Welcome home! A better future, underground. That’s what Vault-Tec promised the American people in the 2070’s. Are Vault-Tec the real villains? It looks like it/ Vault-Tec Corporation are at the heart of the Fallout series. Despite their cheerful mascot and promises of safety and security, there’s a dark secret. Or ten. By the time the bombs fell, they were one of the most powerful corporations in America.
***SPOILER WARNING: There are spoilers for the Fallout show on Amazon Prime***
Project Safehouse
The 2050’s saw the beginning of mankinds downfall. War between Europe and the Middle East, a New Plague and the collapse of the United Nations all led to the decision to launch Project Safehouse. This was a government contract to create shelters for the population in the event of a nuclear war.
Vault-Tec built a demonstration Vault near their HQ in Los Angeles, which won them the contract. At least 122 Vaults were commissioned, which would save less than 0.1% of the population. Issues with funding, embezzlement and corruption delayed construction but a huge merchandise line and marketing campaign allowed Vault-Tec to expand across the US.
Vault Boy Bobblehead (IRL)
The company built an exhibit at the Museum of Technology in Washington DC. They also sponsored an attraction at Nuka-World, called ‘Among the Stars’ to demonstrate how their modular construction and technology would allow colonising other planets. Vault-Tec’s scientists developed a lot of new life-support technology.
The show on Amazon Prime gives us some insight into their marketing campaign. Cooper Howard, a famous Hollywood actor and Anchorage veteran was asked to star in adverts. His wife, Barb, was one of Vault-Tec’s executives. However, the company faced accusations of fear-mongering. Eventually, Barb slipped and told her husband they would go into ‘one of the good Vaults’, confirming that not all of them would be nice and safe.
The Vaults Never Meant To Save Anyone
We know this from the games and the TV show. Only about 17 of the 122 public Vaults were ‘control Vaults’ that worked as expected. The majority of them were experiments on an unaware population. I’ll discuss each Vault we know about in detail in future posts but here’s a couple of examples.
Vault 106, in the Capital Wasteland, had psychoactive drugs pumped into the air filtration system. Just to see what would happen. Chaos was the answer. Vault 12 in Bakersfield, California, had a blast door that did not seal properly. All the residents became ghouls after years of chronic radiation exposure. Vault 75 in Malden, Massachusetts, was built underneath a school and designed to create super-soldiers from a population of genetically modified children.
In Vault 4, located under Hawthorne Medical Laboratories in California, they researched the effects of radiation on DNA. The scientists had free reign in their research and lured wastelanders in to create hybrids with radiation resistant aquatic species. The giant axolotl gulper in the show with human fingers lining its mouth is a result of this. Eventually the test subjects rebelled and took over the Vault, but many residents have visible mutations.
What Do Vault-Tec Want?
We can find plenty of evidence that Vault-Tec saw themselves as the future of humanity. While their networks were accessible to the Enclave and CIT, Overseers were instructed to only accept orders from Vault-Tec. Not even government or military personnel.
The show confirmed this, when we learned that Vault-Tec’s junior executives are alive and well in Vault 31. They were Overseers of 32 and 33, woken up in turn to step into these roles. 32 and 33 made for a sustainable breeding population for Reclamation Day when Vault-Tec would return to the surface and recolonise.
But first, they need to wipe the surface clean. Rose MacLean discovered that people were living on the surface and left with her children. They found Shady Sands, a growing community as capital of the NCR. Hank MacLean followed her, taking his children back to the Vault and nuking Shady Sands. This is confirmed to have happened sometime after 2281 by the producers.
Hank even talks about how they need to get rid of the factions and have everyone as part of one single faction. Vault-Tec. Supposedly this will prevent war and conflict, yet they company has no issues killing thousands of people to make this happen. We see this time and again in the games when exploring the Vaults and offices.
So are Vault-Tec the real villains?
It certainly looks that way, doesn’t it? I will continue this discussion next week when we’ll talk about some corporate corruption and speculate on where Vault-Tec are now and what they might be up to. If you can’t wait that long and want to see more, I have a video covering this subject on my YouTube Channel. The first part covers Vault-Tec’s Regional HQ, Vault 111 and the exhibit at Nuka-World. You can find it here.
Fallout New Vegas’s act one makes a bold choice in the opening. Your character is shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave! Of course, you survive this otherwise the game would be pretty short and boring. It’s an interesting way to introduce the inciting incident, as discussed in my last post.
So Benny has robbed you, taking the Platinum Chip you were supposed to deliver to the Strip. You are a Courier and you are bound by contractual obligations to retrieve and deliver the Platinum Chip. Luckily your would-be killer wears a very snappy outfit, so you can ask about him.
Don’t Go That Way
You’re advised to head towards Vegas itself but cautioned against going straight north from Goodsprings. There are some nasty critters up there, such as cazadors and deathclaws. Not the kind of thing you want to tangle with until you’ve levelled up a bit and have some good weapons.
Some players may choose to go that way, and it can be done. Speedrunners of the game will do this, but it relies on luck, a stealth boy and some quick save spamming to succeed. If you want the full story experience, you’re going to follow the path south to Primm, east to Nipton then north east to reach Novac.
Making Friends (and Enemies)
On your way to Novac, you’ll encounter an NCR camp, some Powder Ganger camps and a group of Latin speaking cosplayers, Caesar’s Legion. As in any good RPG, asking around and talking to the NPCs you meet will help you learn more about the world you are in. You might even find some interesting side-quests to do.
We meet the New California Republic first, in Primm. NCR is a nation that grew out of Shady Sands and has expanded rapidly to the north and to the east. They’ve been in the Mojave for over a decade trying to hold Hoover Dam and establish territory and supply lines.
A lot of the troops hint at low morale. Commanding officers complain about the lack of resources and people. They are struggling to hold their territory, never mind deal with other problems.
Too Much Too Fast?
Act one of Fallout New Vegas introduces the major conflict, which is between NCR and Caesar’s Legion. NCR have camps and locations across the Mojave. The NCR Correctional Facility near Primm now belongs to the Powder Gangers. Subsequently, the NCR lost control of it, when some of the convicts used dynamite to stage a coup.
You reach the Mojave Outpost, an NCR checkpoint on the long 15. They don’t have enough people to run it. Caravans can’t move through. Every time you meet the NCR in Fallout New Vegas, evidently they are struggling, spread too thin. Consequently, informing Sgt Kilborn that the Legion has wiped out Nipton makes him completely lose hope.
Ave, True To Caesar
You reach Nipton and see several large fires and people lashed to crosses. A man runs up to you, excited to tell you he won the ‘lottery’ before running off. You get to the large town hall, and a group of Romans come out, led by a man with a dog’s head on his own head.
This is Vulpes Inculta, leader of the frumentarii and one of Caesar’s trusted advisors. He happily explains what happened to Nipton and why they killed and crucified most of the townspeople. Indeed, he wants you to tell someone about it, namely Sgt Kilborn and Ranger Ghost at the Mojave outpost.
Act One’s Conflict
Now that you’ve met the two major players in the ongoing conflict, clearly the Legion are the bad guys and the NCR are the good guys. It is obvious that the NCR has bitten off more than they can chew. This allows the Legion to operate right under their noses. Hope is dwindling and morale is in the toilet.
Why should you care? A big conflict is brewing, and the outcome will have a huge impact on the Mojave. You don’t matter to this conflict, yet. But you will by the end of the game. So take note of what you see, as you will be forced to choose a side.
No Vacancies
You reach Novac, easy to spot due to the giant dinosaur out front of the town. You learn where Benny went next, after helping out the town or reading a note on Manny Vargas’ terminal in his room. Manny was a Great Khan once, so he knows the guys Benny had with him.
This leads you to Boulder City, near Hoover Dam, where a hostage situation is ongoing. The Khans are enemies of the NCR, and they are holed up inside Boulder City. Resolving this situation will net you the details you need to finally find Benny.
You need to get to the Strip, Benny is the leader of the Chairmen. The Chairment are a former tribe but they now run the Tops Casino. So that’s where you are likely to find Benny, and your lost package.
What Happens In Vegas…
Getting into the Strip involves a credit check. If you don’t have 2000 caps, then you will need to find another way to get in. Either way, you are met by your cheerful cowboy buddy, Victor. Victor opens the door to the Lucky 38 and invites you to go in to meet Mr House.
Mr House is the leader of the Strip, although basically nobody has met him. He’s a fascinating man, his backstory is worth a post all on it’s own. He is your client, so you need to find the Platinum Chip and bring it to him. So you go to the Tops.
At the casino, all your weapons are taken, but if you collected the pieces of evidence, you can talk Swank into helping you take Benny out. Benny is on the main casino floor with four body guards. You have several options to deal with Benny.
You can just straight up shoot him, but you risk the ire of the rest of the Chairmen, unless you’ve spoken to Swank first. Or you can convince him to meet you alone upstairs and kill him then. Finally, if you’re playing as a female Courier, you can use Black Widow to seduce him and sleep with him. This gives you the option to kill him in his sleep.
If you don’t kill Benny, and he either betrays you and runs, or if you just go to sleep after sex with him, he flees. To get the Chip, you need to go after him, and you find out the Legion got him. Luckily once you’ve dealt with Benny and House, you are invited to Caesar’s camp to meet him. The NCR also express a wish to work with you. Yes Man is in Benny’s suite and represents the fourth option.
Everyone Wants You
Why are all these important people suddenly interested in the Courier? Except Yes Man, he can’t say no to you. Essentially, these groups have heard about your journey and realise you are unusual. Not many people would be crazy enough to chase one man across the wasteland. Even for revenge. They see that you are someone who will get things done.
So you’re at a crossroads, the end of Act One. You must choose which side to take in the conflict. You will play a pivotal role in deciding the future of New Vegas. NCR is a democracy with a large military. The Legion is a dictatorship ruled with an iron fist and questionable morals. Mr House wants to bring back pre-war glory and capitalism. Yes Man does what you tell him, but he will help keep Vegas independent.
So we move into Act 2, which will be covered over the next few posts. I’ll cover each option seperately, as Act 2 is half of the story and there’s a lot to go through! I hope you’ll stick with me for that. As always, thoughts and opinions are always welcome. If you want to see more, I’m currently playing through the game and analysing it on my YouTube Channel. You can find the playlist here.
Today we’re going to look at Fallout’s inciting incidents, and how to motivate players and characters to follow the plot. The most important part of the beginning is the ‘inciting incident’. An event that sets your protagonist on the road to the main plotline. These can be major or minor events, but they have to trigger a change for your protagonist.
You can begin your story before, during or after this incident, but it’s important to at least tell the reader that it happened. In video games, this is usually handled via an introductory cutscene. In the early days of videogames, the backstory was often included in the game manual. Of course this is less common now, so the game has to give you the backstory.
So we’ll start at the beginning and work through the games in chronological order. Of course, we have to note that the series itself has a rather major inciting incident. The bombs. The nuclear war happened on the 23rd of October, 2077, wiping out 90% of life on the surface. A large number of people survived in underground Vaults. So bear this in mind, as it matters to every Fallout story we will be examining.
Fallout – The Water Chip
The first Fallout game came out in 1997. You begin with creating your character, known as “the Vault Dweller”, from Vault 13 located in southern California to the west of Shady Sands, a small town that would go on to be the capital of the New California Republic (NCR). The Vault is designed to support up to a thousand people, and will remain sealed for 200 years, to study the effects of prolonged isolation. It was supplied with an extra G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) instead of extra water chips, which were sent to Vault 8.
In 2161, the Vault’s water purification chip started to malfunction leading the Overseer of the Vault to send people out into the wasteland to find a replacement, to no avail. The overseer chooses your character for this job. On the 5th of December 2161, the Vault Dweller leaves their Vault for the wasteland.
At that point, the Vault has only 150 days of water reserves, which does put a time limit on success for the Vault Dweller. The game does implement this time limit as well, although you can extend the time limit through your actions in the Wasteland.
Motivation?
So what is the motivation? Vaults are generally safe and secure, if there’s no horrific experiment going on. The limited living space means that everyone needs to contribute to the community to ensure their survival. Your character has lived their whole life in this Vault, and may well have friends and family, but they want to help their Vault. Water is essential for life, after all, and in a radioactive wasteland, water purification is vital. So it makes sense to keep looking for a replacement water chip, to save their community, doesn’t it?
Fallout 2 – Finding the Garden of Eden
Fallout 2 takes place 80 years after the first game, in a village called Arroyo, in Oregon. Arroyo is suffering from a famine and a drought. The village was founded by the Vault Dweller, after they were exiled from Vault 13 due to spending too much time outside. A serious drought in 2241 leads the village elder to ask your character, the Chosen One to find a G.E.C.K. The Chosen One is a direct descendant of the Vault Dweller.
The G.E.C.K. is a terraforming device that is capable of sustaining life in the wasteland, including seed, soil supplements, a cold fusion power-generator, matter-energy replicators, atmospheric chemical stabilisers and water purifiers. Each vault has two as standard (in the West Coast, at least) and the Elder believes that only a G.E.C.K. can save the village of Arroyo from starvation.
Motivation?
Again, your character’s motivation is very similar to Fallout’s protagonist. Your people are suffering from a shortage of an essential resource and are relying on you finding the one thing that could save them. It’s all about the preservation of life, and saving your community. Pretty motivating reasons to embark on this quest.
Fallout 3 – Following in Daddy’s Footsteps
Like Fallout, you start off as a vault dweller, but we’re on the East Coast of the USA, near Washington DC. You live in Vault 101, and you have a kind of prologue in this one, building your character through experiencing various events of your childhood. The game does actually start with your birth, and your mother dies shortly after. The protagonist is referred to as the Lone Wanderer.
So, it’s just you and your dad, living in the Vault. Your father is the Vault’s doctor. One day, when you’re about 19 or so, your friend Amata wakes you up to tell you that the Vault’s security are looking for you because your father has left the vault. Vault 101 was to remain sealed forever. The experiment was to study the role of the overseer in a completely isolated community.
Despite this, the Vault has opened a few times. The Vault did not have a G.E.C.K. but it was designed to be self-sustaining indefinitely. You have no idea why your dad left the vault, but after learning security are after you, you end up escaping the vault to go and find him.
Like previous Fallouts, you are leaving the safety of your home in search of something important. In this case, your only living family. He leaves a note with his friend Jonas, who you find dead during your escape. The note tells you not to follow him, and he hopes the Overseer will blame him entirely. That isn’t what happens though.
Motivation?
So what is your motivation here? You’ve left your home, given no real choice in that, so it’s only logical you would pursue the only person you know, your father. What else would you do? Fallout 3 is the series first open-world game, so you can absolutely find plenty to do other than follow the main story, but it’s only by searching for your dad that you’ll get into the nitty gritty of the main story, and learn about Project Purity and the major players.
Fallout New Vegas: They Went That-a-way!
Back to the west, this time we’re in Nevada, the Mojave wasteland. A desert with a brightly lit and bustling city now known as New Vegas. New Vegas is still Vegas, with casinos, exotic dancers and a bunch of reformed tribals running the place, with Mr House overseeing it all. The year is 2281, four years after the events of Fallout 3.
You are the Courier, employed by the Mojave Express to deliver a Platinum Chip to the Strip. On route, a man in a snappy suit kidnaps you, aided by some Great Khans. Benny steals the chip, shoots you in the head and buries you in a shallow grave.
Certainly, an interesting way to start a video game by killing the main character in the opening cutscene! Okay, not quite, a cheerful cowboy robot finds you and takes you to the local doctor for treatment. You are under contract to retrieve your lost package and deliver it to the client. That means you need to find this man, so you begin to follow his trail, asking people you meet along the way if they’ve seen him.
In the background of all of this, seemingly unrelated to your situation, there’s obviously going to be a battle coming between the NCR and Caesar’s Legion. There’s talk of political issues in NCR’s home territory, but everyone wants control of Hoover Dam and the electricity it can provide. But first, you need to find Benny.
Motivation?
So, what’s your motivation here? Well, there’s two things. The first is your contract for the job. It’s pretty clear that if the package is stolen from you, you must get it back and ensure it gets delivered, and your employer will take no responsibility for any injuries, loss of life or costs of this. If you don’t complete the delivery, you won’t get paid, but you may also be hunted by mercenaries to recover the debt. You need money to live, after all.
The other motivation is personal revenge. Being robbed and shot in the head is pretty unpleasant, one assumes, and it’s perfectly reasonable to be angry about it. So, perhaps you want revenge on Benny for doing this to you. Or maybe you want to understand why he did it. If you’re playing as a female character, perhaps you found this whole experience a turn-on? Not judging, I promise, but sleeping with Benny is absolutely an option when you do track him down, for a female character.
Fallout 4: Out of Time
Fallout 4 is next and we’re back on the East Coast, namely the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or just the Commonwealth. Boston is an important city in the history of the US, as well as being home of several major universities. Nearby Salem is famous too. Interestingly, this game has a prologue set on the day the bombs fell. The protagonist has a set backstory, an army veteran for the male, or a lawyer for the female.
You begin the game in a cosy family home, taking care of your infant son, Shaun, when the bombs come and force you to the Vault, Vault 111. Where you’re all cryogenically frozen. At some point, you are defrosted to witness someone in a hazmat suit and a grizzled merc take your baby and shoot your spouse. You’re then refrozen, for an unknown period of time, but likely 60 or so years, then defrosted again.
Motivation?
Everyone else in the Vault is dead, leaving you, the Sole Survivor, to get out of the Vault and go off in search of your missing child. That’s your motivation, revenge for your dead spouse, and to find your kidnapped child. Which makes sense, and the game tries really, really hard to evoke some emotions about this whole situation.
For me, it kind of falls flat, we know so little about our spouse, and it’s hard to feel a strong connection to a baby that can’t even talk, when you’ve spent basically no time living in this version of the world. The voice acting is a bit overdone, especially the male protagonist, and by the time you get to the point of finding the mercenary, even they have all but stopped talking about Shaun. The opening of Fallout 4 is probably the least effective at highlighting the inciting incident and making the player want to follow the story, but don’t let that put you off, it does get much better once you get into the meat of the story, I promise.
Who Did It Best?
So, who did it best? I think for me, Fallout 3 and New Vegas pulled it off the best. Fallout 3, you’re kind of forced to leave the Vault. I remember in my first playthrough, I really wanted to know why my dad left the Vault. So I followed along to get some answers.
My first time playing Fallout New Vegas, the opening was quite a shock. It was definitely a bold choice, having your main character be shot at point blank range like that. So again, I wanted answers. Why did Benny feel the need to kill me, when he’d already stolen what he wanted from me? What was so special about the Platinum Chip?
I haven’t played 1 and 2 as much, the games are so old now, it takes a bit of work to get them to run on newer machines, and I haven’t managed to set them up on my new PC yet. But I do feel the inciting incidents set up the games pretty well, to get you into the story.
What I didn’t like
For me, Fallout 4 is the weakest in this regard. My first playthrough, I felt the urgency when the report of the bombs falling came through and the rush to the Vault. I wasn’t surprised by the cryopods in the Vault, but it sets up the twist with Shaun. You don’t know how much time has passed. After learning that, I found it quite difficult to really care that much about him. So it doesn’t work as well to motivate me to find this baby. There’s settlements to help, farms to build, raiders to kill, settlements to help and of course settlements to help. Yeah, I know, it’s an old meme, but Preston Garvey is really pushy about his radiant quests, that never end. You get sidetracked and distracted.
What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear other people’s perspectives on it. I am going to hold off talking about the TV series on Prime for now, just to avoid spoilers since it’s so new. But I loved it, and I’m rewatching it as I write this. So once it’s been out a while, I’ll definitely talk about it.
Thanks For Reading!
Thanks for reading, congratulations for making it to the end of this long post about Fallout’s inciting incidents. I hope it was interesting. I am going through Fallout New Vegas on my Youtube channel and analysing the story in depth, so if you’d like to join me on there to hear me talk about the games, you can find it here.
I’m starting a new series of posts about storytelling in gaming. A lot of RPG plots follow the classic three-act structure of storytelling. This is for a good reason, as the structure is a common way to build and pace a story, regardless of the format it will be published in. Additionally, they often follow a version of the ‘Hero’s Journey’ plot structure.
Video games provide a unique form of storytelling, as it is absolutely a ‘choose your own adventure’ kind of thing, especially with roleplaying games (RPGs). Many games have diverging storylines too, depending on choices made by the player. There’s varying degrees of success with this.
The three act structure is laid out as the beginning, middle and end. The beginning is the first quarter of the plot and serves to introduce the world and the main character, as well as introducing the conflict and beginning to build the tension. It should end with a major event that pushes the main character to commit to the story.
The middle part is the second and third quarters of the plot, and the ‘meat’ of the story. Tensions build and the stakes are raised, with a major event at the midpoint of the story. There’s often a period of recovery after this, before a third major event that forces both sides to decide to pursue the final confrontation.
The third act is your ending. This is where we get the climax or resolution which answers the story question. The final confrontation happens and we find out if the main character achieves their story goal. There will then be some kind of winding down of the story afterwards. It is important that the ending makes sense and doesn’t rely on out of character behaviour or a deus ex machina solution.
How to Evaluate A Storyline
Over the next few posts, we are going to dive into the plots of some of my favourite RPGs, looking at how the game follows this structure. As well as evaluating and analysing the plot. We’ll look at the strengths and weaknesses of each plot, and how well the game tells the story.
The questions to answer are about the main character, what their goal is and how it shifts as the story progresses. How do we work out who the villain is? How the plot answers the overall themes of the game. What are the consequences of the final resolution?
We’ll look at motivation, for both the main character and the player. How well each game follows the “show, don’t tell” rule of writing. How we learn the information needed to decide how to approach the game.
We’ll evaluate issues with the plot, like contrived circumstances forcing the player to do something they may not wish to do. Deciding who are the good guys and the bad guys. Whether the main character, the protagonist, is a hero or not. Does the player have the freedom to roleplay morality the way they want to.
Which Games Are You Going to Cover?
Glad you asked! I’ll be starting with my two favourite franchises, Fallout and Dragon Age. I love these games for different reasons, but I love them both a lot. Fallout has such a rich background and so much freedom of choice and how to shape the post-apocalyptic world. Dragon Age has some really amazing well-developed characters. So hopefully you’ll join me on this journey.
I’ll be starting with the Fallout series, as the TV show is just around the corner and I’m very excited about it. I have an introductory video on my YouTube channel and I will be supplementing this blog with videos talking about some of the things I’ll be writing about so if you’re interested, I hope you’ll join me. My channel can be found here.
Creating your own creatures? Flora and fauna are an essential part of worldbuilding for any writer creating their own universe. There’s a lot to consider, and of course you need that suspension of disbelief to keep your reader invested. Things that make no sense will be jarring, so you need to have an in-universe explanation for things. So, here’s five tips for creature creation. At least, it’ll give you a few things to consider.
Animals can be active during the night (nocturnal), daytime (diurnal) or in early morning and evening (crepuscular). Why does it matter? Usually, it’s about food. Either their food is more readily available at that time of day, or the animals that eat them are less active. It’s a bit of evolutionary give and take.
Ectothermic, or ‘cold-blooded’ animals may be more active in the day when it is warm, basking in the sunshine to raise their body temperature. Rabbits are crepuscular, as it is easier to feed and hide from predators during that time. A lot of herbivores are more active in the daytime, while carnivores tend to hunt at night. If your creature is based on a real-world one, it’s worth looking up details like this and apply it to the world you’re creating. If large, dangerous predators prowl at night, most prey species will probably want to be hidden away safely in a den when it gets dark.
Creature Creation Tip Two: Water, water everywhere
One thing that is common to almost all living things, at least, the multicellular ones, is the need for water. We all need it, but some species can survive without it much longer than others. Fish, as a rule, don’t last more than a minute or two out of the water. While desert living mammals such as camels can conserve their body fluid for weeks if necessary. Most species can’t drink sea water as the salt content is too high.
Amphibians and aquatic animals will need to have better access to water than camels or gerbils. A water dragon (the mythical kind) would be the same. So, think about the environment your creature lives in and how important water access is, or what strategies they might employ to conserve water and stay hydrated. Same goes for you, when you’re writing! Drink your water.
Creature Creation Tip Three: Social Life
Animals vary massively in terms of social structure. A lot of animals are solitary, living alone and only coming together for mating season. Bears, as an example, live alone. Which is great, if you’re an introvert. Many predators will live in small family units, hunting together co-operatively or on their own.
Other species can have large and complex social structures. A lot of prey species will live in large herds, employing the safety in numbers strategy. As well as the ‘those who fall behind, are left behind’ strategy. Yeah… it’s how it goes in nature.
This means that animals will respond differently when encountering another of their species. It can also impact how easily an animal can be trained or domesticated. Powerful predators that live solitary lives may not be easy to tame and train, like bears or dragons. I like the way polar bears are depicted in His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman.
In Lyra’s world, the bears can speak and reason, they’re known for their craftsmanship. But they are different from humans, and they know it. They have a king, but most of the time the bears go off and live their own lives, only coming together when needed. They don’t work for humans, but as we see with Iorek Byrnison, if you earn a bear’s respect, they will defend you.
Creature Creation Tip Four: Food and Resources
When inserting living things into your world, you need to think about food. What do they eat? Are they herbivores, carnivores or omnivores? Can they only eat one very specific type of fruit that only grows in one place?
You also need to think about whether the species is hunted itself. Does it provide good meat, eggs, milk? Are the horns magical? Do the hides make good leather for protection? Is there a reason for the people of the world to hunt these animals or domesticate them? What purpose do they serve?
Pretty much all domestic animals were kept for a purpose. Livestock for food, dogs to protect and manage herds and settlements. Cats domesticated themselves but they were good at keeping mice and rats at bay. Horses for transport. If the species is domesticated, think about why and how this benefits or harms society.
Creature Creation Tip Five: Improvise, Adapt, Overcome
The most important thing, that ties everything together, is the environment. What I mean by that, is that all living species have adaptations to survive their native environment. Polar animals put on thick layers of fat under the skin and have thick fur coats to cope with the cold. Desert species can cope with very limited water supplies.
A lot of people have strong opinions on the Theory of Evolution. Remember a scientific theory has been proven by scientific evidence. It’s not a question, a theory is confirmed. The evidence for evolution is everywhere in our world. Evolution happens over millions of years, but how species evolved and changed was largely dictated by the environment.
Availability of food and water, temperature, landscape and climate all must be accounted for when deciding what animals live in an area of your world. If winters are harsh, do a lot of species hibernate, hidden away in caves until the spring arrives? If it’s a thick rainforest, most animals will be arboreal, living in the trees. This means they’d be good at climbing and jumping, to get around.
It’s also worth considering what happens if a species is forced to live in an environment they’re not suited to. Can they adapt and cope, or are they going to struggle? Will they survive? For example, if we look at two crab species found on the Atlantic coast of the USA. The Atlantic blue crab and the horseshoe crab. Due to increasing temperatures in the water, the horseshoe crab population is declining, while the Atlantic blue crab is thriving in the warmer ocean. For more information, check out my videos on the Mirelurks of Fallout.
Thanks for reading!
I hope you found these five tips for creature creation useful, if you are populating your own fictional world. I will have more soon! Just remember, that animals have adapted to their environment, the climate and the kinds of food and water available to them. It’s all about survival and having access to what they need to survive.
Don’t forget to subscribe if you want to be updated whenever a new post goes live. I’ve also got blogs for gaming revies and book reviews, which I will link below. I talk about lore and science in games on YouTube, specifically in Fallout, so you can check that out there. Follow me on my social media channels for regular updates on my writing journey. See you next time!
It’s been a while, I know. I’ve reached a writing milestone though. I’ve been dealing with the stress of moving house, which is still ongoing. In between packing and moving, I’ve been writing away.
I’ve reached a milestone in my writing career and I have completed two first drafts. The first is my fantasy novel, which has been ongoing for some time. The other is a supernatural horror themed around fairy tales.
Obviously there’s still a lot of work to do before these drafts become books but I’m excited to have this achievement unlocked. I’m currently working on world building for my fantasy novel before I get stuck into the first developmental edit.
What’s Next?
Next steps include world building and then working on the second draft. I’m hoping to have this done for my fantasy novel early next year. I think the book needs to be split and it will end up a series. We’ll have to see, the first big edit is going to be looking at the pacing of the story.
In the meantime, I’ve been making content for YouTube and that is going well. It’s a lot of fun! I’ve also been reading more, and I’ve set up a new blog for book reviews and talking about all things reading. I’ve also set one up to talk about gaming related topics, so this blog will be about the writing process, editing and proofreading topics.
With the first writing milestone reached, I’m psyched to move on to the next stage of this journey. This is all new territory for me, so it’s a bit scary as well, but I am looking forward to sharing my progress and my process with you all. If you want to keep up to date, subscribe to the blog and find me on social media below!
Welcome to my first Sunday Check-In. Every week I will post a check-in and corresponding vlog to keep you all updated on what I’ve been up to. Expect writing updates, reading reviews and sneak previews of my work in progress.
For the vlog, you can find it on YouTube here. Don’t forget to subscribe if you want regular updates!
My Work In Progress
Word count update: 76, 041 words and 30 Chapters currently in my first draft
I’ve been working on world building too and I have fleshed out the main characters and finished off their profiles. The world map is done. I’ve been working on fleshing out the details of the Spirits, the deities of the world. There’s a sketched out version of the Creation myth and I will be working on fleshing out the mythology completely.
I’m doing a lot of world building because I’m hoping to write more stories in this world in the future. Also I really like world building! Knowing the lore and the background to my writing makes it easier for me to write.
My plan is to get the first draft done by the end of October. If I do this, I’ll take a break from it and work on another novel I have in mind. Then I can come back to the second draft and feel refreshed on it.
I’m thinking about writing some short stories, including maybe some of the myths and things. Maybe some short stories of my main characters too, and sharing them on my blog and even Wattpad or something. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in!
My Reading
As for what I’ve been reading, I recently read two books I remembered from childhood and really loved. I’m not sure why they came to mind but I decided to reread them. ‘Witch Child’ and ‘Sorceress’ by Celia Rees. I loved them when I first read them, but they had more impact on me now as an adult.
I think perhaps it’s because I’m more aware of the history of the United States, and the impact that European settlers had on the Native Americans. The impact of religion, of disease and eventually war.
The fear of witchcraft, which was a symptom of the oppression of women. Women with knowledge were not to be trusted. Native American so-called ‘savages’ were not to be trusted. The story of Mary is one full of fear and heartbreak, but also love and self-discovery.
I highly recommend these books, even for adults. It’s an emotional story but it’s worth your time.
I’m currently reading ‘ When the Moon Hatched’ by Sarah A Parker. I’ve just reached the half-way point so things are beginning to get really interesting. I’m enjoying it so far, and I am curious to see where it’s going to go next.
The main character is complex, somehow both really likeable and frustrating at the same time. She’s absolutely flawed in some ways and that’s always a good thing for a main character. I’ll report back when I’ve finished it to give a proper review.
About My Characters
Every week I’ll reveal a little bit about my characters or my setting. Since I was speaking of the traits and flaws of the main character in the book I’m reading, I thought I would share a bit about my main character, Shaine.
Shaine is a kind-hearted and empathetic person. She is also very curious and loves learning new things, she’s an academic at heart. However her strong sense of justice and firm moral compass can lead her to be judgemental and overly critical of people who do things she doesn’t really approve of.
This leads to some conflict and tension between her and Alonso. He’s an assassin and she judges him harshly for his chosen vocation. On this journey, they get to know each other better and she begins to realise she was wrong about him.
Plans and Goals
I’ve planned out a schedule for my content next week so look out for some blog posts talking about story telling methods in video games. On YouTube, Tuesday will be the continuation of the Old World Blues series. Thursday will be covering Vault 75. Saturday is for the Science of Fallout series and will be on Nightstalkers.
I’m also slowly making progress on putting together resources to help writers when it comes to animals and medical subjects. It’s going to take me some time, but I am hoping it’ll be helpful. It’d be nice for my knowledge to not completely go to waste, you know? That said, if there’s a particular subject you’d like to see, or even just a question you have, let me know and I’d be more than happy to help.
Here’s a cute cat photo, just because. So, I’ve been a bit behind on things lately. I was a bridesmaid for one of my best friends last weekend, which was a beautiful day.
I have written over 76k words on my novel. I’ve finished a lot of worldbuilding as well. The plan is to finish the first draft by the end of October.
I’m organising my blog schedule as well as the YouTube upload schedule. I want to be more consistent with it all. I also want to make the best content I can for you all. So going forward, here is the current plan. Note that all times are UK time.
Monday: Blog post live at 6pm
Tuesday: Old World Blues on YouTube at 6.30pm
Wednesday: Blog post live at 6pm
Thursday: Vault-Tec on YouTube at 6.30pm
Friday: Blog post live at 6pm
Saturday: Science of Fallout on YouTube at 6.30pm
Sunday: Writing recap and review – blog and YouTube vlog at 7pm
You can subscribe to my blog to get updates when a new post goes live. The same goes for my YouTube channel. I will also update my social media channels when new stuff goes live. Feel free to follow me on Instagram, Threads, Tik Tok and Facebook. Everything is linked below!
Adverbs are sometimes overused but are they essential? Some people say that adverbs are redundant and that they weaken the verbs impact. Some say adverbs lead to messy prose and indicate lazy and cluttered writing. Is this true? To a degree, it is, but adverbs still have their place in my opinion.
What is an Adverb?
Adverbs are modifiers used alongside verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Adverbs tell the reader ‘how, when, where, why, or to what extent’ They can be used to modify other adverbs as well. This is how they can end up being overused as you might find a direct verb is more succinct and clear.
A lot of adverbs end in -ly such as ‘quietly, quickly, loudly, slowly’. Any adjective that you can add -ly to will become an adverb. Be aware that sometimes adding an -ly isn’t correct. Avoid using it with linking verbs associated with using the senses.
“The cake smells nice/nicely.”
Using an adverb here suggests the cake is doing the smelling, so you need to use the adjective ‘nice’ instead of ‘nicely’. Nobody ‘feels badly’ after receiving sad news, as they’re not using their sense of touch. So they ‘feel bad’ about it instead.
Degrees of Adverbs
Adverbs, like adjectives, come in degrees. There is the standard form, the comparative form that compares one thing to another and the superlative form which compares three or more things. Here’s a couple of examples.
Adjective:
Positive: Good Comparative: Better Superlative: Best
Adverb:
Positive: quickly Comparative: more quickly Superlative: most quick
In formal writing you should use these forms of adverbs. Nobody is saying you can never use adverbs at all, but you should consider carefully if there’s a better way to say something.
How To Avoid Overusing Adverbs
One trap a lot of writers fall into is using adverbs to add more description and qualification to things. Especially in dialogue tags where writers will add adverbs to each dialogue tag to keep them varied and ensure the reader knows how each character is speaking.
So when you find this in your own writing, look carefully at it and ask yourself if the adverb serves an important function to convey your meaning. Or if the dialogue itself and perhaps a brief indication of body language is enough to imply tone of voice and emotions. Look at this example.
“I’m done with you! Never contact me again. Goodbye!” he yelled loudly into the phone before slamming it down angrily.
What do you think? I’d say that the exclamation marks indicate loudness, and the verb ‘yelled’ also implies a raised voice so we really don’t need ‘loudly’ in this sentence. Same goes for the action of slamming the phone down, nobody does that if they are happy. Let’s rewrite it.
“I’m done with you! Never contact me again. Goodbye!” he yelled, slamming the phone down.
See? You use less words but it’s still clear that the speaker is angry. There will be times where you need an adverb. Use them where you need to, but ensure you do need them.
Thanks for reading! I’ve got some more Fallout content coming soon, so look out for that. Follow me on social media for more behind-the-scenes and follow my YouTube channel for gaming and story-telling content.
Commas are important punctuation marks. If nothing else, they let you breathe! Commas are a short pause in a sentence, compared to a full stop or period. The comma is essential in writing but often misused. So let’s look at some of the rules about comma usage.
Lists and the ‘Oxford Comma’
Writing a list of more than three items in a sentence? Commas are used to separate the items. The final two items have ‘and’ or ‘or’ between them. A lot of publications will not use a comma after the ‘and’ or ‘or’. This is the “Oxford Comma”.
The Oxford comma,or serial comma, gives clarity. It is sometimes controversial, but there are definitely cases where not using it will cause confusion for the reader. See the example below:
“The milkshake flavours are banana, strawberry, chocolate, cookies and cream and vanilla.”
“The milkshake flavours are banana, strawberry, chocolate, cookies and cream, and vanilla.”
See the difference? It’s subtle, and most people would figure out that it is “cookies and cream” and not two separate flavours called “cookies” and “cream”. It is confusing, especially if your writing is being read by someone whose first language isn’t English.
Commas are used to separate two adjectives in a sentence, but only if the order of the adjectives can be switched and still make sense. The trick is if you put “and” in between the adjectives and it still makes sense, then use a comma.
The Dreaded Comma Splice
The comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma, when they really should be separate sentences using a full stop. This can lead to a run-on sentence. Here’s an example.
“She opened the fridge, her phone started to ring.”
The two clauses are not related to each other. So, you can rewrite it as two separate sentences.
“She opened the fridge. Her phone started to ring.”
Or you can use a connecting word to join the clauses together and use a comma at the end of the first clause.
“She opened the fridge, but her phone started to ring.”
As a rule, if the subject isn’t used in front of a second verb, you don’t need a comma. You might need it for clarity if there is ambiguity about who is performing the second verb. You may need a comma before the word “because” for the same kind of reason.
An introductory phrase or dependent clause needs a comma after it. Such as this example:
“If you don’t know, I can’t help you.”
Asides and Extra Information
Adding an aside to a sentence with extra but not essential information, requires the use of commas. A comma comes before the aside, and one after it. This is an appositive comma.
“Elaine, my girlfriend, has been there twice.”
It is especially important if the subject is clearly identified already, because the additional description isn’t essential. Avoid ambiguity where you can. See these two examples:
“My girlfriend Elaine has been there.”
“My girlfriend, Elaine, has been there.”
The first example suggests the speaker has more than one girlfriend and is specifying which one he is talking about. The second example indicates that the speaker only has one girlfriend so her name is additional information. This rule is often misused and can lead to confusion.
Other Comma Uses
Commas are used around words that introduce a sentence or expressions that interrupt the flow of the sentence. Things like “Well,” or “No,” at the beginning of a sentence. Same thing if you have a phrase like “by the way” or “however”.
Writing dialogue is a big one for comma usage. I’ll cover that in more detail in the future as I’d like to do a series on writing dialogue properly. But introducing direct quotes requires a comma before the opening speech mark. For dialogue tags after the quotation, the comma comes at the end of the last word of the quote.
Commas need to be used to separate a statement from a contrasting statement in a sentence, or a statement combined with a question. You would also use it before and after something like ‘e.g.’ or ‘etc.’
Don’t Underestimate the Importance
Commas are an essential punctuation, important for preventing confusion in writing. A well-known example is this sentence: “Let’s eat grandma.” Oof, cannibalism is rather frowned upon these days. “Let’s eat, grandma.” Much better. If you want proof of how important a comma is to the meaning of a sentence, try this one on for size.
“A woman without her man is nothing.”
Where do you think you could put a comma and how would it affect this sentence?
“A woman, without her man, is nothing.”
“A woman, without her, man is nothing.”
The first version suggests that a woman is nothing unless she has a man. The second suggests that a man is nothing without a woman. So comma placement really does matter if you want your reader to get the right meaning for a sentence.
Thanks for reading, I hope this has been helpful. For more details and rules about commas, check the Blue Book of Grammar section here. It even has a quiz to check your knowledge. For more writing content, subscribe to my blog. I cover writing, proofreading and editing subjects, as well as analysing stories in various media. I also have a YouTube channel where I play video games and discuss the stories, lore and world-building. For more punctuation rules in dialogue, see this post.
