Fallout 3: A Masterpiece of Player Agency?

Fallout 3 is good. Get over it.

I decided to stop by the town of Megaton while on the road to find my father. Megaton was built around an enormous undetonated nuclear bomb for some reason--hence the name--and as I visited the local saloon, this bomb always remained in view.

At the saloon a man of dubious morality asked me to rig this bomb to explode, in an effort to clear land for a new hut development tract. He would pay me a few hundred caps for the job, which, destitute as I was, was a tempting offer.

But Jesus is my middle name, so I accepted his offer and then immediately reported the suspicious character to the town sheriff. Then, in an act of valiant selfless heroism, I permanently disarmed the bomb. It only took 25 Explosives skill. Since this was my default Explosives one wonders how it took 200 years for someone to click the "disarm" prompt. In any case, the matter was resolved. Megaton was saved, and all because of my awesomeness.

This quest is not remarkable. It is good by Fallout standards and excellent by Bethesda standards, but it's simple and straightforward. Nearly everyone who plays Fallout 3 will have an analogous experience while exploring Megaton. The events merit no further discussion.

But something interesting happened next. An hour or so later, as I wandered my way toward the ruins of D.C., I heard the voice of Three Dog--the post-apocalyptic radio jockey--over my Pip-Boy:

Got some great news out of the town of Megaton. Turns out that live atomic bomb in the town's center has finally been deep-sixed for good. The town's sheriff, one Lucas Simms, commissioned the one, the only lone wanderer from Vault 101 to disarm the nasty nuke, and the kid delivered. Hey, nice work 101. Next time you're in the neighborhood, pop into the studio. Ol' Three Dog's toaster's been on the fritz.

Hey wait, that's me! Three Dog is talking about me! The game noticed what I did!

Throughout all of Fallout 3, the writers use Three Dog to report the player's various activities. He'll comment on your karma level, whether you were nice or mean to the denizens of the Capital Wasteland, and make you feel like you're making a difference. In a word, he gives you a real sense of agency--like your decisions matter Like the world is more than a video game.

3 isn't as good at being a Fallout game as the Black Isle/Obsidian entries, although it does make a good effort. There are too many invulnerable NPCs and the main quest is too linear. But what it does far better than any other title in the franchise is cultivate this sense of agency. Three Dog is incredible as a tool in the game's narrative design. He's one way the game keeps you from acting erratically, from slaughtering a town because you had a bad day at work, from doing the evil thing just because the people of Megaton are annoying. He's looking over your shoulder. He's watching. He reminds you that what you decide will have consequences. And if you give in to your genocidal desires, you won't get away with it scot-free. Any time you tune into Galaxy New Radio, Three Dog will remind you of your depravity. Forever.

This isn't the only way the game reinforces player agency. As indicated above I played Wasteland Jesus and never did anything even remotely morally questionable (aside from killing hundreds of people--but they were all bad!). The game rightfully bequeathed upon me the title of Messiah. But far beyond giving me a fancy title in the Data tab of my character menu, people noticed my actions. NPCs commented on how awesome I was. Paladins in the Brotherhood of Steel told me how I honored them with my presence. You know what? They were right! I did honor them with my presence! It's about time someone noticed!

Fallout 3, more than perhaps any other RPG that I'm aware of, truly seems to care about the decisions you make. The number of decisions available is more constrained than New Vegas, true, but those decisions matter more--or, at least, they feel like they matter more. The reality is that agency is always an illusion in games, so feeling is hugely important. It sucks when you kill Caesar and no one in the Legion seems to notice. Similarly, it rocks when you blow up Megaton and everyone reacts. This is small relative to the entire story, but it's what makes or breaks an RPG all about player decisions.

Replaying 3 for the first time in a decade, I can say it does hold up when compared to the other titles. It is, without any question, Bethesda's best game. We can laugh all we want about how anemic Colonel Autumn is as an antagonist, especially compared to Frank Horrigan or The Master, or that it's lame the Enclave is back for some reason, but delving only a tad deeper it's clear that 3 is a game with excellent narrative design. The writing varies, but this attention to player agency is nothing short of brilliant. It's honestly hard to believe that the same company that brought us "arrow to the knee" and "that won't be necessary" also came up with Three Dog. But they did, and credit goes where credit is due.

Good work, Bethesda. You made a great game.