Every time I play Fallout 3 it bothers me to no end that Bethesda seems so skilled at creating a vast interesting world but then doesn't add depth and content which would be easy to add given everything that is already accomplished.
For example, take Megaton - you already have the Church, the bomb, all the graphics are made and done - so why not add some quests? Why not add a pocket of believers somewhere that need escorted to the town? Or a believer who stole some sacred artifact and is holed up out in the waste? Megaton, and every other city, could have had tons of quests that were fetching/killing/traveling quests that fleshed out the places and added depth around the more "intricate" 17 sidequests.
Look at the Outcasts, the Talons, the Brotherhood of Steel - everything hard is done: the graphics, the placement etc. So why not have a BoS member command you with wiping out the Outcast base? or leading a raid that clears out a major fortress of raiders? There are so many places like that in the wasteland with no story attached - why not attach a simple story that allows roleplaying outside of your own mind? (which seems a cheap and easy response: just play it in your imagination) How hard would it really be to add 6-10 quests of a simpler nature to the Talons, Outcasts, BoS? Even just having each faction wanting you to wipe out the other two bases and return with evidence is fun....
Or having Tenpenny have more quests - making the tower truly a place of operations for an evil character instead of a 2 quest (1 really - the ghouls) interlude. A "hit list" quest that takes out primary figures for good in the wasteland and bringing back trophies for Mr. Burke. A quest to establish a drug network by linking with several of the chemists/raiders and establishing a cartel. I don't know a ton about programming - but it seems that the hard parts are finished: the places, the graphics, the characters - all that is needed is some triggers/dialogue. Why not have Tenpenny pay to wipe out Underworld? That would feel like you are truly changing the landscape of the Wasteland and you would have to make hard decisions.
Or have the BoS lead a major raid on Paradise Falls, or Paradise Falls send you out to establish links with Tenpenny etc.
There could have been so much more interaction/quests dealing with the politics of the wasteland and quests that, granted, are "dissed" by some gameplayers as too simple (fetch/kill quests) but often add replay value if there are different factions offering them and they flesh out a location so you feel you actually spent time there!
I expected Moriarty's saloon to be a place of villians and intrigue - but, nope, just a couple of people to talk to..... you could even have had Moriarty want to establish the drug trade and become a crime boss putting him at odds with Tenpenny at some point.
The possibilities were endless with what is already pre-existing.... I feel Bethesda created this vast world and then missed golden opportunities to fill it with content.
Did I still love FO3 - of course, but this always nags me when I play it....
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I would think, as Fallout 4 is developed, that there would be ways to add this kind of factional interaction/quests that truly flesh out each place. Imagine Rivet City with 10-15 quests, even if the majority are simpler quests that take you out into the wasteland, instead of a few. For me, roleplaying needs a basic framework beyond simply my imagination - it always feel cool to align yourself with a faction and know you are carrying out a mission. I would be interested in other people's thoughts in terms of depth, content and hopes for FO4 in relation to the above original post.....
J