When talking about Fallout and its unique characters and setting, one name has come
up in the discussion time again and time again. Mad Max. For the uninitiated, Mad Max is an
Australian film series that began in 1979. It follows the adventures of Mel Gibson, and
now Tom Hardy, as Max, a survivor living in a brutal post-apocalyptic wasteland where
chaos rules and violence is the only way to survive. So yeah, you can probably see the
obvious connection to Fallout. In fact, Mad Max is probably the single biggest inspiration
on the Fallout franchise, going all the way back to the early days of the franchise.
The first Fallout game has one of the most prominent Mad Max references. Found in Junktown,
where the NPC Phil is being annoyed by a dog. Phil tells you that the dog used to belong
to a dead traveller saying he was “tall, dark-haired with a little graying around the
edges. He was dressed all in black leather, and carried a shotgun. Oh, and he had some
funny accent. This is obviously describing Mel Gibson’s look and Australian accent.
Taking the reference a step further, when the player equips his leather jacket the dog
will begin to follow you around, believing you to be Max, who wore the same jacket in
The Road Warrior. Since the dog may then become a constant companion, this small easter egg
has a pretty large effect on the rest of the game. That’s not all, including this leather
jacket has even become something of a Fallout tradition, an updated version appeared in
Bethesda’s game as well.
Oddly, many of the Mad Max references found
in Fallout seem to revolve around Max’s dog. Everyone probably recognizes this image,
which was often featured in the promotional material for Fallout 3. Many fans recognized
it as a reference to this iconic shot from Mad Max’s sequel, The Road Warrior. The
player’s canine companion Dogmeat, is a Blue Heeler, the same breed of dog as Max’s
companion in the film, clearly showing the inspiration the game took from the film.
Speaking of dogs, George Miller, the creator of Mad Max has cited Harlan Ellison’s 1969
novella “A Boy and His Dog”, which was made into a film in 1975, as a huge source
of inspiration. The story tells the tale a teenage boy wandering the wasteland with an
intelligent telepathic dog named Blood. The creators of Fallout were obviously well-aware
of this story as well. In fact, the main character of the novella often calls the dog by his
nickname, “Dogmeat”. Some of the references to Mad Max in Fallout’s
wasteland are much more obscure. In Fallout 2, you may find yourself in Broken Hills while
wandering the wasteland. A settlement built on mining in the old world, that tradition
lives on in the city, where the super mutant population continues to work the uranium mine.
What many don’t know is that the entire city may be a reference to The Road Warrior.
Most of the movie was shot around the small city of Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia.
Like Fallout 2’s Broken Hills, it is an isolated city founded on its rich mines. Known
as the “Silver City” due to its astoundingly successful silver mines, the world’s largest
mining corporation, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, now called BHP Billiton, has its
roots in the city.
Another less-known Mad Max reference is found
in Fallout 3, one of the Little Lamplight children mispronounces the word humongous,
instead saying “humungus”. Many fans believed this to be a strange mistake in the game,
but actually it is a subtle reference to the character Lord Humungus, the leader of a merciless
motorcycle gang and the central villain of The Road Warrior. Speaking of Lord Humungus,
his unique scoped pistol is thought by some to have been the inspiration for the scoped
.44 Magnum. That’s not the only weapon that may have been taken from the Mad Max series.
The Sawed-off Shotgun of Fallout: New Vegas is thought to be inspired by Max’s strikingly
similar gun.
The Mad Max series set the standard that many
post-apocalyptic stories strive to live up to, just as the Fallout series has done for
video games. You’ve seen the many places where Fallout has taken its cues from Max’s
adventures, but one simple similarity stands above the rest: the idea of Max as a roving
warrior, moving from place to place across a vast and dangerous wasteland, alone. Fallout
has taken this concept to the next level by placing the player in the shoes of that lone
wanderer, resulting in one of the most satisfying gaming experiences ever made.
You thought you knew Fallout, but hopefully you’ve learned just a thing or two more.
Do you know of any other references we didn't cover here? Share them in the comment section
below and we might include it in a future episode. If you like Hidden History don’t
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