Fallouthas become well-known for its creative post-apocalyptic world, but the games have generally been very America-centric. Every installment so far has taken place in a different part of the United States: California, Las Vegas, Washington, the Eastern Seaboard. This does make some sense on a thematic level. The franchise is notorious for its relentless satire of the American dream and the obvious influence of American Cold War-propaganda.
However, the tendency to focus exclusively on the United States has left fans with questions about what might be going on elsewhere in the world, much of which has also been destroyed by nuclear war. Bethesda has yet to offer anything more than hints. The closest thing that exists to a Fallout game set outside the states is an upcomingfan-made title set in London. As creative as the games can get with their American settings, there is some untapped potential to explore how other countries have been affected by the nuclear apocalypse. Many of these have offer some interesting opportunities to build on existing lore while still offering new and unique perspectives.
4Australia
An Environment that Makes New Vegas Look Tame
The “Land Down Under” alreadyhas a reputation for being pretty dangerous, even at the best of times. This makes sense, given it is home to some pretty menacing creatures. Large venemous snakes and spiders can appear where they are least expected. Large crocodiles tend to be a problem when going into any kind of water. Even the birds can be nasty- cassiowaries are notorious for their aggressive personalities.
Now imagine what it might look like if say… Australia got hit by a bunch of nukes and a lot of that wildlife was mutated by radiation. We’ve already seen what it can do to American fauna. Hitting Australia with it would probably make one of the most intense and hostile environmentsFalloutcould conceive.
3Canada
A Rich Testing Ground For New Ideas
Interestingly,Falloutactually does have some lore involving pre-war Canada being annexed by the United States. This could be a topic to explore in more detail, and a good source of conflict. After all, having their country effectively conquered and exploited would be a reason for Canadians to hold a grudge even two hundred years later. With the country being annexed, it doesn’t seem like a huge stretch that Vault-Tec could have profited and built some vaults across the border. In the post-war environment, with borders no longer existing, it would definitely be plausible for familiar factions like the NCR, Enclave, the Legion, or the Brotherhood of Steel to be fighting over Canadian territory.
Given its proximity to the U.S., Canada would be a great place for Bethesda to test the waters on a newFalloutsetting, as a Canadian map could easily be combined with parts of the Northern United States. That said, a game set in the Arctic could potentially put a new meaning to “nuclear winter,” and even that could still be connected to the U.S. state of Alaska.
2Mexico
A Rich Cultural History Full of Inspiration
On the other side of the United States,Mexico could also offer some interesting opportunities. After all, it does have a history that’s closely intertwined with America and that includes being exploited in the name of capitalism. It probably wouldn’t be out of the question for Vault-Tec to have found its way into Mexico and built some vaults there, perhaps doing so as a way of cutting costs or getting around some regulation. And after the war, there wouldn’t be much stopping factions like the NCR, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Enclave, or the Legion from making their way across the border.
TheFalloutgames have often enjoyed playing with factions inspired by history. There was the Enclave in 3 (resembling a cross between Nazi Germany and the Confederate States of America), the Legion (based on the Roman Empire), and the Minutemen (loosely resembling Colonial America). Even the Brotherhood of Steel likes to adopt Medieval language comparing their soldiers to knights. Mexico has a rich cultural history that could be a source of inspiration for several factions. They could experiment with factions based on conquistadors or take inspiration from any of the major conflicts fought in Mexico, from the Texas Revolution to the Dirty War. A fascinating angle might be to have a factionthat tries to revive Mesoamerican customsmixed with the technology of the wasteland.
1Somewhere That Has History With Communism
A New Perspective on Familiar Themes
TheFalloutseries takes some very obvious influence from Cold War propaganda. This manifests in everything from the 1950’s retro-future aesthetic to Vault-Tec’s 50’s-style media. There are even explicit references to the Red Scare, some of which continue to appear long after the war. IfFalloutwanted to explore similar themes while trying something new, a logical approach might be to explore theotherside of the Cold War. After all, one of the big exacerbating factors was the conflicting political ideologies of capitalism and communism. A logical way to explore similar themes while offering a new perspective would therefore be to pick a setting that has historical ties to communism.
The obvious choice would be Russia. The success of theMetroseries (which itself was inspired byFallout) already shows a market fora game dealing with such a setting. Another great option would be China, which has been referenced in the games. Either way there’s an obvious parallel to be drawn.Falloutloves to tear apart the idea of the American dream, and expose how capitalism led to America’s downfall. A fallout game set in the Soviet Union or China could take a similar approach to communism, exploring how its ideas fell apart and ultimately led to their part in the war.
