So apparently, as I understand, during 'year x' the world entered a huge war and a nuclear fallout occurred. I can only assume it was between America and China, and any allies either side had. And some of the people went into vaults and came out when it was 'safe'. And they started as a somewhat-primitive society with a boost in technology and became what it is in the current games.

So when was 'year x'? What happened? I have a hard time deciding if it was in the mid 1900's cause of the laser weapons, robots, and rocket-looking cars. But then I think about the mid 1900's music, the computers, and the way people look and act which seems very retro. It's like the future and the past at the same time. What's up with that?

And did most survivors become primitive? Like early tribal people? Or were they similar to previous life standards just adjusted for the new world?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26akSYfDdn4

And no not everyone became primitive, but then again primitive is relative to what things were like Pre-War to after the war.

Also Fallout is not our timeline, it is an alternative timeline that branched off from our timeline sometime in the 1950s. In the Fallout Universe the culture stayed locked in the 1950s mindset and technology took a very different path. 1950s retro-futuristic that got nuked to hell.