Fallout 4 is the very first Fallout game I’ve ever played. I’ve talked a bit before about how these open world games tend to paralyze me. I wander around feeling like I’m missing tons of stuff. I worry that I’m missing some important thing because I went left instead of right. I used to feel like if I was not “progressing the story” I was wasting time. What I finally realized is that everytime I sit down to play, I’m progressing MY story. I stopped thinking about what the game wanted me to do and just did what I wanted to do. Now I’m having awesome adventures every night!
I also finally figured out junk. I used to be overwhelmed when I walked into a room full of stuff. My squirrel brain made me feel like I had to pick up every ashtray and manila folder. Last night things really clicked for me and I found myself behaving like an honest to God wasteland scavenger. Now I can tear through a space pushing aside newspapers and grabbing duct tape. I imagine myself weighing the tin can in my hand and then tossing it over my shoulder and reaching for the desk lamp thinking “Screws!”. Last night was also the very first time I ever picked up a piece of junk and said to myself “ooh this would look nice on that shelf in my hideout.” So that’s terrifying. Also I'm hooked on Jet.
Here's a text message I sent to Tycho last night:
After a week or so of playing, I finally feel like I “get” Fallout now and I love it. That’s not to say some of the mechanics aren’t frustrating though. I honestly had no idea how the settlement construction stuff worked until Tycho explained it to me. I still find the building system unintuitive and unnecessarily imprecise. I don’t think the game does a very good job of explaining things like hacking or item modification. I think I get it now but I can’t shake the feeling that parts of Fallout 4 are designed with the assumption that the player has a long history with the franchise. With that said I’m still enamored with the game and the world. I think Fallout 4 starts my long history with the franchise.
Also, you should check out today’s First 15 for the game Stand Point. I’m not just saying that because I was so good at the game either.
-Gabe out
