Unlikely Fallout Game Mechanic Is One of the Best Parts of Prime Video's TV Show
Some of the most memorable and bizarre scenes in the Fallout TV show were an adaptation of this surprising video game mechanic.
Prime Video ’s Fallout TV show is the perfect video game adaptation. It treats the source material with utmost respect and carefully expands its mythology; works closely with the original video games’ developers to ensure its quality and lore accuracy; and adds numerous subtle references and Easter eggs for OG fans.
While we’ve already covered some of the most brilliant game mechanics that found their way into Prime Video’s new series, this one is a very special case.
This Unique Mechanic Adds Life to Video Games
Most open-world games, Fallout included, make use of the random encounter mechanic: it means that sometimes, players come across some dynamic situations or interesting characters on their travels that they can interact with. From a small talk with someone you meet on the road to a massive shootout, random encounters add life to video games and make the player feel like the world is truly dynamic.
Bethesda Softworks, the studio that developed the last four Fallout installments, knows all about random encounters and uses them frequently throughout their games. Prime Video decided to not lag behind and add its own ridiculous encounters for the main characters excluding Norman — because the Vault has few new people.
Fallout TV Show Also Added Random Encounters
In Prime Video’s TV show, most of the scenes that left new fans puzzled were… Random encounters. Seeing how it’s strictly a video game concept, it’s easy to see why new Vault Dwellers found it hard to understand the plot meaning of, say, Maximus’ scene with an infuriated farmer and his chicken-loving “victim.”
But there was no point in it, and that was the point.
The Fallout series added those small encounters here and there. Lucy, for instance, came across a weird man living in a ruined building. He lived just a hill away from Filly but claimed to have never been to the city — just like video game characters do!
The Ghoul, who is clearly the highest-level character with over 200 years of experience, even quipped about it. According to him, the Wasteland had its own “golden rule,” and it was that you should try to not let random stuff distract you from your goal. The random stuff he meant were random encounters and side quests, of course, and by the goal he meant the main quest — finding Siggi’s head, in his case.