Fallout is a series of open world role-playing video games. Although the series is set during the 22nd and 23rd centuries, its retro-futuristic setting and artwork are influenced by the post-war culture of 1950s America, and it’s combination of hope for the promises of technology and lurking fear of nuclear annihilation. A forerunner for Fallout is Wasteland, a 1988 video game of which the Fallout series is regarded to be the spiritual successor. Although the game worlds are different, the background story, inhabitants, locations and characters draw many parallels.
Fallout draws from 1950's pulp magazine science fiction and superhero comic books, all rooted in Atomic Aga optimism of a nuclear-powered future, though gone terribly awry by the time the events of the game take place. The technology is retro-futurstic, with various Raygun Gothic machines such as laser weaponry and boxy Forbidden Plant-style robots. Computers use vacuum tubes instead of transistors, architecture of ruined buildings feature Art Deco and Gogie designs, energy weapons resemble those used by Flash Gordon, and what few vehicles remain in the world are all 1950's-styled. Fallout's other production design, such as menu interfaces, are similarly designed to resemble advertisements and toys of the Atomic Age. Advertising in the game such as billboards and brochures has a distinct 1950's motif and feel. The lack of retro-stylisation was a common reason for criticism in spin-off games.
A major influence was A Boy and His Dog, where the main character Vic and his dog Blood scavenge the desert of the Southwestern United States, stealing for a living and evading bands of marauders, berserk androids, and mutants. It inspired Fallout on many levels, from underground communities of survivors to glowing mutants. Other film influences include the Mad Max series, with its depiction of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In the first game, one of the first available armours is a one-sleeved leather jacket that resembles the jacket worn by Mel Gibson in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.
