What fans wouldn't want a fresh, new version of the cult classic, the original Fallout, among other similar remakes and remasters coming out in such droves these days, especially after seeing such modern polish being slapped on games like TES IV: Oblivion? But according to the man who started it all, the chances of that happening are, well, pretty slim.
Tim Cain, who brought the Fallout series to life, said some things about what it would take to remaster the first game, and to be honest, it sounded something more like some huge task that might end up being a remake rather than just a simple touch-up.
So now what's holding things up? Cain points to a few significant hurdles:
- Green Light: Alternately, one could also obtain permission from Bethesda, who today own the Fallout universe rights, as the very first order of business.
- Overhaul of Code: The original code of the game, by the way, was written in something called Watcon. It was from another era and will not work with modern systems such as DirectX. Thus, a rewrite will be compulsory and will definitely take a part of the game to be rebuilt from the ground up.
- "The Bug Dilemma": Here is a tricky one. We all know that all great games have that little peculiarity, and Fallout is no exception. Cain himself will say that there are bugs that probably *should* be fixed. But then you have the "legendary" bugs, things like those critical successes in chess against ZAX or the infamous water chip bypass. Do those get fixed and the iconic experience potentially changed, or left in the name of nostalgia? Tough call.
This important question is asked by Cain:
"How much do we change from the original Fallout? Are these still minor changes for the sake of convenience, or is it already a new game?"
Adding to the code and bugs factor, a true update would also have to include a rethink of things like the inventory system, how NPCs act, user interface, and lots more. Then you're not looking at a remaster anymore; you're looking at a very expensive, full-scale remake.
Tim Cain mentioned not wanting to take on the project himself, yet he did say he loves thinking about the technical hurdles and possible solutions. So it's true that a straight remaster is probably out of the question, but the dream of being able to see the original Wasteland from a fresh point of view isn't exactly dead yet-it might just take a significantly larger endeavor than most fans are ready to grasp.
