Summary
An official description ofFallout 3on Steam has caused one fan to question whether the events of the game are actually happening within its world or if they’re all part of a simulation within a simulation. While the events ofFallout 3contain some pretty mind-bending content, this theory makes those events seem even more meta.
Released in 2008,Fallout 3was Bethesda Softworks' first outing in theFalloutfranchise after acquiring it from its original production team at Interplay Productions. ShiftingFalloutaway from the NCRand heading east to Washington, D.C., part of the game’s main storyline involves a run-in with a new character, Dr. Stanislaus Braun, who oversees a vault in which all the residents are unwittingly trapped in a simulation of a peaceful black-and-white pre-war neighborhood called Tranquility Lane. Much like Dr. Braun’s experiment, this new fan theory based on the Steam description centers around none of the events of the game actually happening to the characters.
As pointed out on Reddit by user Senior_Reflection949, the Steam description makes the game sound like a Vault-Tec product that would be used by residents of the fictitious company’s radiation-proof underground vaults to see what life would be like in the outside world. “Vault-Tec engineers have worked around the clock on an interactive reproduction of Wasteland life for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own vault,” it states. “Included is an expansive world, unique combat, shockingly realistic visuals, tons of player choice, and an incredible cast of dynamic characters.” Based on that information, the player has developed a theory that vault dwellers would presumably use the software as an educational simulation ofthe Capital Wasteland fromFalloutwithout actually experiencing it for themselves.
The Fallout 3 Simulation Theory Has Its Detractors
While a lot of people seem to find the fan theory amusing, most seem to see it as problematic. Specifically, some have questioned why Vault-Tec would produce a piece of software that either admits to its customers living in vaults that it uses those same vaults to conduct unethical social experiments or, otherwise, pretends that it does. Of course, some otherFalloutfans have their own theories behind that perceived weakness in the original theory, with one stating that Vault-Tec wants the software’s users to be happy that they’re in one of the control vaults and another theorizing that the software is intended as orientation material for newvault overseers inFallout.
In reality, the Steam description is likely just a fun, harmless bit of meta humor from Bethesda that doesn’t dramatically alter the nature of the game’s story. It does, however, offer a unique twist on the way players perceive the games asFalloutsurges in popularitythanks to the Amazon Prime streaming series.
Fallout 3
WHERE TO PLAY
Vault-Tec engineers have worked around the clock on an interactive reproduction of Wasteland life for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own vault. Included is an expansive world, unique combat, shockingly realistic visuals, tons of player choice, and an incredible cast of dynamic characters. Every minute is a fight for survival against the terrors of the outside world — radiation, Super Mutants, and hostile mutated creatures. From Vault-Tec, America’s First Choice in Post Nuclear Simulation.Limitless Freedom!Take in the sights and sounds of the vast Capital Wasteland! See the great monuments of the United States lying in post-apocalyptic ruin! You make the choices that define you and change the world. Just keep an eye on your Rad Meter!
