I'm sure this question has been asked 1,000,000 times. But I figured I would ask it again just because I have never seen an answer to it.

In terms of mature content do you think Fallout should stay where it is now, go darker, or maybe lessen up a little and cover lighter tones?

I myself would like to see the Fallout series take a darker tone. In my opinion Fallout is more like "Mad Max" or "A Boy and his Dog." I want to see it become more like "The Road" or "The Last of Us." Just the whole horror and constant danger of not only the creatures in the wasteland but the people have not really been shown in any of the Fallout games maybe 1 and 2 but not any of the new ones I think. So tell me what you guys and gals think should be added to make it more of a mature game if you think more should be added, if not let me know why as well. I'm interested to see how many people agree with me and how many don't. Thank you in advance!

Sincerely,

Prizrak

I feel like going darker would make it lose a bit of its personality. The whole nuclear holocaust angle is pretty horrifying and depressing enough, anything more might just make it too depressing to play lol.

So I'd say it's pretty good where it is.

It doesn't have to go darker, just more mature, like New Vegas did. Mature means believable.

Maturity doesn't equal grimdark. And Fallout deals with some pretty dark themes already, think of Cook-Cook.

The question is, do certain things need to be shown or can you rather mention them?
I think extreme horror visuals in most cases is just another form of porm and doesn't necessarily have an artistic reason to do so.

Depends on whether it's genuinely good dark stuff and not completely forced and ridiculous. For me the entire bs with Cook Cook felt that way and some of the evul deeds of Caesar's Legion. Also the thristy beggars in FO3, the entirety of the Enclave in FO2 and FO3, etc. Now, Vault 11 - that's my idea of mature. The Pitt too is a good example of the mature content a post-apocalyptic game needs.

New Vegas deals with mature content very well. It deals with subject matter for "mature" players rather then making a game full of explosions, boobs and blood and guts.

So Fallout should continue with the way New Vegas deals with mature content.

I think Cook-Cook was well done. Didn't feel forced, especially since he was so well embedded into the game world (he's referenced quite a few times). Legion also.
The beggars weren't really dark as far as I can remember? And the Enclave felt forced because you were forced to fight them. Don't think they were darker than any evil faction.

I agree with Vault 11 and the Pitt.

I kind of wished that the Legion would of been portrayed better. If they showed us what the Legion had accomplished and let us go to Legion controlled towns and see that all this sacrifice and blood that the Legion had given was for something much greater than themselves. Then I would of been happy, the whole purpose of Caesar's Legion was to unite the warring tribes and form a society that was focused on a goal much greater than themselves. So what I'm trying to say is that there is a method to the Legion's madness that we did not see. We got to see how the Legion acted during a time of war, not how they acted in times of peace.

Legion means war. Legion sees mankind as dependant on constant battle. A man has to become a legionaire.

Where Legion rules, there is stability and order. You'll also see many slaves and women treated worse than [censored]. I think if we went east of the Colorado, we wouldn't have changed our views on the Legion that much. I never understood how the Legion rules their land anyway. Not everyone is Legion there obviously, but Legion kills anything bad. So they kill all the profligates and dissolutes until there is nothing but Legion. But they need nourishment, so they let people and economies live. They hate them though. So I suppose life under the Legion is very harsh.

A profligate is someone who is hostile towards the Legion or not part of the Legion. Primarily the soldiers of the NCR, this line of dialogue from Caesar concerning the Boomers might help shed some light on how the Legion treats territories it controls.

"I want you to offer them an alliance with my Legion. My terms are simple: target their guns against the NCR side of the dam when I assault it and they can keep their freedom. If you find they aren't amenable to this offer, destroy them."

This shows that as long as a civilization contributes in some way to the greater good of the Legion they will be left to their own accord. Legion rule is exactly that, if someone or something is going against the Legion they will crush them or it. Most villages and towns are barely bothered by the Legion, even Good Springs is left alone if the Legion wins the second battle of Hoover Dam. So the Legion does not slaughter and enslave all like they are portrayed there is no black and white with the Legion only a thousand shades of gray. But if I was living in Legion territory I would gladly take up a sword and fight for them. Because even if they are not intentionally trying to rebuild society they are leaving relatively safe and peaceful communities behind them and making their enemies fight for them.

It seems to me that you are mistaking mature and dark.

You can deal with pretty light topic and be mature in the way you adress them.

I mean mature as well I just did not want to get into the discussion of nudity, sixual assault, and ultra gore. I felt like that would of turned into a flame war.

To me it feels like it has the right balance.

Very well said. Also id like to add on is that the abuse of slaves that we see are people who were part of an enemy faction towards the Legion. Alot of the slaves we see are from ncr citizens and from tribes that the Legion fought and conquered. The towns that did not struggle or put up a fight are very well protected as long as they contribute to the Legion when it asks which really isnt any different really than what the ncr does with taxes and forced recruitment. Difference is taxes are towards the Legion amd put towards good use in the Legion for the Legion while taxes with the ncr is for the bloat of govt and lining the pockets of wealthy people with pull. Forced recruitment is a bit different but happens, the ncr is temporary but the training is half assed while with the Legion its permanent and the trainimg is excellent but deadly.
one thing i will give the legion besides the stability and protection people receive is that the citizens KNOW they dont have any real rights besides what the Legion allows while the NCR people "think" they have rights but the NCR can take away the rights at any time.

What game are we talking about.. Are we talking about FONV, Fallout 1 and 2? Or are we talking about Fallout 3? I am perfectly content with FONV and the originals, but 3 on the other hand.. Needs a little bit more mature content for mature audiences. The story telling was anything but mature and the characters were super simplified and lack depth (Darker tones and such).

I'm talking the series in general. But I never really caught the tones on Fallout New Vegas am I missing something?

Legion Goodsprings Ending: "The Legion, preoccupied with its acquisition of http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/New_Vegas, scarcely took notice of the town of Goodsprings. Many locals moved on, fearful of http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Caesar's long shadow. Only the old and the stubborn remained."

I was always under the impression that a civilization is not left to their own accords, if the Legion somehow has an interest in them. The Legion goes to a town, kills everyone that opposes them, brutally tortures and crucifies the bartender, destroys all alcohol, chems and medicine and raqes a few women. Most of the girls and women capable of breeding are taken with them as slaves, the boys who could become legionaires are taken too. The town now has to pay tribute to the legion, meaning contributing to the 'greater good'. Everytime the tributarius or what comes to town, he takes the promising newborn children with him to serve the mighty Caesar. If anyone does anything the Legion doesn't like, the town will be eradicated or at least the responsibles crucified. This would be life under the Legion. Yeah, it's safe and NCR is bad too, but I doubt we'd change our views of the Legion if we could see actual Legion controlled lands.

And if you lived under the Legion, you'd be long dead for you raised your sword when the legionaires took your sister or your child.

Yeah, NCR is bad, but it's more ridiculously incompetent. Legion is hardened and works efficient like a swarm. And do you honestly think that the Legion would take slaves only from enemies? Listen to Canyon Runner a bit. Everyone outside the Legion lives better as a slave for the Legion, for anything else is a shallow, meaningless existence. And the towns controlled by Legion are effectively slave towns, they should be thankful that Caesar doesn't have the manpower to control absolutely everything.

I really do not want to turn this into a tear apart of the Legion and wasteland politics, so I'll end it here. The Legion would not take my sister because she can't walk, and my daughter would end up being hidden under a rock or something. There are ways to survive and thrive in an oppressive almost totalitarian government, my ancestors survived centuries living under Tsarist Imperialism and then Soviet Communism primarily by enlisting in the military and the rest keeping their heads down and doing what they were told. Was it a rough life? Yes but we turned out better for it in the end.

Sorry I didn't want this to sound as personal as I made it. I just wanted to express that people under the Legion would have reason to hate the Legion.

I would rather die free (or at least think im free) then serve under the yoke of a tyrant. I can change the NCR but I can't change the Legion.

Agreed, New Vegas should be the template for future Fallout installments in regard to tone and the handling of mature content. There's a great balance between light and dark, and this makes its world feel more believable than a world where everyone is happy all the time, or a world where everyone is dour and miserable all the time. Fallout 1 also did a great job here... and I was going to say Fallout 2, but then I remembered the porm studio in New Reno.

Yeah, Fallout 2 really overdid the wacky bs. So much so that I can't even remember if there was ever any serious moment in the game that didn't feel corny. Was there? (the Enclave is corny by default to me)

Honestly Fallout 2 felt more like a B movie action to movie. It was wacky and off the wall to the point that I could not take it seriously. I think I have to agree with you guys on Fallout 1 and New Vegas hitting the sweet spot, although I've yet to see anything in New Vegas.

I... uh... maybe?

No, I've got nothing. Aside from the Enclave's endgame I honestly don't remember any.

Did the porm studio tarnish the whole game for you?

No I just called it out as being a little wacky.