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Fallout started in 1997 as an isometric, turn-based game, in which the Wanderer would patiently wait for big rats and radscorpions to swipe at their feet, before returning fire with a couple of 9mm bullets to the head. But what set it apart from its peers at the time was the VATS system, which allowed players to target individual body parts for a higher crit chance at the heightened risk of missing their shot altogether.
Bethesda would take the series in a wholly new direction when it bought the IP from Interplay, essentially turning Fallout into ‘The Elder Scrolls with guns’. Yet, even with real-time combat, the studio kept the iconic VATS system. In hindsight, that might feel like a no-brainer—VATS is as much a staple as the Pip-Boy and SPECIAL stats—but during Fallout 3’s development, there was a real concern that the system wouldn’t work in 3D, and it came incredibly close to being cut.
«There were some significant challenges figuring out VATS,» lead aritst Istvan Pely explained in an interview with Edge Magazine (via GamesRadar+). «There was a long period where it was like, ‘Is this even fun? Is this worth doing at all? Is anyone going to use this?'»
Making A Turn-Based System Work With Real-Time Combat Was A Crucial Challenge For Bethesda
A problem in making Fallout an FPS is that players could aim for the head themselves, rendering VATS moot. Bethesda had to make it interesting to make it worthwhile, but that came with its own set of challenges that meant the system nearly wasn’t ready for launch.
«We spent so much time basically trying to get the game to figure out where to put the camera so you could see the slow-motion playback,» said Pely. «There had to be an algorithm to make sure it didn’t get stuck behind an object or in the geometry or something.»
Pely explained that they «only just got that working by the time we shipped».
It’s hard to imagine pushing through the janky, unresponsive shooting of the Gamebryo era without the snappy VATS auto-aim coming in clutch, so thank Todd the team got it working in time, but it’s startling just how close we came to a world where Bethesda axed this series staple in the transition to 3D.
