Environmental Storytelling in FNV

Apollyon

It Wandered In From the Wastes
Hey all,

Recently I've come back to Fallout after enjoying other games for a while.

One thing that stuck with me from these other games is their stellar environmental storytelling. The original World of Warcraft for example had incredible environmental storytelling which was way ahead of its time. So far ahead in fact, that 20 years after its release people are still cracking open entire treasure troves of hidden lore.

This sense of mystery is really what makes a game world spring to life in my opinion!


I've always enjoyed the Fallout games, and they have a reputation for having great environmental storytelling as well, which made me want to revisit Fallout 3 and NV.

Lately I have been deliberating on what could be hidden 'in between the lines' in these games, so to speak. But I must say, so far I am not finding an awful lot.

While many places in Fallout 3 and NV have stories connected to them, it's unclear to me whether they were designed in such a way that they interconnect.

In fact, apart from the stories contained in the seperate locations and some of the more overt plot lines, the environmental storytelling seems a bit... Random?


Perhaps the NMA forum can point me towards some of the more worthwhile hidden stories that I've missed!


Cheers!
 
It depends on what you mean. I found a camp of NCR deserters and they had a NCR flag lying on the ground which was a nice little detail.
 
I'm looking for instances in which the game tells a story that isn't immediately visible, and must be pieced together through observing the environment. Dialogue can be part of it as well, but when dialogue is a part of environmental storytelling it usually consists of small details that do not give away the story by themselves.

Something I have noticed in Fallout 3 and New Vegas is that there tends to be environmental storytelling going on for certain points of interest, but very little in the way of providing context and interconnectedness to the wider world. They tend to tell small stories which stand on their own.
 
There should probably be signs of heavy battle at Helios One from when the BoS made their final stand there. Things like that?
 
Nipton I'd wager. Even if you disregard the conversation with Vulpes, what the game tells you via the enviroment is quite stark. The townhall is eerie like a tomb.
 
Where is this?
This was on my way to Jacobstown. Where the big road leading northwest from Vegas forks off to the smaller road leading to Jacobstown. The Followers safe house is around there. It's an unmarked location with a campfire, some beds and ammunition boxes. And the NCR flag on the ground.

I use VNV though so it might be from that?
 
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