Fallout 4

About the Game

Fallout 4 is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Fallout 4 is part of the Fallout series with 6 games and several spin-offs. However, each game has its own story, they are all characterized by nuclear catastrophes. The player controls a male or female avatar, whose appearance can be generated at the beginning of the game.

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Story and Gameplay

Narrative

The character, who previously lived with his spouse and child, is the sole survivor of Vault 111. In the illusion of fleeing from a war, he was put into cold sleep capsules with a few others and from there had to watch his partner murdered and his child kidnapped. After the character has fallen back into sleep, he can free himself from the capsule and break out of the laboratory.
Up to this point in the game the plot is predetermined.

Now, 210 years later, after the character has returned to the surface of the earth, the player can freely choose between the main and secondary squeezes and explore the world of ”Fallout 4”.
The main squeeze, in Fallout 4, consists of a prologue that briefly outlines the current situation and allows for the visual generation of the character. The prologue ends with a journey through time, which the player experiences in the cryogenic capsule. 
The prologue is followed by three further acts of the game, in which the plot of the last survivor from the Valt station is continued. 
In the third act the player can choose between 4 factions. Certain actions and events cause a certain faction to be hostile to him. With the respective decisions the player makes, some quests are closed or opened. In the course of the game, the player cannot deny every existing quest. However, he does not have to make a final decision for a faction. However, one faction is the most sympathetic. This is the one that corresponds to the moral decisions. Depending on which faction the player chooses, the game ends. 
 A special feature is that the main story ends halfway through the game. The rest of the game is about the player himself, who decides in which direction the story should go. The machinations of the factions are in the foreground. The player joins them or not.

Apart from the main plot in Fallout 4, the game offers numerous ways to play side quests. These are optional for the course of the game, and do not allow you to change the course of the game or the storyline. The side quests become apparent as the game progresses, but some are only found after searching for something.

Individual Freedoms of the Player

Action-Independent

At the beginning of the game the player can choose whether to play a male or female character. In the next step, facial features and other visual characteristics such as height, width and skin colour can be selected.
For this purpose, the player has a selection of pre-selections at his disposal, which can be further adapted to his own ideas. The optics can be changed in the further course of the game.


Furthermore the player can assign a limited number of points to his skills. One of the abilities is strength, which refers to the fight with enemies. Furthermore the perception, it helps to become aware of certain things faster. Furthermore the endurance, which is noticeable during long sprints. Especially in the beginning, when the player has not yet unlocked certain speed travel points, this is bermerable. Charisma causes good communication. The last points are intelligence, agility and luck.
In the course of the game and with advancing knowledge, the player can unlock more points, which he can allocate to his characteristics as he wishes.
 During the game it often happens that the player interacts with NPC’s. This interaction is mostly a communication, which allows a well-founded game play.
 The game controls in Fallout 4, as in most role-play games, allow four response options to be chosen from. Often the answers the player makes in these conversations have no further influence on different events. In such moments, the player may feel that they have a choice, but the conversations go round and round and the story stagnates.
However, conversations can also become decision-making situations.

Action-Dependent

Throughout the story, the player can always join one of the four existing factions. Which tasks he does and which not is his own decision. 
Which faction the player sympathizes with is a morale question. The player decides for whose ideals he goes to war. Because all factions woo him. It is not necessary to decide, but some options are mutually exclusive due to hostilities. The Institute is the faction against which the three other factions are fighting - their great enemy.


The encounter with the Minutemen is the first in the game. It is a largely peaceful organization, which is mainly concerned with protection. Quests to the Minutemen usually involve building new settlements, providing supplies and helping settlers.
The advantage of this faction is the possibility to expand settlements.


The Brotherhood of Steel stands for progress and technology. Its goal is to help the Brotherhood to create better fleets through clear missions. Here, not the individual, but progress has priority. They use airships and helicopters, so called Vertibirds for locomotion. Brotherhood has no love for different creatures and kills them. For example man-machine androids, the so-called Synth. The advantages of this faction are technical tools that can be available to the player.


The Railroad is an organization that works in secret. Their existence is a rumor, they act quietly and in secret. Their speciality is riddles. The Railroad, unlike the Brotherhood of Steel, fights for the rights of synths and makes the Brotherhood its enemy.


The Institute is the common enemy of all other factions. It is an organization of scientists who, for example, created the Synth to kill people and take their place.
In the course of the action, the task is given to penetrate the Institute, but it is also possible to join it. The player makes the decision according to his morale.

Control System

The control of the avatar is possible in the 1st-person as well as in the 3rd-person perspective. There are no playful advantages. The avatar can be controlled as the player likes it.
In combat scenes the avatar is controlled in a shooter-typical way. The player can either fire firearms or strike with any item he can currently choose from. The game is originally designed to be played with a controller, but a game with keyboard and mouse on a PC is also possible.
 Furthermore there is a support system especially for combat. The navigation bar at the bottom of the screen can be used to find enemies. Opponents are displayed in red. 
Especially hard to defeat enemies are shown with a skull, legendary ones with a star. Special features in the controls arise when the player selects a High Intelligence. If his life drops below 20 percent, his field of vision slows down and he can fire more shots.


Pretty much at the beginning of the game, the player comes across a clock. After the avatar puts it on, new information opens up for the player. This clock combines all the information that a player normally receives via a menu.
There is information about current quests on the clock, as well as the map with information about previously explored places and the current location.
This clock also allows the player to reconnect character points and access two radio stations.
The clock itself, like the whole game, is designed in a kind of retro design. The design and the associated view make it difficult to keep track of the game and make it difficult to understand.

Research-relevant Topics of the Game

Decisions

Narration and Map

In the game Fallout 4, as in any typical role-playing game, there is a card that must be passed through. This card is displayed in a small, primitive form on the player's wristwatch. The card, or in other words, the avatar's world that the player traverses during the course of the game, is directly related to his tasks. The story that is told is placed on the card. This can be understood to mean that each new story and information is tied to a location. This can be the case for smaller actions. For example, when the player walks through a new place where there are enemies. The opponents only become active when he enters a certain radius of the map. Also certain tasks, which are known to the player from the beginning, are defined on the map. So for new quests, the avatar must always be moved to the right place.

The story that is told about the character is linked to the map, as the next section is only told when the character reaches the point on the map. The points to be reached can be understood as rooms. One task in the game is room A, the next task is room B. The player must now move from one room to the next. Fallout, however, not only offers one possible option, but can be understood to mean that there are also rooms C, D, E, etc. This also gives the player the freedom to tell his story himself. The quests in Fallout 4 offer many ways to decide whether to accept or reject them. If the Player wants to skip some exercises, he is allowed to. As the game progresses, the individual quests gradually unfold into a map that only becomes completely clear at the end. Just like the map, the story the player has created with his decisions is also revealed after the game is over. It is also not possible to display the entire map during the game. The map the player sees on his wristwatch is very primitive and unintuitive.

The player's movements on the map can be compared to a graph that runs through the game world in a network. You can compare it to a labyrinth. The starting address of the game is probably the house of the character where the game starts. In the course of the game the player can choose between different paths, there is not one right path. If the avatar joins one faction, some paths of the other factions still remain open. So he approaches the goal of the game by walking through the rooms.

Rhiszomatic and Tree Structures

The game flow can be displayed in a tree structure. The game starts with the root of the tree. At each node a decision is made. The structure is therefore hierarchical. The decision points open one or more further paths, which in turn lead to other nodes. This way, the game type cannot be recognized the first time you run through the game. Only when the game is played e.g. a second time and further decisions are made, the other paths can be recognized. The game ends at the last node and the resulting path. With such a structure it is therefore not possible to go back or undo a decision. The only path is the forward path. Decisions build on further decisions. Fallout 4 can be understood as such a tree structure. The root is the beginning, the starting point of the game. The avatar is in the family home at that point. Up to a certain point, the player cannot make any decisions yet. Only when the time jump in the story has happened does the player get to some smaller nodes. Certain events are also fixed. For example, the main story that the player goes in search of his son and that he finds him. At other points as well, the player can make bigger, more important decisions. These are then the big nodes. In the end, the player has to decide on a faction. This choice then triggers the end of the game. With this decision, i.e. the decision for one of the 4 factions, 4 ways are revealed.

In contrast to the tree structure is the rhizome structure, a botanical term introduced by Deleuz and Ghuattari. The rhizome structure means that decisions do not proceed chronologically to the next decision point, but are linked together. The structures are not arranged hierarchically, but are linked together regardless of their size. The structures can be connected in different ways and go in different directions. Where smaller and where larger nodes are located is not important. They can form everywhere, in the middle of the network. Not the entire game, but individual tasks in Fallout 4 can be understood as such a structure. The game offers a lot of freedom here in that the quests do not have to be completed in certain order. The four factions set different tasks. Here it is possible not only to stay with one faction from the beginning, but to use the selection of possibilities. The game also offers many possibilities to improve and change weapons and build houses. Such a process can also be understood as a rhizome structure, since the process can be reversed on the one hand and is not bound to a chronological order on the other hand.

Substructural Decisions

Substructural decisions are decisions that are not made consciously, but arise during the course of the game. The player thereby gets the feeling of being able to act. During the game, however, the player is not aware of the specific decision situation because he does not reach a point where he is told that he has to make a decision. 
It is more the decision that is made unconsciously by the action. In games that are based on such substructural decisions, the end seems arbitrary because the action has a linear effect on the player. 
In Fallout 4, the game is not based on such substructural decisions, because the game is designed for the player to consciously make new decisions and explore new avenues. 
The storyline is non-linear because of the different factions that the player can choose to play in the course of his quests. 
However, what can be called a substructural decision in Fallout 4 is when the player is deprived of the ability to begin other quests by completing some tasks first. In this case, the player is not informed that other tasks are now blocked for him. It follows from the course of the game and the story that these are blocked for a logical action.

Moral Decisions

Narrative and Morality

Games and their associated moral decisions can be divided into three different genres. The design and requirements of the game are different. 
The narrative plays a role, since the subdivision is on the one hand fixed to it, but on the other hand the moral is closely linked to the narrative. The first genre can be subdivided by a narrative that is only slightly present. Examples are arcade games like Tetris or Pac-Man. But also more modern shooter games like Call of Duty belong to this section. The games are characterized by the fact that a story either does not exist at all, or it plays only a very small role and fades into the background. In Shooter Games players have to shoot each other. A moral decision that would not be made in reality. However, a story in the background in such situations ensures that this moral decision is justified. The second genre refers to strategy games and simulations. Here long-term decisions are made. The scenarios are heading for realism. With a few exceptions, speed of reaction also plays a subordinate role here. Here, too, there is a strand of action, but it is usually also subordinate. A greater role is played here by the understanding of relationships and economic cycles. Moral decisions in this genre are made, for example, by distributing resources. Last, but not least, there is the third genre. This genre describes games that have meaning especially on a narrative level. The stories that are told are the basis for what happens. Most often role plays are considered. These can take place in the most different ways. The simulation of a world of earth counting is necessary here as well, but the telling of the story itself is the priority here. Decisions are made in this genre to bring the story forward and influence it. Moral decisions are therefore most interesting in the third genre, because in the first and second genre only the game itself is questioned. So the question of whether the game should exist in this form at all. In the third genre, however, individual moral aspects contained in the game can be considered and evaluated. 
The player can thereby make experiences and decisions, act morally good or bad, etc. Fallout 4 is a game from category 3, and the narrative is crucial to the game. During the course of the game, the player can steer the story by making decisions. The game also becomes interesting through an exciting narrative and through moral decisions in which the player has to weigh up what he wants.
Especially since Fallout 4 is characterized by its own ability to act and the fact that the player has a variety of different paths open to him, moral decisions play a major role.

Ludic Phronesis

Morale plays a big role in Fallout 4, as players have the freedom to join the faction that suits them best. The choice of faction is a morale decision, since factions act differently and represent different morale. 
The "'ludic phronesis"' refers to the moral wisdom that develops as the player experiences games. The player makes moral decisions that he would otherwise not make in reality. This is also because the game concept forces him to do so. The decisions made are there to move the game forward. The "'ludic phronesis"' is therefore the moral concept that the player develops during the game or even the moral one. 
This ludic phronesis develops through the "'ludic hermeneutic circle"'. This begins with the process of becoming a player. Furthermore, the circle means that the experiences of the player build on each other and the player continues to draw on the knowledge of a previous game or even on knowledge that builds on previous situations of the same game. 
This also has a great influence on the behaviour of the game control, as the player follows familiar patterns and procedures and knows a familiar gameplay. 
Moral decisions depend on various factors, not only on previous game experiences. Communities inside and outside the game are also important. Cultural and ethical values also have an influence. 
Furthermore, the player is subject to various design options and constraints within the game. 
In Fallout 4, this means that the player is not able to decide his missions completely independently. He is bound by certain rules. The game does not allow absolute freedom. The player must move within the framework given to him. All these factors contribute to the "'ludic hermeneutic circle"', which ultimately ends with the player's moral wisdom. 
The moral choice the player makes in the game does not have to correspond to the moral concepts the player feels in reality.
Moral questions or better said moral decisions are made by the player when he agrees or disagrees with a faction. 
However, the game also offers smaller moral decisions. For example, there is a situation in which one person is threatened by another. Here the player has to decide who he wants to help. 
Other decisions also depend heavily on the question of morality. It is noticeable that none of the factions is particularly willing to be assigned to the good or the bad. All factions have understandable and comprehensible goals and ways. 
The player's morale also excludes certain actions, for example if he sympathises with androids or wants to destroy them.

Emergent Narratives

Frederic Seraphine describes ludonarrative dissonance as the problem that arises when a discrepancy arises between play and narrative. 
The player puts himself in the avatar during the game. The problem arises from the fact that in no game world is everything possible. 
Fallout 4 is bound by rules. Up to half of the game especially, because the player follows the main quests. After this part, the ludonarrative dissonance is reduced because the player has more possibilities to decide.
According to Simon Chauvin, Guillaume Levieux, Jean-Yves Donnart and Stephane Natkin, the solution should lie in the emergent narratives. They have put together 5 points for a concrete solution approach. 


The first point means that the rules of the game must remain rational. This point is fulfilled in Fallout. The second point means that the player's actions must have consequences. Not every action in Fallout 4 necessarily has a consequence. But the larger decisions that the player makes during the game do have a consequence. 
The third point is to be able to take other paths. After saving and creating different scores, or even after the character dies, the player can choose to take different paths in Fallout. In doing so, he becomes aware that his decisions are going in different directions and that other paths are possible. The fourth point to mention is the uncertainty that accompanies the player. It should be impossible for him to monitor the entire game world. Especially the size of the game world in Fallout does not allow for a complete monitoring of the game events and an overview of all possible tasks and paths. 
The world in Fallout is created in a complex way and does not offer only one storyline. 
Finally, co-authorship, which means that the player should have control over the story and use the available material to go his own way. 
It is this very point that describes the game Fallout 4 brilliantly.
The main story provides the player with an exciting introduction to the world and offers many opportunities to immerse themselves in the world with its information. But what the player makes of it in the end is up to him. The open game world allows for countless different storylines and different paths. Also the possibility to build houses and settlements offer the player a variety of actions that he can control himself. 
And finally, it is also the end of the game that the player takes into his own hands through his decisions.

Future Narratives

Sebsastion Domsch describes the Future Narrative as a new narrative type. Characteristics of this narrative type are the nodal points, which in games give the opportunity to make decisions and thus guide the narration. The paths that are chosen are mutually exclusive. In such a nodal point situation, two narrative events are linked together.
Any such decision situations in Fallout can be called such a node.
Storyplay is the combination of narrative and active play. In order to keep the decisions in the game interesting, information is withheld from the game and revealed in a controlled manner. The player does not decide on the amount of information. 
There are two types of information. The first is about the game design, which deals with rules about mechanics and functions. In Fallout 4, certain features are not revealed at the beginning of the game. The clock that the player finds in the early stages of the game reveals information about the map, weapons, quests, and other features. This information is withheld and released at a specific point in time when it fits the story. The player will only gradually discover all the features that the gameplay in Fallout 4 offers. 
The second piece of information is about the game world. These are optional semantic layers of meaning. Often, especially in newer computer games, both pieces of information are linked together. For example, when a non-player character explains rule-giving functions within the narrative. Commands are also often passed on to the player in this way. 
In Fallout 4, new features are often introduced in this way. For example, a battle suit is explained in a corresponding sequence by an NPC. The decisions that the player makes at the nodal points are followed by consequences, sometimes even the illusion of such a decision. To change the course of the game afterwards and to reverse the consequences, many players like to use the safegame function. This enables the player to return to a saved game state afterwards and thus to make a different decision. 
Fallout also offers such a possibility. There is the possibility to save manually, as well as the automatic saving. However, if the player makes use of this function, he/she takes the information distribution suggested in the game and can access all existing information and experience for later decisions. His decision becomes irrelevant. 
In Fallout 4, the player can also take advantage of this safegame feature. He can undo decisions for certain factions if he changes his mind afterwards. Even small decisions can be repeated if the player changes his mind afterwards. However, this has the consequence that the decisions do not remain exciting, because they are no longer irreversible. 
However, it is and remains a matter for the player to decide whether or not to use this function. On the other hand, Fallout 4 is not a reflection of reality, so there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it. It's up to the player to decide how they want to play the game and how much fun they want it to be.