New Documentary Reveals Fallout 4 Wasn’t Originally Set in Boston
Noclip, a crowdfunded group that produces documentaries, recently released a documentary on the history of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises. Among the revelations that featured in the new documentary was that Boston was not originally the setting of Fallout 4. While Bethesda did consider numerous settings, it seems that New York was planned to be the game’s setting for a long time. The same documentary also revealed that Fallout 4’s building mechanics were almost cut from the game before release.
The Settings Considered for Fallout 4
The revelation came via comments made by Emil Pagliarulo, Fallout 4’s Design Director. In the documentary, he said that the game’s original design documentation all utilized New York and not Boston. As Bethesda considered different settings, New York was the one which the development team used the most. San Francisco was also a strong contender for the game’s setting. Apparently, San Francisco has long been considered a potential Fallout setting. The documentary revealed that Bethesda had asked Obsidian Entertainment to change Fallout New Vegas; the game included a line of dialogue which stated that San Francisco had been “totally wiped off the map”, and Bethesda asked them to remove those lines to ensure that San Francisco remained a possible setting.
New York would certainly have been an interesting setting. Presumably, it would have been much more urban than Boston’s Commonwealth ended up being. Perhaps it was the structural challenge of creating so many dense, high-rise structures which contributed to choosing another city. Bethesda has always elected to choose iconic American cities for their entries in the franchise, from Washington D.C. to Las Vegas to Boston. It’s certainly interesting to learn that New York and San Francisco were so strongly considered as possible settings; suggesting perhaps where the series might go in the future.
Of course, Boston ended up being the setting for Fallout 4. It may well be no accident that Boston is Pagliarulo’s hometown. In fact, the iconic raider leader Bosco, who wore the head of a giant teddy bear, was actually based on Pagliarulo’s high school mascot. He attended Don Bosco Technical High.
