Fallout: The Future We Choose - Between the Lines
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- Опубликовано: 26 окт 2015
- Is it "war" that never changes, or is it something much simpler?
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"Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societ...
It's not named in the video, but the breakdown of the plot of the Western is taken from Will Wright's influential essay, "Sixguns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western" which can be bought here: www.amazon.com/Sixguns-Society... 
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"Did you know that radiation is magic?"
Silver Age Marvel Comics origins in a nutshell.
Actually, you might be onto something. The superhero comics of that era derive inspiration from the liles of Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Doc Savage, and they in turn from the pulps, hardboiled, and Weird Fiction (think Robert E. Howard, HP Lovecraft, Clark Aston Smith). Sources of fiction that Fallout seems creatively indebted to, or at least follows similar sensibilities
"There was old world blues and new world hope." Is a quote that will always stick with me till the end of my days. Wonderful take on fallout Kyle. Simply wonderful.
Wow... you almost quoted Lonesome Road ending at the end. "It was said; War... War never changes... Men do with roads they choose." And the Road you choose ends in battle of The Hoover Dam. You met Ulysses at liest in games Kyle?
+Franciszek Rychlewicz I love that line because it captures the essence of RPG games: Your choices shaping the world, your place in it, and you as well. The theme of adapting, transforming, progressing is featured prominently in the series as a whole. Soicities and individuals are constanly in motion. And what triggers change faster than conflict? The more you think about it the more brilliant it becomes.
+Copperbeard This is what I love about series; In Fallout 1 Mutants are basic antagonist but in Fallout 2 and NV they evolved into sociality that is trying to survive just like humanity. From Fallout 2 to New Vegas Enclave changed a lot into faction of war veterans with simple ideas how to improve life in America. (Fallout 3 kind of ruins this by making storyline of the first two games into in something more like a reboot at liest in form)
Good video, but Jared Diamond was wrong in his assessment of the collapse of the Easter Island culture. The first europeans to arrive there found a culture well-versed in agriculture - even on landscapes that had been bereft of trees for centuries.
The collapse of the easter Island culture was actually caused by the diseases brought by those first Europeans - not deforestation.
One of my favourite internet critics tackling one of my favourite games?
Today is a good day.
The way Fallout treats Radiation reminds me of how old comic books treat getting superpowers. Spider-Man was originally bitten by a Radioactive Spider, and similar shorthands like "barrels of toxic waste" and "radiation" just being a universal super-power dispenser.
"The Centralised management of resource requirements for an overextended population....resource requirements never change." I don't know...doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
This was great. Thank you. And thank you for trying to answer the question that was asked in MrBTongues video about "The Shandification of Fallout": What do they eat?
Mirelurks! They eat Mirelurks.
+Winston Belgeroth Holy sh*t! He really did. I still say New Vegas care much more about those details... mostly because NPCs actually debate what is best for their nation instead of relaxing supermutant hunt. Is that wierd that I find Fallout 3 completly unscary because I feel like my character is slasher villain which can easly put down everything alive... and there is no point of doing something else but fight.
+Franciszek Rychlewicz No, it's not weird. I don't know if any fallout is really meant to be scary. I too think the atmosphere of Fallout 3 is lacking. New Vegas was much better in that.
Well i was scared when I played first two games for the first time. The only reason why I was is because I couldn't adapt into skin of my character I choose (Max and Narg - the strong guys). At first I thought I was going fight a lot but in reality I made choices I didn't want to make. I learned how powerful can be player if he focus on right skill. I prefer to steal over buying or fighting. I prefer to find new companions instead of fighting them. Fallout really allowed me to explore how RPG character can act in any situation. Fallout 3 is failure to me because of two reasons 1) 90% is dungeon crawler with set of skills Bethesda could not adapt fully into their gameplay. There is a reason why 90% of the players always sets "guns" as major skill. 2) Difficulty level. Game challenge player only on one level which is fight or should I say how much ammo you have because type of weapon isn't issue when you can get unlimited ammo. The rest of the games (outside Tactics because it is strategy game) shows player conflict and expect to think about next moves. Also fighting supermutant with bare hands and 1 strength... not a challenge here... Bethesda made the nicest and also ugliest wasteland I ever seen. Everyone is so happy that they know player or complete psycho so player could not feel sorry for killing them. It is so wierd.
+Franciszek Rychlewicz F3 was pretty linear too. You could go to every area in the game right away, but you pretty much would die. I like the openness of games like FNV or Skyrim better.
*****
I hate exploring in F3 because every location feels the same... Same enemies same items (mostly generated), same ugly grey walls. Quite often I noticed that my inventory is full so I went back to sell it and then I forgot to return because every sewer or metro looks exacly the same. God Bless Obsidian because almost every location has different faction in it so gameplay wise player has to change tactics if they didn't want to piss of some of the natives.
Never has the Chez Apocalypse bumper been more appropriate :P
Very good use of the pip-boy visuals and the numerous filters to make the video.
I was just rewatching your Between the Lines of Inception this morning, looking forward to a new one. So glad it's on Fallout! I've never quite seen post-apocalyptic fiction as hopeful, but I guess in a way, some of them are. If we can keep going after the end, then that says a lot about the human spirit, however broken or fragmented.
We can be killed, sure, but our hopes and dreams can live on in the communities we forge... even after the end. We just have to be strong enough to forge something that's strong enough after we, the blacksmiths, have fallen.
Nice video! You deserve credit for talking about Fallout in a way that doesn't favor one game over the other, except that you went mostly for the flashy graphics of the newer games. The original two games vs. the Bethesda produced ones is a very touchy subject for die-hard Fallout enthusiasts. You did a great job capturing the essence of the games without getting caught up in the new vs. old mess.
+Morbos1000 Yes, even though I have strong opinions on the matter I'm glad Kyle never got sidetracked by that.
It should be noted that Jared Diamond's explanation of the collapse of Easter Island has been rejected by archaeologists who work there. The first European explorers found a flourishing society. Its swift collapse was due to introduced diseases with the final blow being a massive slave raid. For current theories about Easter Island see video.pbs.org/video/2299677471/
My appreciation of Fallout 3 has deepened because of your analysis. Thank you.
Lovely work as always, Kyle.
Thank you Kyle, amazing content as always. You also highlighted what, in my opinion, is the most important and interesting element of stories told in post-apocalyptic settings.
Not the state of lawlessnes that serves as an excuse for copius action.
Not the constant and gritty struggle for survival.
Not the tragedy of a civilization's end.
But simply the hope and determination of the survivors and the future they build.
All of these aspects (and more) merit exploration, but to me personally, it is the latter which continues to be the only thing that keeps me interested in these kinds of stories.
Oh, and watching Kenshiro make peoples heads explode by punching them. Pure poetry in motion.
You covering Fallout? Swoonsville. You even got Jared Diamond into a PipBoy and reminded me of Dead Money, somehow, with the cover of A Canticle for Leibowitz. A+
I love how much conversation and analyzing these games foster, anything that can hook people (especially kids) into learning about history and science with this much fun and imagination deserves the time spent on it.
Lovely video as always. Please don't stop producing them - you've been getting better with every new one you made.
Wonderful as always Kyle! I always love your Between the Lines series, and this was a great choice of subject matter. Nice work!
Hope the transition to RUclips is going smoothly, Kyle! You're videos are still some of the ones I look forward to the most, your style of presentation and thorough research is just so satisfying to watch. Good luck in all your future enterprises, keep it up!
Great review, dude.
Just a note, in the summary of classic Western plotlines, there's one flaw: after the villains are defeated and the town is safe again, the hero usually leaves. The traits that make a hero special make it impossible to settle down and become like the settlers.
One of my favorite ideas of frontier stories are that the frontier won't last forever, and the people who tamed the land won't have a place in it anymore. And maybe that's okay. Because- at least for now- there is still another settlement in need.
You'd make Preston Garvey proud with that "another settlement in need" talk.
Holy graphics, Batman! This looks amazing! Well played, Mr. Kallgren.
+Brenna Beattie Also, a beautiful tribute to an amazing series of games.
That opening title slate is really nice. Very beautiful and simple!
I was always under the impression that the capitol wastelands economy was more built with scavenging at the bottom than farming/manufacturing with the supply-chain going scavenger to caravans to local merchant.
You have a fantastic way of making me think about things in new ways, Kyle.
Kyle... you're great.
Your stuff is so good! Always look forward to it.
Buying Fallout 2 more than a decade ago was a pivotal moment in my life, I can't even count how many times I've played it and I STILL tend to find things that I've missed, or things that have me thinking about them for days on end. That game blew my little thirteen year old mind when I first finished it. I've never played anything like that before, it was amazingly rich in detail, it had well-explored themes I haven't seen in a game before and it's particularly insane sense of humor was really entertaining. The Fallout series kickstarted my love for RPG games and had a huge inpact on my writing and general outlook on the world. War may never change, but I did, (and dare I say for the better?) by giving these games a chance.
I love Fallout and I love your videos.
This is... this is perfect. I don't even care that you're picking apart something that I love. Critiquing things is fun. At this point I just kind of wish you did a whole series on just Fallout. I'd be in paradise xD .
Excellent video! You've earned a subscriber for sure, I'm exited to see more of your work!
You're videos are so good. How are your videos so good? Probably because you put a shit-ton of effort and research into them. BUT STILL. So good. Thanks for creating such great content.
Amazing as always. The Pip-Boy work is fantastic! Thank you.
Fantastic video, I love it when you take something I'm so familiar with and go through it so methodically, pointing out things I'd never considered. Thank you! :)
I need to support you on patreon just because this editing is always too damn good.
I must give you props,Mr. kallgeren. That was a damn fine episode.
Now you should do one about Metal Gear Solid where war always changes.
"War never changes" may have been a reference to Herman Kahn. Critiquing 50's attitudes towards deterrence, he said they were based on the incorrect idea that the invention of the atomic bomb had fundamentally changed war, and possessing any atomic weapons would make both conventional and atomic attack impossible.
Awesome vid. Never realized how optimistic the fallout series really was.
Kyle is probably not a massive gamer, but I would love him to do a "between the lines" for the indie game Transistor. If I could call any game art, that would be it.
Keep up the good work :)
Awesome video, really fascinating look on Fallout and its lore. I love Between the Lines and always happily watch the latest one
I was convinced Kyle only played Civilization type games. This video showed both knowledge and insight into the world of Fallout and I am thoroughly impressed and entertained. Not that that is an unusual result of one of his videos.
Very good video, Kyle. Your "Between the Lines" videos are always very interesting and give a new perspective on pop culture and I especially like the clever use of the Pip-Boy as a narrative frame in this one.
One thing I do disagree with however is that "War never changes" is an inaccurate tagline. Sure on the surface the stated motives to start a war change but as you pointed out yourself in the video, deep down it always comes back to the same reason.
Plus I feel the line is more referring to the fact that war is always awful and destructive, as well as that even after the nuclear holocaust and most of Humanity was wiped out, people are still quick to crate factions and fight one-another for control of whatever little resource there are.
Definetly worth the work you've put into it!
Excellent video as always
I think it's important to understand that the game makes it unclear who fired the bombs first - the US or the Chinese.
NewVegasNerd best guess would be China here is why they had just retreated from Alaska due to the power armor units who invaded mainland china to cause enough damage on their Homefront so that they would pull out from Alaska and the power armor troops were still in China during the Great War you can here this mentioned in the pre War segment of fallout 4 why would America nuke china if a significant number of American troops were still in china not to mention submarines who had been station at Boston California and Point look out which would've taken a while to make the trip would be there to destroy America as a desperate attempt to do destroy America
I believe President Richard Anderson says that China did launch first, however it is not clear whether he is telling the truth. There is also thought that maybe it wasn't China at all that fired the nukes at the US, but maybe another player, due to the focus by China on Biological warfare, most likely done when a country does not have the money or the resources to develop a nuclear arsenal. In regard to the idea of America not firing first due to American troops still being in China, one other theory, which was also explored in the unreleased Fallout movie, posits that it was Vault-Tec that fired at least one nuke at China. There is a lot of evidence that would support this idea. Vault-Tec had invested huge amounts of money into building the vaults for both protection and the furthering of science through their experiments. It would make a lot of sense then especially with the views that the vaults were being used to test how successfully people would be able to re-colonize the earth after the vault opened, that they would have an ulterior motive to have the bombs fired. If the nuclear devastation had not occurred, Vault-Tec's whole reason for existence would be pointless, and this has been shown with the Enclave, who believed themselves to be the prime candidates for repopulation, and who were already in their specialised vault before the bombs fell. I don't think that will ever be answered in the games, however, though seeing the Vault-Tec theory done would be pretty cool, and really unsurprising considering what Vault-Tec was capable of already, though this is just my two cents on the issue :)
Slightly Disappointed you didn't upload Andy Warhol's Dracula & frankenstine review in time for Halloween, but you gave me the perfect video to add to my sociology presentation! :D!
Oh my, wasn't expecting to get a bit misty eyed from this.
*Clap, clap.*
You started talking about how wars are always secretly about resources and I just thought "someones been watching crash course". I mean, I'm sure this is a common position among historians but that was the first source for that I thought of.
This is too great for words.
Ghoulification is brought on partially due to FEV exposure. Normal radiation exposure kills, but enough FEV exposure can lead to one surviving.
I have to say, your reviews are the best man.
The ideas from "A Canticle for Leibowitz" (mainly presenting science and technology as religion, and mission to preserve human knowledge) were actually first introduced by Isaac Asimov in his "Fundation" which was published eight (to even nine by some sources) years before Miller's novel. "A Cantice..." is still an interesting book nonetheless.
but in Foundation, the whole point was that the Foundation *didn't* treat technology and science like religion. That, and it was a interstellar sci-fi about the long and slow decline of a great civilization, not a post-apocalyptic story.
unnamedenemy9
The Foundation itself didn't but the scientists from the Foundation created a notion of "science and technology as a religion" to make other planetary systems dependable of their secret mystical knowledge that was just science in disguise. I'm just pointing out that it was Asimov that first inroduced that idea, not that those stories are identical. they just have that similar element (besides the somewhat nostalgic feeling of loos of civilazation).
Excellent analysis. Also, NOVEMBER 10TH CAN'T GET HERE SOON ENOUGH!!!!!!!
Very well done.
Part of the problem with Fallout 3's environment is that Bethesda was more concerned about giving players something cool to look at than having it make sense. How many articles are out there explaining how the Capital Wasteland and Project Purity makes no sense? Dozens I think, all giving valid arguments.
this is really good man
Kyle, did you by an chance watch the 8-bit philosophy video called "The philosophy of Fallout"? If so, what did you think about it and the conclusion the video made about how humanity is damned to repeat history? Because your video here, takes a whole different approach to it and draws a whole different conclusion. Also, if you have time, check out ShoddyCasts video about Fallout 3 and Rethinking the Enclave.
+LtHavoc1983 I have! They had some excellent sources and pretty solid arguments that engaged with the game's primary ideas more directly than I did. I'd recommend it. Admittedly my video goes at Fallout a bit sideways. I talked about resource management and post apocalyptic fiction as a genre rather than approach the game's main interest in politics, propaganda and the nature of war. Originally I was going to talk about cultural traditions maintained after societal collapse but my research was a bit shoddy on that front. Wisecrack did an excellent job with their video and honestly I think I was reading too much of what I wanted Fallout to be more than what it actually was.
Well, the thing with Fallout is, that all the games have the trope of the "lone hero who saves everyone" and looking at the Wiki, all the canon endings are the good endings, however, we currently do not know what New Vegas ending is canon.
Wisecrack video argued that the NCR is also bad because it became imperialistic, but here is the thing, you can side with the Yes Men, making New Vegas independent, resulting in the NCR to go back to its own borders and due to the failure of the expansion, deposes of President Kimball and Gen.Oliver, resulting in a policy change for the better.
I am a bit baffled how Wisecrack overlooked that bit, and focused so much on NCR-Legion-Mr.House as the only viable options when you can make New Vegas interdependent.
How is that repeating the past? How are we doomed to repeat it, if the player has the choice to go its own way basically? Not to mention, even if you side with the NCR, your actions will matter and lead to a possible reformation.
Thats why I agreed with your video more then with that of 8-bit philosophy. Not to mention that it falls into the trap of "technology=evil" thing because Fallout blind acceptance of technology lead to the downfall of its world , when in fact, the technology could have saved the world too. No one knows who even launched the nukes in the first place, its a mystery.
I tend to think it may have been an accident and it would fit the ironic Fallout world that the nuclear war was started by accident.
anyway, just some random thoughts on my side.
You're a freak of nature boss. Another great video. There are not too many people like you around here!
Wow, nicely done! Got yourself another subscriber!
Very cool! Very well done!
Coming back to this after Amazon
Brilliant work, good Sir!
“War, war never changes. But women/men do, through the roads they walk.” - Ulysses, Lonesome Road.
A good video to prepare me for Fallout 4! Thank you!
So great and I love this series.
Gosh, this makes me want you to talk about Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (the book, not the film) and how in a way, unlike Fallout, she chose to let humans die. It's one of the most interesting story that is set in a post-apocalyptic world (though I'd argue that it's still going), and has been compared to Dune and even Lord of the Rings by some people.
If you really want to get into what is going to happen to the Capital Wasteland(assuming the Brotherhood survived, won the conflict with the Enclave, and the Project Purity went off without the FEV in it, the Brotherhood has the leftovers of Project Purity working for them. These people were working on making non-radioactive produce in Rivet city before James hired them, so they could, if they have access to the seeds, be making farms once the Super Mutant and Enclave populations are promptly taken care of. Assuming, of course, that something else doesn't come along.
That was an amazing video
Hey Kyle, ever see Threads? very chilling film.
Although the point can be made that people don't change because we still have wars. Yes, the life of the individual is full of changes, but on a large scale, humanity has chosen the same path over and over again.
Great video Kyle I'm a big fan of these types of videos but I do wonder whatever happened to the batman between the lines episode? Can you not upload it because of music or video copyright?
Bravo Kyle, you made me appreciate the Fallout series a little more.
It's funny you mention taking the combat out of it because that's precisely what I do when I play the game. Combat in games makes me ridiculously anxious, but I love the story and setting and the rest of the experience of Fallout so much that I just go ahead and use cheats to turn combat off completely, and while some people might find it boring, I love it. There's so much to the game that it bugs the hell out of me when people act like the combat is so important. For me, it just stretches out the gameplay and distracts me. I think even if it didn't make me anxious I'd probably still go without it. I'm obviously normally a different type of gamer - I'd way rather play Myst than any FPS. But I make exceptions and adjustments for Fallout. Anyway, as always, brilliant job on this video. Made me think about some stuff I'd never considered about the series before, and I've thought about it a LOT.
P.S. In case anyone is curious how you turn off combat, the Gamebryo console command (works in Fallout 3 and New Vegas) is "TCAI". Enemies will just stand in one spot and do nothing to you. Obviously you have to play on PC to use it, but if there's anyone else like me out there that is interested in the lore and setting of the Fallout universe but has been hesitant to play the games because they don't like combat or are jumpy/easily scared, there you go.
thanks kyle this was exelent ^^
You might be interested in a competing theory about Easter Island. www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/rethinking-the-fall-of-easter-island
War...war never changes it doesn't matter how much people change or the choices you make society will always make a mistake a mistake of the past and when society gets to the point where it can destroy its self and without solid memory of what happened before the war resources will at some point run out and life will restart until it's extinction but life will always find a way to come back with new species too commit entire new mistakes because life...life never changes
Did you ever play the Lonesome Road DLC? Because it ends with a similar line,"War never changes, but people do through the roads they walk...and this road has reached its end."
This is ...Beautiful.
Mirelurks you find have half health after Project Purity.
the influence of the western has shown since the original Wasteland game (look it up)
Great video! It makes me want to play fallout, if I ever have time to play games again.
7:43 Remember the Aliens!
Thats a good line, its a really good line.
People PLEASE USE IT
(Unrelated to this video) I noticed your between the lines video on the beetles has been removed. let me guess, Copyright?
oh man how does this not have more views??
8:40
Dr. Strangelove is based on the book Red Alert by Peter George.
This was a very hopeful analysis.
dear Kyle, is there a transcript of this episode somewhere?
Truly mankind is the sturdiest of species. No matter the hardships, we will always find ways to survive. Purifying water, harvesting where it seems impossible to harvest and sustaining life in the most impossible places, cockroaches do not come even close.
Let's just not push our luck, though.
OK. I'm mainly asking you this because of Ben the sage's review of Sins of the Sister, but if you could post your review of "What is it" without legal repercussions incurred by the all too litigious Mr. Crispin Glover would you? Also, Thank you for this video regarding fallout. Well thought out and it taught me something about how societies fall.
Wow this was beautiful and hopeful.
never thought you would be a Fallout fanvery happy to be wrong
Quite a few Maya are still around today though. The drought made them realize that their religious model was flawed, but they didn't all die off.
Beautiful
so if video games are fair game now I would love to hear your thoughts on Shadow of the Colossus or The Stanly Parable
hey kyle, now that fallout 4's come out, would you consider the commonwealth a sustainable biome? If not, why?
Considering how easy it seems to be from a purely agricultural standpoint to grow a whole field of crops in outposts across the entire territory, the main obstacle being fending off raiders, it certainly feels like it to me, but that's probably a gameplay and story segregation issue.
one thing Kyle - as far as I remember, most, if not all, of the mutation present in the game is a effect of FEV // Forced Evolutionary Virus // and not the radiation itself. sure, some of the characters think it's because of the 'mushrooms', but not all of them are scientist and 'connotation is not causation' ;)
Damn.... I was hoping for a Damnation Alley reference.
Great review. :)
00:20 is he quoting John Green directly ?
Citing Jared Diamond? You go boy
The whole point of the Fallout series is actually fairly hopeful; war never changes, because the nature of war cannot be changed. We have tried to invent weapons to end war; it has failed. We must end war, or war will end us. We need to change our societies to make war less likely, talk to each other.
I know this video is old, but please, never, EVER quote Diamond on anything that is not his actual speciality (which is physiology of digestion). He is infamous for bending facts and cherry-picking them first just to fit his narrative. And I'm not talking here about slight changes or alternations, but ignoring entire branches of science or fields of research with solid, proven results - all just to push his argument as the ultimate truth.