providing Fallout 3 overload, and if you haven't gotten the idea yet, we're really looking forward to this game. It's literally a cool science fiction series skin slapped on top of Oblivion, but we're not complaining about that. Blowing away mutants in the wasteland? Yes, please.

Here's the meat and bones from our time with Bethesda's Todd Howard, and you can listen to the full audio interview below. After the break, find out some tidbits like the size of the world, how many radio stations are in the game, and why you won't be dual-wielding or buying horse armor. Oh, and be sure to pay attention to the exploding pants achievement.

Fallout 1 and 2 both contained a lot of humor... but will Fallout 3 have any? Yes. Although they won't be breaking the fourth wall like the other games did.
What's the exploding pants achievement? You can sneak up to unsuspecting mutants and drop a grenade in their pants. Why isn't this in other games?
Interplay worked on this game for a long time, did Bethesda end up keeping anything? No. However, they did have a playable build of the original F3, which you can find here in all its bug-laden glory.
Interplay is developing the MMO, and Bethesda has approval over everything. It's a strange reversal of licenses and fortunes.
Find out why some of the elements are very reminiscent of BioShock, which Todd Howard calls "Easily one of the best games of the last five years." The short answer is that "a lot of today's gamers weren't alive when Fallout first came out and contained in-game vending machines.
How quickly did Bethesda decide to use the Oblivion engine? "Instantly." To Bethesda, this is a great tool for building really huge games both now and in the future.
How big is the world of Fallout 3? They aren't even sure. Right now it's "almost as big as Oblivion... we haven't measured it."
However, as big as the game is, you won't using any sort of transports to get around. At least Oblivion gave you horses (with armor!) to help pass the time.
Will this game appease Oblivion fans? "If they're mainly into swords and elves, I don't think they'll like it."
When the Bethesda folks finish a game, they have a contest to see who can run through all the main quests in the fastest time. The winner gets a pie of their choosing. Can we instigate this policy at Joystiq?
They considered doing dual-wielding, but the trouble is that you have to then add two animations, one for each weapon. It might make an appearance in their next game.
Did they think about calling it something besides Fallout 3? Like, Fallout: Origins? They did, but Howard is "not a fan of that... I like Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3. It didn't hurt Grand Theft Auto 3, did it?"
How many in-game radio stations do they have? "I don't know!" There are two main ones, the station with Malcolm McDowell as the President saying "all is well" and so on, and the other station that plays music from the 40s, and has a dj that you can actually meet and do quests for.

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Fallout 3 Vault-Tec phone number decoded

Kevin Kelly — 2008-07-17T21:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Action, Adventure, First Person Shooters, Interviews, E3

Pete Hines from Bethesda shattered our crystalline dreams yesterday when he told us that the Vault-Tec 800 number for Fallout 3 means... absolutely nothing. He and Todd Howard had argued about it, and Pete wanted it to actually have something hidden inside for fans, but he got vetoed.

Although Bethesda would love for rabid Fallout fans to kick down the door of a 68 year old woman's house in Texas in search of hidden editions of the game, it just ain't happenin'. Listen to the actual audio dialogue below which busted up our hopes for a Rain Man level math secret hidden in the phone message.

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The real-life Fallout 3 Pip-boy peripheral that almost was

Kevin Kelly — 2008-07-17T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, Fighting, First Person Shooters, Interviews

Writing about video games can often expose you to those heartbreaking stories of things in development that almost made it, but never appeared. Things like the Phantom game console, Shenmue Online, and the years-in-the-making Duke Nukem Forever.

We spent time with Bethesda's Todd Howard beyond locked doors and found out about some of the dark secrets behind Fallout 3, including the massive real-life Pip-boy that would have had a screen built into it to allow you to interact with the game. Or possibly hold your PSP on your wrist to become a PiPSP-boy. Find out more after the breakage.

Q: Whose idea was it to build the Pip-boy 3000 clock that comes with the Fallout 3 Survival Edition?

A number of us. Pete [Hines] was probably the first one of us to say, "You know... we should build one of those." The initial concept was... peripherals were getting so popular. Retail was just cleaning up with peripherals, you can see where I'm going with this: Guitar Hero. I got asked if I wanted to do one as a peripheral, and I said "Absolutely!" The idea was that we would sell it, and it would work with the game. Now it's going to be a letdown, because it's obviously not what's happening.

Q: Like something you would snap onto your wrist?

We talked about it being a modified controller. Instead of having to pull it up in the screen, it had a screen that you could just pull up and [screen button punching noises]. Then we talked about a snap-in on the PS3 that would work the PSP. You could just snap your PSP into it and talk to your screen. It just became too crazy. "This thing is gonna cost $500! Another screen? How does it work on the platforms?" It was just too much for us to bite off.

But there was a one week period where we were like, "This is the greatest idea in the history of the universe, and we're doing this." But then we decided it would probably distract us from making a better game. The main argument was that it was only useful in the game, it wasn't something that was useful when you were out of it, so we decided to make it as a clock. Now you can wear it as a goofy watch to the mall, or you can put it up on your desk. It's really meant to be used on your desk as a clock now.

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Overheard@E3: 'The pie will be mine'

Ross Miller — 2008-07-16T21:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360

In an interview today (we'll have more from this later), Fallout 3 executive producer Todd Howard let us in on a little Bethesda family tradition. After the release of its games, the team holds a speed run contest to see who can get through the title the fastest (without cheating, of course). For Oblivion, Howard lost to the QA lead, who managed to best the Elder Scrolls RPG in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

"But this time [with Fallout 3]," he said, "the pie will be mine."

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Bethesda feeds fatigued friends with fried fare

Kevin Kelly — 2008-07-16T20:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Meta (about Joystiq), E3

After an extremely long day of liveblogging, keynotes, booth appointment, trawling the show floor, writing stories, taking photos, and recording podcasts, an evening of cocktails and parties sounded like an ideal way to unwind. However, we were smacked in the face with a tidal wave called "tired" and we just couldn't keep our eyes open. Next year: portable energy drink IVs.

We vacated Activision's fairly swanky reception and party early last night, with our destinations set on "Bethesda." Jetting from downtown Los Angeles to the Sunset Strip in mere minutes, we arrived like rockstars only to leave like geriatric mall-walkers a short hour later. However, we did witness some things we'd like to share. Check 'em out after the break.

Gallery: Bethesda's E3 2008 Party

Bethesda warped us back in time by returning us to the site of their last E3 party, the Saddle Ranch Chop House on the strip. We felt like Paris Hilton when the bouncer outside was turning away non-E3 Hollywood wannabes outside. Plus the blonde wig and short skirt we had on probably helped complete the illusion.

Inside we were greeted with buffet tables of more fried food than a Republican rally in the South. Seriously, everything was caked in ultra-thick batter. Which must have been laced with tryptophan, because after one trip of munchies, we all developed narcolepsy. We perked up a bit with cocktails served from the Saddle Ranch's buxom barmaids, and the "build your own s'mores" table provided us with much needed sugar.
However, despite the bull-riding, the karaoke, and the tunes from "DJ Nice" (what a tough sounding street name), we packed our sleepy selves back into our Joy-transport, and headed back for more blogging and miniscule amounts of shuteye. We really missed the fun signage from last year's event, and of course those Fallout 3 -- 101 shirts that we fired out of our schwag-cannon at last year's meetup. Speaking of which, get yourself to the massive schwag-off meetup we're having this year on Thursday night.

More gamerazzi party coverage later, so don't touch that URL bar.

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We've got Nuka Cola and a SimTek 1000 viewer

Justin McElroy — 2008-07-16T06:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Meta (about Joystiq)

As we perused Fallout 3 today (more on that soon) Bethesda treated us to some refreshment in the form of Nuka Cola. But did we ingest the only known post-apocalyptic soda? No, dear reader, we did not. We left its dark mysteries bottled up in the hopes that we could pass the bottles along to you at Thursday's Joystiq Reader Meet Up Party.

A similar fate will befall the other Bethesda swag we nabbed, a SimTek 1000 holographic ... OK, it's a ViewMaster. But it's got Fallout 3 three-dimensional screenshots, so you won't hear us complaining. If you want a crack at it make sure you attend the shin-dig.

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Fallout 3's Vault-Tec toll-free number wants you to hold forever

Kevin Kelly — 2008-07-15T03:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Action, Fighting

If you call the Vault-Tec toll free hotline at 1-888-4-VAULTTEC (dang novelty 800 numbers!), you'll be stuck on immediate hold and told there are 101,000,000 callers in front of you ... which leads to an extremely long hold time. In fact, a mutant voice lets you know it's about 78,643 hours (unless we're hearing it wrong). We checked back to see if it's counting down, and it doesn't seem to be.

Any hackers out there with Rain Man-like number skillz who want to try and decode what this could possibly mean for Fallout 3? Maybe it's the date of the apocalypse. Have at it, and have fun. Also, please don't stay on hold that long and blame us later. If you're phonically challenged, just watch our special Joystiq audio-only recording of the call posted after the break.

[Thanks, Robert]

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Vault-Tec vid urges you to prepare for the future

Justin McElroy — 2008-07-14T22:45:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360

We saw some rad new footage from Fallout 3 at Microsoft's press conference this morning, but we see no reason why we should get to have all the fun. Until the nuclear holocaust actually arrives we're going to continue to think about our fellow man, and that includes you, dear reader.

Oh sure, you've probably already seen the four-minute long walkthrough, but what about the exquisitely retro Vault-Tec ad above, or the terrifically gory clip just after the break? No? Well, check them out and discover that, yes, it's possible to want Fallout 3 even more.

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Fallout 3 teaser trailer will never, ever let you down

Griffin McElroy — 2008-07-12T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, RPGs

Those who saw that headline and hoped for a pre-E3 (forgive the pun) bombshell will likely be disappointed by the above teaser trailer for Bethesda's take on the classic post-apocalyptic RPG franchise, Fallout -- a thirty second sneak peek at Fallout 3's scenic wasteland and bleak tone waits behind that play button, and not much else. However, upon careful inspection, one can glean a valuable life lesson from the above teaser -- should your residence ever be threatened by an atomic attack, your best chance for survival (other than climbing into the nearest lead-lined refrigerator, of course) involves surrounding yourself with monochromatic television sets. Indestructible and entertaining, your impromptu TV fort will be the most popular bomb shelter in town!

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Bethesda to host post-apocalyptic film festival in August

Ross Miller — 2008-07-11T13:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360

Fallout 3 developer Bethesda announced via press release that it is hosting (alongside American Cinematheque and Geek Monthly) a post-apocalyptic film festival in honor of the upcoming game. The two night even starts Friday, August 22 at Aero Theater in Santa Monica, CA.

Three films will be shown each night. For Friday, August 22: Wizards, Damnation Alley, A Boy and His Dog. For Saturday, August 23 (The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, Twelve Monkeys), both nights starting at 7:00 pm. We think they're missing a few good choices -- namely, Six String Samurai, Mad Max and The Adventures of Pluto Nash.

The real kicker is a "special Fallout 3 giveaway" for every attendee. We're expecting a poster or tote bag, but who knows? Maybe Bethesda is offering free Rad Away for all. Tickets go on sale July 25.

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Fallout 3 refused classification in Australia

Ross Miller — 2008-07-09T08:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, RPGs

We didn't think Fallout 3 was close enough to completion for a rating, but the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification has already refused to classify the title, effectively banning it from sale in the country. The game be resubmitted, with edits, in the hopes it meets the gudelines for MA15+ rating. If Grand Theft Auto IV could do it, we have no doubt that Bethesda will find a way to edit the game for sales in the Land Down Under. So much for the Bloody Mess perk.

(Alternate captions: "Was it something I said?", "I can has rating now plees?")

Gallery: Fallout 3

[Via Internode; thanks, Eden]

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New pics, new perks and no traits for Fallout 3

Ross Miller — 2008-07-09T03:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, RPGs

click to embiggen

We talked about the exhaustive Fallout 3 Q&A yesterday, but there are a few morsels of information we want to point out specifically, chief among them are new images that reveal the Megaton Bar, a "shotgun on robot" and the Pip-Boy skills menu.

For the Fallout purists, chances are you'll be dismayed to hear that traits have been taken out of the game and melded into the perks system, which has been modified to where you're allowed a new perk with every level. "That was a hard decision for us, and one that took, literally, years," said executive producer Todd Howard, who noted that the traits and perks system were so related that many of the design-a-perk contest entrants were actually traits.

According to Howard, if you include ranks, there are about 100 perks available and only 19 chances to pick a perk each game (level cap is 20). No worries, though, because "Bloody Mess" is still available, and that's all we need to hear to be satisfied.

Gallery: Fallout 3

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Bethesda talks murder, sex, slavery and cannibalism in Fallout 3

Justin McElroy — 2008-07-08T14:15:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, RPGs

When we first heard that Bethesda was working on a Fallout 3 game we made a pledge to ourselves that we were going to stay completely spoiler free, that we'd go into the experience fresh, with no knowledge of what surprises awaited and what mysteries we would unearth. Sadly, it didn't take long for us to remember that we worked for a video game site, and trying to remain willfully ignorant of a major title was misguided at best.

But it's not too late for you, dear reader! You can avert your eyes right now. You don't have to read this exhaustive Q and A with Bethesda wherein they discuss everything from drug use and child murder to Fallout 3's inventory system! You can still ... you already clicked on it, didn't you?

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Fallout 3 producer finds Diablo 3 design 'conservative'

Jason Dobson — 2008-07-01T17:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, PC, Action, Business

While the ballyhoo around Blizzard's announcement of Diablo 3 kept us all sleep deprived and glued to our screens this last weekend, some were left not as impressed as others. And by some, we mean Fallout 3 production director Ashley Cheng, who feels the series' third trip to the well is too 'conservative.'

"I must say," wrote Cheng on his blog, "I am disappointed that Blizzard has stayed on the conservative side in terms of design with their updates to Diablo and Starcraft." However, he tempered his displeasure with a measure of excitement, writing that he "loved" the game's destructible environments and that the vaunted action RPG looks "pretty amazing." Even so, take heed, dear Blizzard. Try not to be so restrained when you finally get around to revisiting Starcraft: Ghost; we think casting Nova in a post-apocalyptic wasteland is a guaranteed way to win our hearts.

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We can't resist new Fallout 3 screens

Justin McElroy — 2008-06-25T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, RPGs

We know that as the supposedly impartial game media we're supposed to give every game a fair shake, but can we be honest with you about Fallout 3: We are helpless to resist it. Maybe it's the aesthetic, maybe it's the pedigree, but we just can't let an opportunity to post about it pass us by. Luckily though, we think a lot of you probably feel the same way, so you won't mind seeing a few new screens.

In addition to the above image, we've got a still that looks like it's from the stat management screen and a mutant firing a giant gun at the national mall. And that's it. That's all Fallout 3 has to give us to get onto Joystiq. Isn't that sad?

Gallery: Fallout 3 (6-25-08)

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Yoink! Adventure game reuses Oblivion's graphics

Justin McElroy — 2008-06-11T09:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC

When you play a lot of video games as we do, they can tend to feel a little same-y after a while. But Majestic Studios may just have just pushed past Homageville and straight into Lawsuitburg with Limbo of the Lost, which appears to have lifted many of its background graphics directly from Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. No, it's not in a "Hey, this game looks like Oblivion" way. It's more like "Hey, why are you seizing my copy of the game as evidence?" GamePlasma has the image above and many, many more examples.

What's nuttier is that this game has actually been around for a while. It was originally released in Asia way back in November of 2007, though it's just now getting a North American release. It's criminal, but it's also kind of inspiring. Apparently, if you dream of making games, all you have to do is find another game, and then make up a guy to put in that game and then sell it. If we weren't so busy liquidating our stock in Majestic Studios we'd be slow clapping.

(Oh, and just so you know, Bethesda tells us they don't have a comment and Majestic's email address doesn't work..)

Update: No one is safe from Limbo! It seems the game also stole an environment from Eidos' Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Update 2: Just heard back from U.S. publisher Tri Synergy who tells us that the similarity between the two is "striking" but "We're just as shocked as anybody else and we've put a line in to Majestic. We had no idea that any of this had been in the game and things would have been different had we known." They're still exploring it though, so we hope we'll hear more soon.

[Thanks Michael]

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Amazon offering Fallout 3 'Survival Edition'

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-06-06T14:15:00+00:00

As if Fallout 3's Collector's Edition wasn't enough to make you frantically type "DO WANT" in our comments section, Bethesda and Amazon have announced an even grander package, the Fallout 3 Survival Edition. In what's essentially the special edition of the collector's edition, Amazon's offer includes all of the latter item's goodies -- a Vault Boy Bobblehead doll, a hardcover book of art and a behind-the-scenes DVD in a Vault-Tec lunch box -- as well as a "life-size" replica of the Pip-Boy 3000, the wrist-mounted contraption worn by in-game apocalypse survivors.

Of course, being a replica, the Pip-Boy 3000 doesn't offer the full functionality enjoyed by those wandering Bethesda's wasteland. This one's just a cool digital clock, we're afraid. It's already available for pre-order on Amazon (but not to Europe, sorry!), with the console and PC versions listed at $129.99 and $119.99, respectively. DO WANT ... ?

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