Fallout Writers Reveal Biggest Challenge in Adapting Expansive Video Game Franchise

Game ZXC

Fallout Writers Unveil Toughest Challenge in Adapting The Vast Video Game Franchise

Fallout

By Aayush Sharma

Published Apr 8, 2024

Highlights

The writers of Fallout face challenges condensing a vast universe into an 8-episode series, balancing what to show and what to leave out.
The abundance of material from Fallout games made it difficult to adapt for TV, but writers infused references throughout every frame.
Season 1 only scratches the surface of Fallout's extensive world, with a focus on Vault Dwellers and wasteland struggles.

Fallout writers have opened up about the challenges they faced while bringing the vast universe of the beloved game to the small screen. The writers also noted how difficult it was for them to condense such a gigantic world into an eight-part TV series.

Fallout is one of the highly-anticipated TV shows of this year and fans are really excited to see how the Amazon series would adapt the popular game series for TV. The production team faced a lot of obstacles while bringing this series to life. On the other hand, the writers also felt the burden of what to show and what to leave. Now, in an interview, the writing team of the above-mentioned TV series opened up about how difficult it was for them to fit such a vast universe in just eight episodes.

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Speaking in an interview with Comicbook, writers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner clarified that the abundance of material was too vast to condense into a single season. However, they diligently infused every frame with references and homages to the expansive Fallout universe. Wagner said, “I think it was the great filter of getting 25 years of games, and if you're a completionist, it can be 1,000 hours per game. It's story in every terminal, in every filing cabinet, just an amazing abundance of story and then we have eight hours of a season. And the moment it dawns on you just how little you can actually get in and get in effectively. We had a great group of writers and an amazing story team on set. Every nook and cranny of the frame is filled with stuff.”

However, Wagner also made it clear that they “barely scratched the surface” of Fallout’s extensive world in Season 1. More than 25 years have passed since the debut of the original Fallout game. In that period, the series has burgeoned with numerous additional titles, forging a dense post-apocalyptic realm teeming with intricate stories. For many years, it was believed that adapting the above-mentioned game series would be a very difficult task. But Amazon Studios teamed up with Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan to bring the series to the small screen. Recently, Nolan, who has also directed several episodes of the upcoming series, expressed his excitement at the opportunity to craft a story that is unique and presents an original Fallout narrative. Speaking exclusively to Game ZXC, Nolan also noted that he loved contributing to the game’s mythology while also honoring its rich history.

In Fallout, things can get extreme very quickly. For the uninitiated, the Fallout universe is all about Vault Dwellers spending a lifetime underground. On the other hand, people living in the wastelands have to face a lot of battles for their survival. Apart from these aspects, the TV series will also focus on how relationships transform in the middle of a relentless struggle for existence.

Fallout premieres exclusively on Prime Video on April 12.