Fallout co-creator Tim Cain has revealed the exact reasons that he left the series after the release of the first game. Cain has worked on some of the most iconic RPGs of all time, and his most recent effort came in the form of Obsidian's The Outer Worlds franchise.

When the original Fallout was first released back in 1997, it was a success beyond anything expected at Interplay. It revived a struggling RPG genre with its strong mechanics and genius atompunk aesthetic. The purchase of the IP from Bethesda sent the franchise into the stratosphere, and now it is one of the most valuable names in the entire gaming industry. Despite this, the original games from Interplay maintain a massive cult following, even if they haven't aged too well. Many continue to call for Fallout 1 and 2 to be remade, although at this point that looks extremely unlikely, with Bethesda's priorities elsewhere.

Tim Cain shared his reasons for leaving the Fallout 2 project early on in development in a YouTube video on his personal channel. It seems to have been a build-up of a variety of issues, with one particular tipping point. First, his reward for the success of Fallout was the potential of more crunch development to meet deadlines for the sequel, as well as more responsibility which he didn't want. Despite this responsibility, Cain points to an incident in which the decision to outsource the Fallout 2 box art was made without his consent as proof that he was being undermined on the project, even with his role in the success of the original.



The final straw arrived when it came to the studio handing out bonuses. Cain was in charge of the bonuses, so he knew how much to expect. When his money arrived, it had been massively reduced, despite his importance to the studio. In Cain's words, head of Interplay Brian Fargo told him the reduction would "encourage him to do better next time," in regard to the development of Fallout 2. That night, Cain went home and drafted his resignation, resulting in an exodus of talent at Interplay. There are plenty of gamers who love the end product regardless of the development drama. Some gamers are even turning Fallout 2 into an FPS, but there's no doubt that it's a shame the gaming community never got to see what a Tim Cain-led Fallout 2 looked like.

It's always sad to hear of tough working conditions in the video game industry. It's been a well-known issue for a very long time, and only in certain companies does it seem to have improved somewhat. One report detailed that Fallout 76 had a brutal crunch in the lead-up to release, so even the modern Fallout franchise isn't safe. It seems to be the accepted norm, but hopefully that is something that changes with more time and attention given to the issue.

The original Fallout was released in 1997 for PC.

Posted: May 29, 2023 9:06 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://gamerant.com/fallout-original-creator-tim-cain-departure-reason-explained/