Amazon's Fallout TV Series Is About To Enter Production (arstechnica.com) 74
Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of the Fallout franchise of video games is entering production this year, and its two lead writers have been named, according to reports in Deadline and Variety. Ars Technica reports: It was previously known that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy (who worked together on HBO's Westworld) would be executive producers, and Variety and Deadline both report that Nolan will direct the first episode of the show. But Nolan and Joy will not be the primary creative leads on the series. Rather, Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner have been attached as showrunners. Robertson-Dworet wrote the screenplays for the superhero movie Captain Marvel and the 2018 Tomb Raider film adaptation. She is also writing a future Star Trek film planned for release in 2023. Wagner is best known as one of the main writers on the sketch comedy series Portlandia and for work on modern sitcoms like The Office, Silicon Valley, and Baskets. Robertson-Dworet brings the science fiction and action/adventure credentials, and Wagner brings the comedy, covering two foundations of the Fallout franchise's narrative style.
For those unfamiliar, Fallout is a long-running video game franchise set in a post-apocalyptic alternate future where a cold war between China and the United States turns hot, leaving the world in a brutal nuclear winter with mutated creatures and violent bandits. Despite the grim setting, the series is known for its sense of humor as much as its darkness, with pop culture references, a 1950s aesthetic, heavy influences from pulp science fiction, and biting satire of American capitalism. The series originated as a slow-paced, top-down role-playing game on the PC in the 1990s, but the intellectual property was later bought by game publisher Bethesda Softworks.
For those unfamiliar, Fallout is a long-running video game franchise set in a post-apocalyptic alternate future where a cold war between China and the United States turns hot, leaving the world in a brutal nuclear winter with mutated creatures and violent bandits. Despite the grim setting, the series is known for its sense of humor as much as its darkness, with pop culture references, a 1950s aesthetic, heavy influences from pulp science fiction, and biting satire of American capitalism. The series originated as a slow-paced, top-down role-playing game on the PC in the 1990s, but the intellectual property was later bought by game publisher Bethesda Softworks.
I would have looked forward to this, but... (Score:4, Informative)
The same person who excreted the Tomb Raider reboot and Captain Marvel onto the movie scene is going to write the screenplay for Fallout? Dear god, what's next...Jeffrey Dalmer catering the Oscars after-party?
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This is the dumbest comment I've read in a long time, and for multiple reasons. Fallout isn't a shooter, it's an RPG with guns. It has plenty of story. And even if it didn't, the fucking television show is still going to need one.
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One hopes that they choose not to use Fallout 76 as the basis for the story.
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There are much bigger problems with Fallout 76: namely, it's 20 years "after the bomb" and they already have FEV mutants and other things everywhere, which doesn't (necessarily) fit the canon established by earlier games very well. You might be able to argue in favor of what they've done, but in my opinion, they missed out on numerous opportunities with that scenario for good storytelling instead of just repeating the same crap from other games that has honestly reached meme-tier by this point.
Stuff like e
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Yes, Fallout 4 is a themepark ride shooter devoid of almost any role playing. There are some blimps, especially in the Far Harbor DLC, but they do not define the game.
Fallout 3 did not have much of a story but plenty of side quest that encouraged you to role play with a lot of freedom for your choices. The "Tranquility Lane" quest got rewards AFAIR for its originallity. And how many games give you the ch
Re: I would have looked forward to this, but... (Score:2)
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Bethesda games are closer to shooters with RPG elements.
That was all up to you. I played FO 3, NV and 4 mostly with VATS which makes the combat into a turn based game. I played it mainly for the exploration and the story, not for the shooter elements. I did enjoy some shooting but it was more like part of the adventure. At some point in the game i became so OP that the shooting just became trivial side-play to the exploration.
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if it's all based on experiencing everything though first person perspective with gun ready then it's a shooter.
But this is only part of the game. Melee combat is viable for instance. Does that make the game a first person brawler?
And honestly to me VATS always looked very underwhelming.
That is personal taste more than anything. I really liked it in FO3 and NV and it allowed me to make builds that underplay guns and boost other abilities.
I agree that the RPG elements are not very strong and it ventures quite far from classic tabletop RPG concepts. But in the end you still do your battle, get you XP and upgrade your gear and person. There is also a lot of story and lore tha
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But FO3, NV and 4 are nothing like Doom. IMO you're just obsessing about the gun thing. And there are no shooters that have all the stuff that is in the 3D FO games. Certainly not Doom. What you seem to be referring to more than anything is Rage by id soft or maybe Borderlands. Those i would consider shooters with RPG elements.
Ok, here's the wikipedia describing the characteristics of a RPG video game:
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] )
Players control a central game character, or multiple game characters, usually called a party, and attain victory by completing a series of quests or reaching the conclusion of a central storyline. Players explore a game world, while solving puzzles and engaging in combat. A key feature of the genre is that characters grow in power and abilities, and characters are typically designed by the player.[1] RPGs rarely challenge a player's physical coordination or reaction time, with the exception of action role-playing games.[3]
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With the exception of character design and physical coordination challenge, all of the above does apply, for example, to Doom Eternal.
Not really. Doom is very much about the shooting. It's bizarre that you're trying to compare it to the 3D Fallout series as the games are very very different. Just look at the massive amount of quests. Doom doesn't have any of that.
I would prefer to refer as RPGs only games that have indirect control of characters with turn-based/realtime-with-pause, isometric/birds-eye camera and complex roleplaying system.
So you're saying that a game having isometric graphics is somehow relevant to it being an RPG? That sounds like a completely arbitrary classifier. I think you're chasing a skeuomorphism of table-top games here without looking at how computers can actually add to the genre.
You sho
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If I want an experience closer to original fallouts than to Doom then how would I even ask for it?
Ask for 2D isometric turn based RPG's, maybe? :)
But i don't think FO3 is closer to Doom than to FO1,2. Something that happens to me regularly in 3D FO games is that during combat i go into my inventory (maybe for some health item), see some interesting wearables, start contemplating the consequences of the effects of these items, rearrange my armor and/or guns and whoosh, half an hour spent not doing any actual combat during combat! You go play Doom and see if you can have that kind of gameplay.
I think you
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Re:I would have looked forward to this, but... (Score:4, Informative)
Captain Marvel made $1.1 billion. It did better than Guardians and the Dark Knight movies. They wish it will do as well.
Not Sustainable like DK and GotG (Score:2, Informative)
Captain Marvel made $1.1 billion. It did better than Guardians and the Dark Knight movies. They wish it will do as well.
Captain Marvel was propped up with the MCU's hard-earned reputation and branding, and (falsely) marketed as required viewing between its two biggest movies (IW and Endgame). It very much mirrors the The Last Jedi in a) how dependent it was on the popularity of the franchise for a deceptively high box office take and b) how quickly and desperately Disney abandoned it when they saw the brand damage.
Look to Ghostbusters 2016, Terminator: Dark Fate, Charlie's Angels, the Harley Quinn flick, and (more recen
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Matrix 4 is a good movie, it's just not for you. The original movie had been seen as an allegory for the struggles of LGBT people, knowing they are someone else than the role they play. Lana Wachowski is trans and wrote the movie to expand on that idea, making it much more explicit this time.
The most obvious example is when Trinity is talking to Neo at the coffee shop. She says she recognized herself in as the character in the game, which was actually her real life. When she told her husband he laughed. I t
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Matrix 4 is a good movie, it's just not for you.
No, it isn't, but if they cut 45 minutes to an hour out of it then it might not have been so plodding.
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For some reason I think you are gen X, apologies if I got the wrong impression. Gen X can get a lot from this movie too.
There's that feeling that all we did to try to fix the world when we were younger might have been for nothing. Climate change is out of control, the world seems to be slipping backwards from the progress we made, and the younger generations are even worse of than we are. Maybe we are too old to do anything about it now.
The message Matrix 4 gives is that our revolution can succeed, and we a
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For some reason I think you are gen X, apologies if I got the wrong impression. Gen X can get a lot from this movie too.
I'm an Xer, yeah, towards the end. I'm not saying that there's not good stuff in the movie, I'm saying it's not a good movie overall. Kind of like how McDonalds can make a shitburger out of common ingredients.
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It sounds like that movie has way to much baggage to deal with for me to enjoy it. :/
oh well.
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Matrix 4 is a good movie
You have a very very low bar for "good movie" if a tedious and unneeded retelling of the first film, tied to a lame backstory retcon qualifies.
The original movie had been seen as an allegory for the struggles of LGBT people, knowing they are someone else than the role they play. Lana Wachowski is trans and wrote the movie to expand on that idea, making it much more explicit this time.
That doesn't justify wasting the time and money this took to re-hash something already done.
I think a lot of the criticism from people who didn't like it is just because it wasn't made to resonate with them, it didn't reflect their experiences.
That's bollocks. It's a boring remake with central actors no longer capable of performing the stunts and fights that they did well the first time. That's pretty well all the criticism I've seen. Plus, of course, it's too long, but that's normal these days.
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Warner were going to make it no matter what. Lana decided she would use that opportunity to make something she wanted.
I don't think the age of the actors made any difference, they have stunt doubles and CGI.
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Warner were going to make it no matter what. Lana decided she would use that opportunity to make something she wanted.
What, a boring turd that goes through the motions at a snails pace?
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In the case of Keanu, it's not that he's incapable of stunts, it's that they didn't want to pay him the amount of money it would cost to fully choreograph the stunts and his insurance rates which is why his special power was the power of safe space. This minimized the amount of time he was on set and possible injury to him and so significantly reduced the amount they would have to pay him.
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I think most LGBT people will have experienced that in their life. Both Trinity and Neo are fighting to be who they really are, while The Architect fights to keep them in the closet.
The idea that our cravings are "who we are" is a very modern one.
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Not cravings. Pretending to be straight because of family pressure to fit into a certain mould. Living as the wrong gender for fear of rejection, or that you are too old to successfully transition.
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Deciding to change gender because of societal pressure to be one thing or the other and because we treat them one way or the other. In societies with less well-defined gender roles there is less gender dysphoria. The same people who say that cosmetic plastic surgery is stupid because we should be happy with who we are will tell us that getting irreversible gender reassignment surgery which does not improve outcomes (e.g. suicide rates don't change pre- or post- transition) is necessary to live one's best li
Re: Not Sustainable like DK and GotG (Score:2, Insightful)
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You cant just be a heterosexual girl. Now in order to fit in you have to be Bi, Bi curious, Pan sexual, or Polysexual.
Well, orientation is really not what I'm talking about. Frankly I believe that absent societal pressures humans would be more bisexual than not, but it also seems reasonable to go through phases. There are loads of examples of this in the animal kingdom, including among other primates, so why not humans?
I dont think we have really accomplished anything unless the goal was to screw up everyone.
To my mind the ultimate goal should be that everyone is educated and everyone makes their own decisions, to the extent that they can do so without harming others. Because a lot of people have done a lot of t
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It is possible to de-transition. Around 2% of trans people de-transition, most commonly due to pressure from family, inability to get a job, or running out of money for medical bills. Around 1% of those who de-transition state that they changed their minds and want to live as their original gender.
The outcomes are mostly due to transphobia.
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It is possible to de-transition.
You mean re-transition. It's not possible to de-transition. And if that's really the term people are using then they're being willfully obtuse in order to make themselves feel better about their choices. There's no going back to the old equipment as it was. THAT would be de-transitioning.
The outcomes are mostly due to transphobia.
Gender dysphoria might best be explained by being due to societal programming around gender roles.
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Not cravings. Pretending to be straight because of family pressure to fit into a certain mould. Living as the wrong gender for fear of rejection, or that you are too old to successfully transition.
Yes, I know that we've created a bunch of new language to describe our cravings, urges, what we are attracted to. That's my point, viewing it this new way is a historical blip.
I might be naturally attracted to taking cocaine, or bank robbery. Or eating a whole box of donuts at a time. All might be exciting and pleasurable, at least temporarily! The mere fact that I have a craving in that direction doesn't make those actions a good idea, or "who I am".
Re: Not Sustainable like DK and GotG (Score:2)
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What about the lack of memorable fight scenes or compelling characters? I never realized how much the old Agent Smith brought to these movies until a Matrix made effectively without him was made. I say "effectively" because this was not an adequate replacement.
Also, every Matrix movie prior to this had at least one brilliant action scene. The first movie is just full of them, the second one has the highway scene with the ghosts and the third has the defense of Zion. This one? Not so much.
Overall though I di
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That's a criticism I agree with, it could have done with a few more stunts and a really good action sequence.
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Overall though I didn't dislike the Matrix 4, I just thought it was noticably the worst of the 4.
Count me out then, My personal order: 1) Great film 2) What the hell is this nonsense? 3) Did a monkey manufacture this? if this is worse, it's down there with "Are you trying to hurt me physically?"
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Sad that this was modded troll. Some snowflakes are so insecure they can't even stand people liking movies they don't like.
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Matrix 4 is a good movie, it's just not for you.
Matrix 4 was a troll. It criticized its own weaknesses for about half an hour and then proceeded to be the most flat and uninspired version of itself, doing exactly what it criticized for and it did that for 2/3ds of the movie. It was shit and it knew it.
Lana Wachowski is trans and wrote the movie to expand on that idea, making it much more explicit this time.
But why did she wrap this in a shitty matrix movie? Surely there are even more explicit ways of dealing with these issues?
The biggest message i got from the movie is that Lana didn't really want to make it. Like i said, it criticizes itself and then deliver
Takes place in Russia (Score:2)
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Captain Marvel made $1.1 billion. It did better than Guardians and the Dark Knight movies. They wish it will do as well.
Making money and being good are not the same thing. The fact that people like polished turds says more about people than it does about the turds.
Captain Marvel was borderline entertaining. I paid to see it. I was entertained enough to pass a minimum threshold of tolerance. I contributed to it making money. It was not good and I don't recommend it to anyone who isn't into the MCU, a behemoth with enough momentum that even its worst turds still make stupid amounts of money (no Captain Marvel was not the worst
Re: I would have looked forward to this, but... (Score:2)
The Incredible Hulk...
Or maybe Thor: the dark world?
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I was thinking of Thor the Dark World, but honestly I forgot the Incredible Hulk was part of the MCU, so maybe that qualifies as worse ;-)
But that is still on point since that also made $670m at the boxoffice.
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It will be WOKE! (Score:1, Insightful)
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will it be all jiggle cam and nonsense such as? (Score:2)
Was excited for The Wheel of Time. But within 20 minutes, I just had to abort the series.
Jiggle cam, making fight scenes incomprehensible and untrackable, along with wild panning of the camera and shaking it around for no reason, is just absurd, annoying, and a crazy turn off.
I prefer immersion, and seeing the world the way humans do, not being pulled out of the scene to watch gibberish.
I've been in car accidents, engaged in all manner of activities where I get jostled about, and have never experienced wei
Re: will it be all jiggle cam and nonsense such as (Score:4, Interesting)
If only jiggle cam was the only problem with the Wheel of Time; Amazon apparently has no respect for the works they're adapting.
I don't understand why the industry in general keeps giving jobs to people who insist on having female characters trample on men all the time.
Re: will it be all jiggle cam and nonsense such a (Score:3)
âoeNo respect for the worksâ implies those works are worth respecting. Book one, ok. Books 2-5, enjoyable. The next dozen? Agonizing pain.
The tv series seems to have captured part of that journey, anyway.
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No respect for the works implies those works are worth respecting. Book one, ok. Books 2-5, enjoyable. The next dozen? Agonizing pain.
I thought it was a good book series (yes, it had flaws and it was on the long side). If you don't like it, you don't have to keep reading it.
It's ok to alter the works IF you can do better. But the abomination that Amazon released was neither following the books nor was it any good on its own merits.
...people incapable of filming... (Score:3)
It's literally a crutch for people incapable of filming action, thus hide it with crap.
And "the people" includes the audience too - only in a different way.
Hbomberguy made a video [youtube.com] summarizing and explaining the issue in regard to the movie industry a while back.
He does accidentally point out the issue with regard to the "TV industry" today too, but fails to address it fully.
Namely, it's the bit about the whole Avengers universe production.
The issue, at its core, is that "The Golden Age of TV" is marketing bullshit - it's the gilded age of subscription services.
There is an embarrassment of fak
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Was excited for The Wheel of Time. But within 20 minutes, I just had to abort the series.
You are lucky. I have seen the whole season.
The agenda-pushing is really strong in that one. The one thing they put a lot of effort into (scouring the text line by line and "fixing" everything).
I just can't tell where the massive budget went.
Fallout 4, the most recent game (Score:2)
The Ars Technica article is illustrated by an image titled
A screenshot from Fallout 4, the most recent main entry in the game franchise.
I too believe that Fallout 4 is the latest Fallout game, just like I believe that there are only three Star Wars and two Terminator movies.
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Personally I can't wait until someone makes a big budget live action movie based on the Hobbit. Those Lord of the Rings movies were great!
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> ... just like I believe that there are only three Star Wars and two Terminator movies.
And only one Matrix movie. Too bad they never made any sequels.
https://xkcd.com/566/ [xkcd.com]
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They made quite a few shekels, though.
nuclear winter vs global warming (Score:5, Funny)
We could use a good nuclear war right now to solve that global warming problem. An idea whose time has come, well-suited to the modern world.
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We don't know who struck first, us or them. But we do know it was us that scorched the sky.