Fallout: New Vegas was released in 2010, following the release of Fallout 3 in 2008. In such a small time gap, Obsidian, the studio behind Fallout: New Vegas was only given 18 months to work on the game and finish it.
Director John Sawyer was initially criticized for playing very similar to Fallout 3, but it was a necessity; Given the limited amount of time Obsidian had to quickly make a final product. It was bound to take inspiration from its predecessors and draw along already-established lines. Irrespective of the struggle Obsidian faced, they managed to deliver one of the best Fallout games.
John Sawyer had his back against the wall
Sawyer was criticized for copying the then-latest title, Fallout 3, but it was the first game in the franchise that influenced his development process.
In an interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Sawyer discusses further the criticism he faced during the making of Fallout: New Vegas and his inspirations to make it. He said:
We took a shipped game and made a spin-off without really changing the underlying tech, we focused almost entirely on content.
Tracing over the masters is Sawyer’s special skill, as he has been a part of many sequels and spin-offs, which has made him better at executing them. He quickly learned how to deliver something unique in a short amount of time. He said:
The successful early projects of my career were almost all content sequels or spin-offs of existing tech bases. And it focused my mind very heavily on the production process. Very quickly I adapted to ‘How can we make something fresh in a very short period of time, using what we have?’ It was a very lean and bang-for-buck approach to development.
The content-driven approach shifted the winds of favor in Sawyer’s direction, making Fallout: New Vegas one of the best games of the Fallout bunch. Sawyer’s team put a lot of effort into enabling players to twist and turn through different factions and resolve things the way players wanted. The team at Obsidian had the luxury of working on conversations and quests, making the game dynamic and robust.
Sawyer’s inspiration goes back to the roots
Sawyer took the inspiration for the game from Fallout 1. He went back to the roots and principles with which Fallout was started and contemplated how he could add their essence to Fallout: New Vegas.
Sawyer adapted a lot of the philosophy of Fallout 1 into his game. Elaborating on this, he said:
A lot of the philosophy that I approached New Vegas with was the philosophy of Fallout 1, or how I interpreted. Fallout 1 was foundational for me in understanding how role-playing games should be made.
His inspirations led him to create one of the most celebrated games in the franchise, and that too within 18 months—something that the modern industry won’t be able to believe. Delivering a game in 18 months is preposterous, and yet for people like Sawyer, it seems to work out for the better.
