Fallout, as amusing and hilarious this game series is has always included hot political topics. Although it may not take these political views and commentary it produces or mentions seriously, it acknowledges plenty of these current and past issues. The game series is based around the consumerism and capitilism in a post apocalytpic world because of the fear and tension of the Cold War and the looming threat of World War III itself.
While some political opinion is black and white, most issues occupy grey areas, heavily influenced by other public policy issues.
Most players in games are given choices that may call their morals into question. More often than not, there is a stark line between the good and bad, good vs. evil. However in a some games, they present the player with a choice, it may be chosen based on what their morals follow, what loot they would loot they would get, or what side their favorite character is on. But sometimes it can be difficult making these choices when both sides may have downsides and good things. For instance, in Fallout, the Brotherhood of Steel are notorious for being rather hostile towards Ghouls and Synths while also being capabale of helping others or seemingly friendly towards the player. This may create a gray moral area for the player and makes decisions difficult.
By understanding how games express rhetoric in their rules, we not only gain a critical vantage point on videogame artifacts, but also we can begin to consider how to design games whose primary purpose is to editorialize, teach, and make political statements.
Again, one of Fallouts major themes is capitilism, the folly of man and fall of and resurrection of civilization. That despite most of the planet being wiped out by nuclear war, it seems that those that have survived continue with their old mentalities and capitilism and consumerism still perists. And not only that but the games aesthetics and world around them is ironic. Seeemingly golden age posters and living styles shown all around in the world lay dilapidated and wrecked. It seems that this game almost makes fun of how propserous the old world thought it was.
Overall, I believe the fallout series is an outstanding example of plenty of political statements such as capitlism, abuse of status and power, the fear of war and county leadership and how the line between good and bad is certainly blurred and becomes a very gray area.
