There is probably no other artistic medium that has had as much
influence on modern gaming as film. From the impact that Star Wars and
Star Trek have had on more recent franchises like Mass Effect, going all
the way back to Rambo’s influence on the Contra series and even earlier.
Game developers have always built on and referenced the movies that
inspired them. Of course, Fallout is a major example of this. You can check
out a whole video we did on the ways that the adventures of Max
Rockatansky inspired Fallout. But Mad Max isn’t the only film series
Interplay and Bethesda looked too when creating their vast, open
wasteland. Here are just a few of the films that shaped the world of Fallout.
The Pentagon security officer Harold Callahan mentioned in Fallout 3
is a direct reference to Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood’s angry cop
character in the Dirty Harry series. Another reference to the series is
“ Callahan’s Magnum ”, a .44 Magnum handgun, which is Harry’s prefered
weapon and was featured in a wellknown scene from the first movie. Harry
Callahan describes the .44 Magnum as the “most powerful handgun in the
world”, so it is probably no coincidence that Bethesda had the .44 be the
game’s most powerful revolver. Fallout 2 also includes this reference, but
goes a step further. Within the game’s description of the .44 Magnum
was Dirty Harry’s most famous line: "Being that this is the most powerful
handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you gotta to ask
yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?”.
Eastwood is not the only action star that gets a shoutout
though, the eightyear
old character Bryan Wilks ’ name is thought to be a modified
version of Bruce Willis’ name. That may seem like a stretch at first, but the
game basically confirms this by having Bryan say “Now I know what a TV
dinner feels like!” during the “Those!” questline. A line of dialogue taken
verbatim from Bruce Willis’ character John McClane in the first Die Hard
film.
The James Bond franchise also managed to inspire
two characters, Wint and Kidd , who were featured in the Sean
Connery Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever. Like the Wint and Kidd
of Fallout 3, the pair is a very closeknit
team, unlike Fallout though, the Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd of the
film are master assassins and romantic partners, sent to kill 007.
Jumping from action heroes to bloodsucking villains, the character of
Lucy West , who kicks off the vampirethemed questline “Blood Ties”, is
said to be inspired by the Dracula character Lucy Westerna , one of the first
victims of the Count. Now technically we are cheating a bit since the
character first appeared in Bram Stoker’s novel but Lucy has appeared in
countless adaptations on the big screen as well. Oh and that’s not the only
Dracula connection in Fallout 3. The small settlement of Arfeu , where Lucy
West asks you to deliver a message to her family, is named after a tiny
village in Romania. The only really notable thing about the Romanian Arfeu
is its close proximity to the former castle of Vlad Tepes, the man who
inspired none other than Count Dracula. If you come across a raider’s cave in Fallout
2, you may find three dog tags that belong to Angel Eyes , Blondie
and Tuco . This is a subtle reference to the trio of characters who engaged
in an iconic standoff in the
western The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. That’s not all, the player may
also receive a set of intentionally confusing directions from Llyod that
supposedly lead to hidden loot. These directions, along with the location of
the loot, mirror the treasure hunt in the film. Doing this quest correctly leads
to the dialogue option: "There are two kinds of people in the world Lloyd.
Those with guns and those that dig". A line taken directly from the Clint
Eastwood classic.
Most hardcore Fallout fans already know about
the Star Wars reference found in Fallout New Vegas, rest
in peace poor Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru , but you might not know that there’s
a much more subtle one hidden in Fallout 2. If you’ve played Fallout
2, you might have picked up on some of the dialogue taken from Star Wars,
but I doubt you noticed a pair of references hidden on the game’s world
map . The VaultTec logo
contains the sequence “TK421”, the name of a stormtrooper in A New
Hope. You’re probably saying to yourself “wait, the stormtroopers had
names?”, turns out yes, they did. TK421 is mentioned in exactly one
scene, when his commanding officer asks “TK421! Why aren’t you at your
post?”. Also seen in that logo is “AA23”, the cell block where Princess Leia
was being held. I’m getting the impression that someone at Interplay
REALLY loved Star Wars. You thought you knew Fallout, but hopefully
you’ve learned just a thing or two more. Do you know of any other
historical or literary references we didn't cover here? Share them in the comment
section below and we might include it in a future episode. If you
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