Fallout (video Game) - Development

Development

The budget for the game was approximately three million dollars. In the early stages of planning, other settings based on the GURPS handbooks were considered, including a time-travel theme with aliens and dinosaurs. The game's working titles were GURPS: Wasteland and Vault 13: A GURPS Post-Nuclear Adventure.

A number of well-known actors were cast as voice-talents. The game's narrations were performed by Ron Perlman and the prologue featured one of the foremost iconic catch phrases of the game series: "War. War never changes"; Perlman was re-invited to, and narrated, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. Other appearances included Richard Dean Anderson as Killian, David Warner as Morpheus, Tony Shalhoub (credited as Tony Shalub) as Aradesh, Brad Garrett as Harry, Keith David as Decker, Richard Moll as Cabot, and Tony Jay as The Mutant Lieutenant.

Black Isle intended to use "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots for the theme song, but could not license the song because of a copyright issue. This song was later licensed by Bethesda for Fallout 3. The song "Maybe" by the same artists was used instead for the original Fallout theme song.

At one point in Fallout's development, in Junktown, if the player aided local sheriff Killian Darkwater in killing the criminal Gizmo, Killian would take his pursuit of the law much too far, to the point of tyranny, and force Junktown to stagnate. However, if the player killed Killian for Gizmo, then Gizmo would help Junktown prosper for his own benefit. The game's publisher did not like this bit of moral ambiguity and had the outcomes changed to an alternate state, where aiding Killian results in a more palatable ending.

The game, along with its two followups, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics, were later sold together as part of the Fallout Trilogy. Fallout and Fallout 2 also appeared together in "dual jewel" format.