Growing up in the Wasteland would be very rough because it's back to survival of the fittest. Selfless people tend not to last very long in that kind of environment. Not saying that selfish people are neccessarily evil, they just look out for number 1 first and not go out of their way looking for trouble.

But what makes Burke, Tenpenny, Eulogy, Caroline Red, and Arzrukal evil as they are? Ego? Abused as a kid? Maintain a tough look to not look weak?

What makes so many millions of people utterly evil? We're flawed. Sadly lots of us don't make the best choices. We're free to do what we want and because of that there are people that choose the wrong path. So clearly not everyone in the wasteland is going to be so nice. Especially if supplies are low and the guy next to you has more supplies then you, what might be an instinct? (if you've seen the Road Warrior you know what I'm talking about)

Just my opinion

Well I think some people view evil as an entity because it's easier to perceive. Evil is actually a human condition present in all of us. Just like good, but I guess when bad outweighs the good, he's considered "evil".

Well there are sociopaths... But I'd say most of them are just screwed in the head or just take selfishness to a new extreme. This is a place where people like that can thrive, and usually get away with it. I don't think much explanation is needed.

Nobody's born as a bad person, it are experiences that make you the person you are.

And of course your personality affects how you will react to the experiences.
That why some people walk in their parents' footsteps and other go their own way.

Of course, a psycho- or sociopath has a big chance of becoming "crazy" but for "normal" people it's what's described above.


A normal guy chooses to be evil though or thinks it's right what he does, because we all have our dirty or evil thoughts.......

Easy answer: they aren't evil. There really is no evil, just as there is no good (at least in regards of an evil person or a good person). There are acts that are categorized as being evil or good. But, do you really think the people doing these evil acts consider themselves evil? More than likely, they believe their actions are fully justified. I'm not saying it is right, but I don't think 'evil' people see themselves as being evil. I think putting it in these terms makes it easier to understand how some things happen. There really is no explanation, other than this, for genocide. The people running things see it as necessary for one reason or another. Most sane people, obviously, list such acts as evil and wrong.

In the context of the game, I don't think the back-story to how certain characters became evil is really important. The characters act as one type of protagonist, giving you the option to fight against them or work with them. Same with the Enclave. Is the Enclave evil? They seem to believe their goals will work toward making things better for humans; although, at quite a high price.

There are selfish people though, those that believe their own interests are the only ones needing any consideration. Some may classify this as some sort of mental illness; however, it is possible it is just a very strong survival instinct or some other thing along those lines. It isn't wrong to be self-interested or selfish; although, it doesn't work well within the confines of a society that believes it is wrong or evil to do so.

The same thing that makes us all bad. Greed, Opportunism, selfishness. The causes are no different in fallout than here, although the effects seem to be different.

Let's not bring god into this... Insti-lock

Edit: God

For some people, the general term "evil" is defined by their spiritualistic views (and i'd rather not enter a convo on these forums about all that). But when talking about an individual being/becoming "evil", people automatically form judgement on them based on what they believe is moral or immoral. Their beliefs on what is moral and immoral are derived from past experiences, role models, that person's culture and preconceptions. Making whether a person being "evil" or not being a matter of perspective.
E.g. when the spanish traveled to the americas, they discovered natives. (to cut a long story short) The spanish believed cutting out someone's heart was horrific while viewing burning someone alive as normal justice, meanwhile the natives believed burning someone alive was horrific while cutting out someone's heart was a normal part of their culture.

Meanwhile discussing what made those people commit the actions that others viewed as "evil" would be a process of determining: whether the person was sound of mind, anolysing the persons past experiences (you will often find that: there is a sudden trauma that spurs the individual to commit the acts, or that there are a series of events that incrementally lead from normal/"good" behaviour down a road to what people consider "evil") and asking them/finding out what their reason for the action/s that lead to them committing "evil" actions.

Bad writing, in some cases. Especially Burke and Tenpenny. Eulogy, Ahzrukal and Carolina, they are just folks of of business with a mean streak.

Tenpenny's not evil, he's just ignorant and naive. He just wanted Megaton gone, not the people. That was Burke's work.

Eulogy's following his own interests, just like Azhrakul. They don't care about others and just want to make their own luck, not paying much attention whether their methods of doing so affects others in a bad way. They couldn't care. Though I think Eylogy's got some psychopathic tendancies and is probably driven by some sadistic traits.

I'd imagine most "evil" people in the Wastes just got fed up with being beat down by life in those harsh conditions, and figured that life would be little easier if they also did the beatings. It's almost an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" situation.

Life's hard on the wasteland, sometimes the best way is to be evil and follow the "eye for an eye" way of dealing with things.

Greed and Power

Because they can.

Some people are just born psychopaths, like probably Mr Burke. Others are forged that way by their life experiences, e.g. Caroline Red. I wouldn't say Ahzrukhal is truly evil, just a bastard.

Lack of social constraint.

Its actually something else that makes us evil. Its the urge to survive. We humans can't stand helping others when we ourselves aren't the happiest we can be. Why do most millionaires donate money? Because they are loaded. No one is going to share water with you when they themselves are struggling.

A loss of hope can lead to a loss of caring, and in the Fallout universe hope is in short supply.

I tend to care more about others than myself, be it in a game or in real life, which tends to cause me problems to the point of being told to consider my needs more often.

I agree it is a difficult thing to define. Here is an example that really characterizes the dilemma for me.
I have food.
Neither do you.
If i share my food i will not have enough, i will die.
If i don't share my food, you die.

I think a lot of it is doing the best of your can to aid others without compromising yourself. But then again if you are the person without food are you evil if you steal it?

Well, I believe most people look after their own hide and that may be the source of "evil" in Fallout. It's not like most of them are deliberately trying to be evil thoough - for them it's just a matter of surviving, a sort of "it's jsut business" or "Sorry, but I've got to eat too" attitude. It's also not hard to see why people would resort to more "evil" means - because what's the alternative? Life is the Wasteland is just incredibly hostile and after being chased around all your life by hostile wildlife, supermutants, feral ghouls and so forth, joining one of the strong groups or found one yourself to reach some revel of safety and comfort in the wasteland will probably seem really attractive, even if said group is a group of slavers, raiders or unscrupulous mercenaries. And then there's the truly evil people, like Mr Bruke, who are evil not because of what life in the wasteland has forced them to endure, but for petty reasons such as just disliking a certain group or for the sake of their own amusemant.

ill have you know that burke and tennpenny wanted both megaton and its inhabitants dead

there was a D.C comic strip about this like this old man had one of his workers killed for slaking on the jobs (he was just over worked) and then the wife of the worker called him they had a conversation he ended yelling at her (she sounds like a witch!) (he is uber fukin afraid of bugs and germs) so he hangs up on her then stuff starts happening thhings break power goes out and bugs start coming out of no were and then the power comes on then there is no bugs and he calms down. makes cerical and theres a bit of chochroach and he freaks then the bugs start coming out and he hides in a bug proof chamber and calls the repair man no answer and then he almost sits down on the bed... he stops to see the sheets moving... he pulls the sheet off millions of bugs are on the bed then he gets overwhelmed by them and the witch calls and says i hope you die and stuff and then the bugs disaper. camera zooms on the dude and blood come from nowhere from his skin and his skin opens and thousands of bugs come out of his and the witch on the phone says i hope you die and she laughts mainiclly

I don't get it. Are you referencing karma? How does this help us define who is good/evil?