Summary
The super mutants inFallout 4used to look a lot more human during development, as the artist who created them shared their early design. A staple of theFalloutfranchise, super mutants have played a pivotal role in every singleFallouttitle – often as named characters such as Frank Horrigan, a ruthless agent of the Enclave and the final boss ofFallout 2. Though the super mutants in the Capital Wasteland originate from Vault 87, the super mutants inFallout 4are instead a result of the Institute’s research into the Forced Evolutionary virus.
What separates super mutants from mirelurks and deathclaws inFallout 4is their lingering humanity, a trait also shared by ghouls to varying degrees. The Sole Survivor can recruit Strong, a super mutant companion, while Dr. Brian Virgil is an important NPC that players can encounter in theFallout 4main quest. These examples prove that super mutants can be written as more than just brutes that roam the wasteland. Curiously, the original design for the super mutants leaned into their humanity a bit more than Bethesda ended up going with.
The Super Mutants Were Meant to Be ‘More Human’ in Fallout 4
Jonah Lobe, the person who createdsuper mutants forFallout 4, explained that they had a more human look in his initial concept. Compared to the monstrous faces of the final in-game model, Lobe wanted to inspireFallout 4’s quest designers to write more story content for super mutants and give them more speaking roles. However, Lobe was ultimately overruled, and Bethesda ended up going with a more thuggish design instead. He worked onFallout 4for eight months, and was also responsible for creating the deathclaw model, as well as the iconic dragons fromSkyrim.
Though Bethesda was always known for having a small team prior to the development ofStarfield, Johan Lobe confirmed thatFallout 4was built by a team of only a hundred developers. By contrast,over 250 developers are still working onStarfieldand its Shattered Space DLC, while the rest of the team has moved on toThe Elder Scrolls 6. Considering the sheer size of bothSkyrimandFallout 4, it makes Bethesda’s accomplishments in the Creation Kit era even more impressive.
While the development ofFallout 5is several years away,Falloutas a franchise has seen a massive increase in player count due to the emergent popularity of its television show. In fact,Fallout 76has seen an all-time peak in concurrent players on Steam shortly after the show’s premiere.Fallout 76is aiming to release Skyline Valleyin June 2024, a massive update that will expand the playable map with a new region. Whether for newcomers or veterans, it would seem that theFalloutfranchise still has a lot to offer in 2024 and beyond.
