Process for Developing Locations and Characters in Fallout: New Vegas

This is a video response to a question someone asked me about the process for developing locations and characters in Fallout: New Vegas. The first half focuses on locations, the second on characters.

[@Thagomizer]

One of my friends named his first born after Cassidy. No joke.

[@Thagomizer]

Don't you? FO2 was amazing!

[@ravekid5282]

Haha Cassidy has heart problems wow gg -baby.

[@ImChurro]

@@elpascalmods7384 can’t wait to name mine Arcade Gannon

[@zanethezaniest274]

“Dad why is my sister named Rose ?” “Cuz I love roses.” “Oh alright, love u dad.” “Love u too Fallout 1,2 and New Vegas.

[@wesss9353]

Let me introduce my child FISTO

[@brucetus]

8:22 when Oliver Swanick won the lottery in Nipton

[@HelheimMudkip]

Sounded like him!

[@jackspnc]

Me ears perked up when I heard that haha

[@ace9846]

Thanks for making the best game ever!

[@thebeat467]

Thank you and the whole team that made this masterpiece seriously one of the best games ever made and it will always be remembered fondly

[@HelheimMudkip]

So I searched up "Joshua Sawyer fallout rpg" and ended up here. I was looking for the rules to that tabletop. Anyway I'm making my own fallout dnd adventure based on 5th Edition set in Texas (though I never been there) and am looking for more inspiration, mostly from Van Buren, NV, Fo2, and the BoS games. Thank you for everything you've done Josh! My fave companion in any game is Arcade.

[@wesss9353]

It's been 8 months, how's it going?

[@CommieApe]

I want the rules to Avellones Van Buren Tabletop sesh as well if anyone else knows anything!!

[@HelheimMudkip]

@@wesss9353 been busy with life but now there is an official TTRPG for fallout. I made some cool npcs and locations tho

[@Knttsq]

My favourite game of all time, you guys did an amazing job.

[@JAIMEGARCIA-gw9re]

It is really awesome listening to someone so talented and insightful. It makes you appreciate videogame development much much more. These guys pour their heart and soul into their projects, and we as gamers, sometimes really do not appreciate what they are trying to create. Some of my favorite games of the last ten years have been smaller budget games such as Pillars of Eternity 2, Wasteland 3, Disco Elysium, Divinity Original Sin 2, and The Outer Worlds. These games are just well written and fun to play. We do not need big AAA games at all times. Smaller budget games with great mechanics are just fine by me.

[@LordBathtub]

I love the work you do bud, thanks for my favourite game of all time

[@falloutpc1]

I think i remember the solar array when i was using google earth to look at the real life locations for FNV.

[@xyhmo]

"This aint your daddy's brotherhood of steel", lol. Don't give bethesda any ideas. Their next meeting: I got this idea for an edgy member of the bos, you'll love it, true innovation!

[@BumNanner451]

dude.

[@manikinme]

macadaddyn please eeeennnd me

[@m.thorton9305]

and then it happens

[@m.thorton9305]

@topple the idea, the Brotherhood or at least Elder Maxson in Fallout 4 is the edgy member described by this comment

[@m.thorton9305]

@topple i didn't play both of those games far enough to tell. But between FO3 & FO4 the difference is shown, they looked like a champion of justice in FO3 and become zealously destructive in FO4

[@woodrowjohnston6388]

LOL. I love how you're like "You don't like it? Deal with it"

[@KNIGHTMAREMANIAC]

I love this man

[@countrybluegrass]

What's to suck up? I thought there was a pretty solid consensus that Vault 34 was one of the best locations in the game.

[@ahfefaijpoooef]

I thought you guys had used a DEM (digital elevation map) or something equivalent for the landscape. I wonder if there was any head-bashing over *exactly* how large the worldspace should have been, because it's something that needs to be decided before any significant work is done building and placing landmarks *within* that worldspace. Making this decision before having a clear idea of exactly what kinds of locations there are is...difficult to make (I've found). Awesome vid! Thanks

[@Einherjar212]

Shoulda made it bigger. Makes for a good bullet point "Way bigger than Fallout 3, kids!", Beth fans love that stuff.

[@bryancwj_]

Hope Bethesda would just let you make another fallout game again, You guys are so much better at making RPG games than them

[@Doomfullord]

I have to say, as a resident of Las Vegas, though the game had some cringe worthy things I can needlessly nitpick, it captured Vegas beautifully in my eyes. I think that's why I love the game so much, I can rule and effect my own domain in a sorts. I can feel almost like home.

[@George_McLovin]

Such a shame they had to deal with Bethesda’s dumpster engine ™️ One could only imagine what the final game would look like if the team had more resources and time to create their own game engine. At the very same time, I spent so much time in the game that it is hard for me to even imagine it looking any different, but the wish for a full on remaster is still there and is burning bright. It’s a shame Bethesda is just ignoring Obsidian’s accomplishments, I’m 100% sure that it is on purpose, out of pure jealousy, and I would go as far as suggesting that they bribed some critics to give FO3&4 better reviews and vice versa - critically diminish New Vegas. They do that while also omitting any mentions of Fallout New Vegas and Obsidian as well as remastering Skyrim for the 6th or 7th time just to avoid any unwanted comparisons. Bethesda softworks kinda have that reverse Midas touch when whatever they do ends up being a runny steaming pile of dog 💩 Such a shame that all the rights for fallout games ended up in their hands. Regardless of that, I still can’t describe how thankful I am to Mr Sawyer, Chris Avellone and the rest of Obsidian/Interplay/Troika old league and whoever responsible, for creating such a masterpiece

[@Muu-Mei]

Dude writes a book about being a tasteless moron

[@atlas5220]

This guys vids keep poping in my feed, hes dead isnt he

[@The_zickron]

He’s still alive

[@SeventhSalute]

I get that the game takes place in a desert and there's also mountains and such but why is like 1/3 of the map non-explorable? What was the point of that?

[@jacksonbogle1752]

Bro you need to make your Maybe upcoming fallout 5 multiplayer

[@Caroline_Alys]

6 years ago this was a terrible suggestion/opinion. It's worse now, hope you liked 76 though lmao

[@EpicHashTime]

Josh my nigga. Forget Fallout and Bethesda and concentrate on your own IPs instead. Peace out

[@nabbed13]

I've distilled your points into a list: Locations: * A player should always see an interesting place or landmark in the landscape from where they are standing * Base ideas on real locations, the more interesting the better! * Start with a simple story prompt and expand from there. For example: "This vault handles everything through gambling" Characters: * Represent each faction with a companion * Show the struggle of something through a companion to help sympathize with a collective. For example: Lily's stealth boy use isn't just fun and games, it's a real problem that affects a lot of nightkin.

[@nataliegibson2398]

Thank you!^^ This was very helpful for keeping notes for game design.

[@orelyosif5852]

Shame that they had to remake Ulysses from Legion-based companion into an antagonist

[@fancytyme]

The mountains get really weird looking when their vertical scale is dramatically exaggerated compared to their horizontal scale, especially since the vertices on the height map are uniformly distributed. It results in really stretched textures and "pointy" edges.

[@adroitone8911]

so is this the real reason why south of searchlight airport is barren? that was just left over land from the USGS data yall inputted?

[@AppleSauceGamingChannel]

@@adroitone8911 You can find a more recent New Vegas stream uploaded here on KZbin for a California fire charity by Mr. Sawyer in which he explains that the team kind of worked from the center of the map outwards in developing locations. This resulted in many map edge locations not being finished before launch due to lack of time

[@edgarmatsuzawa4524]

@@AppleSauceGamingChannel link please?

[@fancytyme]

We took USGS data and turned it into a height map, then imported it into Bethesda's engine. And yes, we struggled for a while before determining a map size/scale. We knew that once we started, it was going to be very difficult to alter the overall scale. That's why it was a struggle to hit some of the density goals in some regions. We didn't know how fast we could build things until long after we had set the scale of the world.

[@limten]

He seems really passionate about Fallout. Just wish Bethesda would really get the lore and what Fallout is all about. Or just you know, let Obsidian make future Fallout's.

[@RadeonX0X]

I think Bethesda can do it right if they want to but they don't. They want a cash-cow aimed at the lowest common denominator instead of a deep RPG. They're gonna milk Fallout 4 for all its worth in the coming years, just like Skyrim.

[@ar-gaming9014]

I personally think who ever works for him that did new vegas / likes fallout should make another mod for fallout new vegas dlc mods lol i would donate 300 dollars or so im sure many other people would to if not dlc a new game on the same engine that replaces the map with another start a kickstarter or something Joshua Sawyer I know it would reach the goal

[@bzarins]

Not likely anyomre, sadly... Microsoft aquired Obsidian (not a bad thing, its really swell, just not for the future of fallout)

[@Joe-my6go]

@@RadeonX0X not really, if you see any of the interviews or any of the concept art or looked into it, you can see it’s more of a management problem. Just everyone working on it is passionate about it, much like obsidian. It’s depressing that people will overlook so much talent and passion just because “uhhrvh durr rpg element bad!!!”

[@toribiogubert7729]

@@Joe-my6go my problem with Bethesda FO 3 and 4 is that you kinda have to ignore the basic plot to have fun. In both of them you have to find a relative one, but it is a explorer game, so you waste dozens of hours in any thing that is not find who you are searching. And then when you found them the plot is not really compelling.

[@jacksonelh]

You guys aren't looking to make the most bank, you're looking to make a game you love and we love, and I adore you for it.

[@johannesnylund8985]

J sawyer on the pain that is vault 34 "yeah we put monster closets in it, made it radioavtive and confusing. Tough... DEAL WITH IT"

[@HieronymousLex]

You’re a design genius, man. It seems like you had a lot of the vision for the aesthetic and atmosphere of new vegas. I don’t know how you guys came up with such a perfect blend of retro futurism, and the old west, with tons of other flavors like rat pack, Roman legions, and tribal aesthetics, and then tied it all together with great writing. FNV will always be on my list of favorite games, and it’s legendary among the RPG community. I’ve had so much fun playing it and discussing it with my friends over the years since it released. Thank you sincerely for your work on the game.

[@HouseClarkzonian]

I'd love to see Obsidian back for Fallout 4. You guys really brought the classic Fallout feel back.

[@titos2k]

:sad violin:

[@MyHentaiGirl]

TheMarkedOne ahahaha

[@dzikripratama3776]

Nah

[@aegyobot1923]

IF ONLY

[@komiks42]

Well, it don't age well

[@MrBennyTheOwl]

Could listen to you talk for hours.

[@plaidchuck]

Was really glad to see the super mutants have a limited role more akin to Fallout 2, especially after Fallout 3 where they were the random "mindless orc" bad guys. That and show how the BoS was in the original games rather than some token good guys.

[@llimbork]

To whoever disliked this. Show yourself you coward!

[@JonahUniverse]

I stayed in Vegas and visiting as many NV locations as I could. Was shocked when I left Vegas to head to Goodsprings and literally saw the rock quarry.

[@Thagomizer]

Not only would I totally marry Cas, I'd want Joshua Graham to officiate the wedding.

[@NEKASABA]

That could have been actually in the game, they had an idea for "drunk vegas wedding" quest for Cass for male courier. Cut for whatever reason... prolly time constraints.

[@Thagomizer]

Is there a patch that restores it or something similar?

[@NEKASABA]

Oh I said "cut" but most likely it was no more than just an idea. Read it in wikia. Aaand found the source: forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1223886-wheres-wal-jason-bergman-thread-2/page-3?&

[@Nashfanfl13]

I loved fallout new vegas is my favorite game I appreciate your time to make this video.

[@thebigsucc030]

Damn, KZbin recommended took me to A good place today

[@manchesterisblue1023]

new vegas was the best fallout after 1

[@treondousjackson73]

Hi my name is Tre and I have some questions about the fiend characters from Fallout New Vegas. I noticed on the fallout wiki site about the fiends that they had cut dialogue that hints they were originally gonna be used for something big in the game maybe a quest or to be friendly towards the player to where u could side with them and help them out with certain tasks. what's ur take on that ? My second question is there's a challenge called A Slave Obeys where ig ur supposed to kill Mr. House with a 9 iron/Driver Nephi's golf driver, now That's clearly a reference towards Bioshock where the main character Jack kills Andrew Ryan who was his father and King of Rapture by using that mind control phrase. Does that mean Driver Nephi could've had a bigger role in New Vegas as a sort of plot twist or something like not only did he come from Utah with his ghoul friend Bert Gunnarson and they were mormons from a church but Nephi is also the son of the most powerful being in New Vegas which is house himself meaning that Nephi is based on Jack and Andrew Ryan and Mr. House are polar halves of each other from different universes both based on real life entrepreneur Howard Hughes ? My third question is again on the fallout wiki I read on Driver Nephi's page that him and Cook Cook share the same character skin, I never quite understood that concept because it kind've had me thinking...does that mean Driver Nephi and Cook Cook are the same exact person like both sides of a coin except one is a personality kinda like what took place in fight club only this is due to them being fiends and the real one is suffering mental side effects from the drugs they take or what ? My fourth question is from the looks of Cook Cook's features and listening to his voice dialogue i have a reason to believe he's supposed to be the wasteland Mr.T or something, is that true ? I mean cause he does share alot of similarities with the celebrity and my final question is The female fiend that u have to hunt down on the quest Three Card Bounty named Violet, she's a very strange individual for one due to her fondness of dogs, two her explicit drug addiction to psycho and strange gestures and third that badly burnt skin of hers, it almost looks too familiar to the same exact scars as Pretty Sarah which leads to the belief that she may have been kidnapped, raped, tortured, burned and badly scarred in the process by none other than....COOK COOK ! Care to shed some light on that subject ? No offense towards Violet btw.

[@Tuite.]

Thank you for making one of my favorite games Fallout New Vegas. I am trying to get into the original fallout games but find them harder but if it is anything like FNV I am going to probably enjoy them.

[@TheNumberOfTheBeast666]

You came up with the idea for vault 22?? That vault was literally the scariest shit I've ever played in a video game.

[@jackspnc]

Vault 11 is an absolute masterpiece. Still gets my heart going exploring it and reading the lore every time.

[@Pietowndude]

I would love to see a video like this just for Honest Hearts. There's probably loads to say about Graham and Daniel.

[@EZ84222]

Vault 11 is the best environmental story telling in all of Fallout

[@Farksisten]

New Vegas is my favorite game this generation. Thank you Obsidian!

[@nocturnowl_0100]

Ed-E and Boone are tha best! At least for me I got along with them the most. Anyhow great video, sorry for being super late to discover this. New Vegas

[@joshuagraham5422]

Fallout new vegas is the best game i've ever played. Honest hearts and old world blues are just awesome.

[@TheChopstixman]

Fuck Yeah Josh Sawyer

[@wesss9353]

Now that Microsoft owns Bethesda and obsidian. Can you get your game back now? We need real fallout

[@mmmmmmmmdaaaamnnnnbabyyyy]

New Vegas is still my #1 fav game, dunno if I'll ever stop playing it

[@Yetersiz_Bakiye_Kulubu]

Watching this in 2024, after watching your recent videos (and I finished all of your games, except the Pentiment, in progress). You are one of the few people I wish I could have worked with in gaming, a real star in the industry. I hope you don't turn into TH, you know what I am saying :)

[@gurpaful]

Thanks for making this video (and answering all those questions on Formspring), I wish this level of interaction was more common amongst game designers.

[@moomimi]

It has been 6 years and I still come back here to relearn Game Design. Really nice work Josh!

[@CommieApe]

Thank you for all the hard work you and your team put into NV. Besides shaping my childhood it taught me a lot about pacing and unique storytelling as an artist and writer.

[@Longknife]

It would be a crime against humanity if Bethesda doesn't invite you guys back to do another spin-off after FO4.

[@dseszu425]

At every stage of facial hair length, you like a completly different person. No beard - short beard in this vid - awesome long beard now. I think those a 3 different people and you cant convince me otherwise

[@TheTheValer]

I have always said that the companions are some of the best content in the game, and the best companions in any game. Now I know who to thank.

[@marcelogonzalez8547]

You were so young...

[@electroshock5501]

Josh, I'm stuck in between the rocks in Quarry Junction. I was gonna wipe out the Alpha Male Deathclaw and the Mother Deathclaw, but I clumsily fell into a crevice trying to find an unreachable spot. Can you help me???

[@julesmcgrules3860]

Electro Shock fast travel. Otherwise reload save. It's a quirk with the engine, I think everyone's experienced it. I seem to remember it happening in Skyrim as well.

[@bonythe2nd]

New Vegas is such an incredible game, truly legendary. This game will be remembered for such a long time.

[@locustthespawn286]

who disliked this??!!??!!

[@BrettCaton]

The topographical import reminds me of how I struggled with Gamma World, because their maps were based on America, and assumed local knowledge. Aftermath was great because I could take my roadmaps or even elevation maps and use them for adventures. I assume it is even easier now thanks to Google maps.

[@Charcoal635]

Thanks for the awesome job you and the other developers at Obsidian did on New Vegas.

[@countrybluegrass]

Why bring mass effect into this at all?

[@360cent]

How did you get get Wayne Newton to voice Mr. Vegas?

[@wesss9353]

Money

[@swgwowhalo]

Just wondering but was there any plan to use the world spaces beyond places like the Mojave outpost and across the Colorado river? I only ask this because there is a lot of unused world space. I found New Vegas to feel AWESOME and big but every time I opened up that pip-boy map and saw that map using only 2/3 of the world space, it made the game feel smaller. I'm sure that outpost gate key will show up somewhere lol. maybe not.

[@cesarmartorano6903]

Thank you very much for making Fallout New Vegas, I hope you're still making new games.

[@isluh9613]

Josh da goat

[@oddblues1090]

Wut

[@joshosborne683]

Why hadn't I heard about this channel before?

[@manuelredgrave8348]

I only found it now

[@nicolasperez114]

Man you're awesome

[@igorbog88]

Big chunk of information there and I guess that's what it means to work IN a team and aim for a certain design goal. I dont want to define it as 'finishing good enough' but that's basically it and if everything works out great then that's all it needs to be.

[@Jerphun]

Yeah, NV is my favorite fallout but I think mass effect is good too. They are too different as far as rpgs go to compare them but they are both really good.

[@BruceWayne-gv9zs]

so someone got paid to put some sheet metal against a cliff, make it a marked location, then move on to the rest of their sector. I want that job.

[@PlzUnbanme]

Yeeeeaaaahhhh... You guys just made up everything and pasted hasty Nevada research over it. Genius!

[@meow6669]

Please do another Fallout eventually! :) NV is one of my top games ever. Thanks a bunch for that awesome game.

[@IloveuLL]

Hello

[@bw126]

I killed Cassidy for van Graff's once... I felt bad and couldn't finish the playthrough

[@wesss9353]

You have been marked for death and the Legion obeys

[@TheHippyProductions]

The one called Rose of Sharon Cassidy is not even fit for the slave pens. She will likely be a capture, nothing more.

[@luciusnetheril]

Who doesn't likes Cassidy?!

[@SpectrumTopics]

fallout 3 was a better setting but fallout nv was a great RPG

[@TheAidsaids]

Josh if you saw what my fallout new vegas setup, both graphical and gameplay wise, your jaw would drop in awe.

[@Dizzyfatpigeon]

+Aidz Aidz Prehot Care to show us? I'm also in the process of trying to make new vegas the best it can possibly be.

[@TheAidsaids]

depends on the look your going for, if you can find an app that converts my mod organizer mod list into a spread sheet order you could see my current ttw setup. as for aesthetics i did hours of tweaking on enb to achieve a nice look

[@Dizzyfatpigeon]

Are you referring to a load order plugin list? The best way I can think of is just to run the newest version of LOOT and under filters, click all the check boxes except for the bottom two. Then just highlight all your plugins and copy paste them. Sorry it's a bit long winded but thats the only way I know through MO

[@Dizzyfatpigeon]

Aidz Aidz Prehot I'm also intrigued to know how your game looks, what enb have you tweaked? or is it your own? Think you could provide some gameplay/Screenshots? It'd be greatly appreciated.

[@TheAidsaids]

puu.sh/olbgF/b99dd6d85d.jpg yeah im referring to load order plugin list, its giant so too lazy to import

[@leeroth1805]

Dude what happened to your arm?

[@fancytyme]

I crashed during a cyclocross race.

[@leeroth1805]

+Joshua Sawyer I just want to thank you for replying and making fallout new vegas. I've had so much fun and I still am it's an amazing game.

[@julesmcgrules3860]

Hope it's healed up ok, Josh. 👍✌

[@wrwinter]

11:27

[@SeventhSalute]

Fallout 4?.....anyone?

[@MoragTong]

joshua you're a great guy. keep up the amazing work you guys do - but with more classic CRPGs please, snazzy graphics are cool and all but usually they tend to take away from the storyline, characters and that kind of immersion that visuals simply can't reproduce. love these videos!

[@AttitudeIndicator]

Anybody ever tell you, you look like Steve Jobs?

[@kalmonds]

BitCritic he's the Steve Jobs of gaming.

[@AttitudeIndicator]

This was 7 months ago man.

[@shosray]

Bitcritic so what

[@STEJTHEGREATEST]

Joshua Sawyer, with you being an atheist, I want to ask, you weren't trying to trick Christians into accepting the mark of the beast when vulpes inculta forces the mark of caesar into the player's inventory, were you???? I've done some reading on this as of late, and although I think the mark of the beast has to be accepted on the forehead or the hand for it to condemn a person, and the mark of caesar in fnv looks like some kind of necklace from its inventory pic, intended to be worn around the neck, I'm guessing, but it still worries and concerns me. I mean when I've read about the mark of the beast lately, some people have said the mark of the beast was perhaps originally believed that it would come into existence during the times of the roman empire, essentially forcing all people who wanted to be financially-active within the roman empire to declare their worship of a flesh and blood man (caesar), which would in turn, result in their backs being turned on God, since God says Christians should have no other god before Him. I'm guessing "no other god" also includes any flesh and blood humans whom people are tricked into believing are "gods". And similar to how God sent down Jesus to save mankind, I've read it's also thought that the evil angel who betrayed God will also send down direct subordinates to try and lead man astray, contrariwise to how Jesus led man to salvation. And I've read that these wicked subordinates of the angel who betrayed God would be leaders of great influence and power. Some believe caesar was one, and some believe hitler was one also, with how hitler apparently ordered for the hands of jewish people to be marked on the hands in the concentration camps, so I hear. Another thing that worries me about the mark of caesar in fnv though, Joshua, is that I read how Greek numerals consist of letters to denote numbers, like the romans did, instead of actual numbers like what we use today. And the same person who posted this message about Greek numerals said something about the letters of Greek numerals spelling kaisar nero all add up to what is known as the number of the beast if the numbers representing each numeral letter are totaled together. And we all know how caesar is commonly referred to as "kaisar" in fnv, don't we??? The only thing missing from the equation in fnv is the "nero" part, but despite that discrepancy, there's still too many coincidences there for me to rest easily. I enjoy fnv, but if you intended for the mark of caesar to in some way relate to the mark of the beast, I'm probably going to have to stop playing. I know it isn't real, and the characters we create to be the "protagonists" in our own personal fnv experiences don't really exist, but I have this fear that with our fictional in-game characters possibly being an extension of our real life selves, that them bearing such a potentially wicked mark could also cause us to be associated with such a thing in real life. ;*( The fact that it's impossible to reject the mark of caesar when you get to a certain point of fnv also concerns me. So I'm wondering what you have to say about this????? Thanks.

[@core-nix1885]

Pretty sure the mark of the beast is associated with Abaddon, Angel of the Abyss. Did Jesus not say "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render unto God that which is God's." I don't think Caesar has anything to do with the beast, bud.

[@davidpowers1175]

@@core-nix1885 I think he’s just fucking loony

[@Muu-Mei]

NV fans are the worst.

[@thechosenundead2718]

Don't let the vocal minority ruin it for ya. It's a great game and everyone should be able to enjoy it.

[@George_McLovin]

Whatever you tried to accomplish with your comment 😂

[@Muu-Mei]

@@George_McLovin clearly it made you upset.

[@Caroline_Alys]

Todd Howard alt account

[@Muu-Mei]

@@Caroline_Alys proving my point.

[@tommyjay6079]

Now wonder the game was so broken. This dudes a clown.

[@vanomxxx]

Of all RPGs Ive played Fallout New Vegas is my all time favorite . :D

[@BigAssNigga311]

Gotta love that old school Linksys router.