Kyler Sommer

Winter 2016

Thinking and Writing

Fallout 4: Function before Form

Fallout 4 has only been out for a few months now but it has already become a cultural facet of our society. While it has several older successful games in its lineage to lean on, the impact of this game is different. I have heard countless people talking about it in passing, and not just people who are gamers, even people who have not played the game! It has had such a strong impact on those that have played it that those around them have not been able to avoid the shockwave it has created. While at first it would seem that a game so popular must be an amazing artistic contribution to the world of gaming, as one looks closer it is clear to see that is not the case. When it comes to Fallout 4, it is clear that the road to addiction has been paved with the illusion of artistry.

A Russian man recently sued Bethesda because he claimed that their new game Fallout 4 is “too addictive”. What makes this significant is that if you have played the game you can almost sympathize with the poor Russian fellow. While I wouldn’t be inclined to sue anyone, my poor wife and the companions of millions can attest to the feeling of having lost a loved one when the start button was first pressed. It is clear that this game has placed itself near the top of the list of the world’s most universally addictive games, but it does so in a new and unique way. What makes this game so addicting is its combination of game types. It is an open world RPG, optional first person shooter that also has a building component. It would be hard to find a gamer that does not like some aspect of the game. In analysis of this, one could easily focus on why just one element is addictive, but that would not do the game justice. It is not each element that makes up the game that draws one in but the unity of said elements that keeps a person playing hour after hour. That connection is what makes up for the flaws

It’s this combination of ideas that makes fallout 4 stand out, but what makes it work in a way that is so addictive? First we need to understand on a simple level what makes video games addictive in general. We all knew that kid in high school that seemed to live in World of Warcraft, but fallout 4 is different. Fallout 4 does not have any online play so the real world social aspect is almost non-existent, a somewhat surprising fact for a game that is so life absorbing. But this is replaced by an almost overwhelming amount of characters and in-game dialogue at your fingertips. Because the game gives you options of companions to bring along on your wasteland journey, you find yourself talking to the screen, and for little moments forget that they are not actually real people on the other end.

     A moment must be taken to acknowledge that while the game is addicting it cannot so easily be written off as another thing to rot your brain. Fallout 4 draws you in, and presents you with opportunities to make decisions that are surprisingly hard. You must make decisions that impact a world on a social and economic level. You must make personal decisions about your stance on artificial intelligence and at what point defending a people becomes controlling a people. This type of decision making in Fallout 4 really does show how powerful of an art form gaming can be. While I would love to stop there and say that’s why Fallout 4 is wonderful, sadly it often sacrifices this beauty for the purpose of making the game more addictive. The main narrative is a perfect example.

The narrative has many flaws and frustrations and it would be easy to take time to focus on how they detract from the game, but this is not a game review. The narrative of the game is not that amazing on its own, but it serves an important and destructive purpose.  That purpose is to drive the player forward to complete tasks, and ultimately that is the crux of what makes gaming addictive. I don’t know a single person on this planet that does not like achieving goals. Achieving goals gives us a sense of accomplishment while video games give us that satisfaction from the comfort of our home and with fictional high stakes at no real world cost. That is why both World of Warcraft and Minecraft are both highly addictive games and yet are so different. Fallout 4 has played on what is popular in society at the time to present a platform for endless goals to be achieved in so many different ways. With each completed goal another one becomes available. It’s like a hamster in a cage.

 If the game was a more neat linear narrative the sense of accomplishment would be a large one at the end of the story, but instead it is hundreds of small moments that have no end throughout the game. For this reason I both love the game as a gamer and feel manipulated as a consumer. Function has been placed way above form, and because of that even some of the games roughest critics find themselves playing hour after hour. While it not doubt has artistic components and tries to make some important commentaries on technology and even government, those commentaries are secondary. Above all, Fallout 4 is a well-crafted machine of addiction.