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Original Fallout Developer Would Have Done Fallout 3 Differently
Tim Cain is currently a design director at Carbine Studios – a division of NCsoft working on an unannounced MMO – but old PC hounds might remember him as the producer, lead programmer, and designer for Troika when he worked on the original PC Fallout titles. Fan site www.duckandcover.cx recently posted an interview with Cain where he talks about how much he liked Bethesda’s update to the series, but also how his version of Fallout 3 would have turned out very differently.
In the interview Cain states, “I played and finished Fallout 3 as soon as it came out. I really enjoyed the game, and I think Bethesda’s designers had really done their homework. The game showed they had a deep understanding and knowledge of the key aspects of the original games. I even replayed it a few times to see how I could have different experiences, and I had fun with that. Of course, I would have done things differently if I had made it.”
Cain doesn’t elaborate on the changes he would have made, but fans of the original Fallout games might be interested to hear how Cain would change the first two Fallouts if he could make the original titles all over again. “Oh, there is so much that I would have done differently based on what I know now,” says Cain. “The interface could have been improved, and there are ways to speed up and balance the turn-based combat system to make it more comparable with modern games. I also wished our budget could have been larger, not only to make a bigger and longer game, but also to have a real marketing campaign. Sometimes I feel that Fallout 1 was basically an advertisement for Fallout 2.”
Cain briefly mentions that he has a design document for his version of Fallout 3, but is unwilling to share any of his ideas regarding future installments in the series. Hopefully someday he’ll finally break down and let details slip. Or maybe someday his version of the game will get made.
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