Top 10 Fallout 4 Features from the Bethesda E3 Presser

09. A New Take on Character Creation

In the previous games of the series character creation was either a brief and unsatisfying experience, or it was an overly-complicated and unwieldy one. Let us explain...

In the original Fallout character creation consisted of a few appearance factors, but the limitations of games at the time and the small character size on screen meant that you were basically the generic player character.

The emphasis was on ability and capability - which are not the same thing mind you - which are influenced by base stats and selected skills.

Fallout 2 used a very cluttered and complicated multi-box screen to create your character, with its emphasis being on stats rather than appearance, which while it may seem odd today for a role-playing game, was pretty much industry standard at the time for top-down games where you really cannot see the character in any detail anyway..

Getting a character that looked like you was impossible - unless you know, you happen to be a pixelated blob that looks sort of human... So yeah, getting a character with the right combination of stats was the point for Fallout 2, just like in the original....

In Fallout 3 character creation was a changed matter - because it actually DID matter. Part of the reason for that was the fact that you could actually SEE your character in the game for a change, it being a first-person / third-person switchable view.

The character creation engine though was ungainly and very limited, utilizing a Gene Projection Machine that was all sliders, with very limited selection.

Making a character you liked was a dice throw really, unless you were willing to put in the time and effort, so close enough was often close enough.

In Fallout: New Vegas you create the character after being massively damaged in the prologue play, ending up in the hands of a doctor who helps you recover from your injuries - and gives you a new face in the bargain.

Of course making that new face uses a different device called a Reflectron, which again makes use of a limited slider scheme, allowing for a sort of typical character creation - but you are not able to create a character that looks like a specific person unless you get lucky that is... You know, if you happen to be the generic everyman (or woman) you might be able to get something close to you in the game.

With Fallout 4 from what we have seen you can reasonably approximate your own look - or Liam Neeson's look - if you are willing to put in the effort, and that is pretty spiffy indeed.

In Fallout 4 the process takes place in front of the pre-blast bathroom mirror, allowing the player to literally sculpt the look of the characters - male AND female - by simply selecting the part of the face you want to change and then change it... No sliders involved.

That change is really awesome for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the massive variety of changes that you can make to the different feature points. They even include witty banter between the couple.

When you finally obtain the look you desire, deciding which character ends up being you in the game is a simple matter of being sure that you have that character selected when you leave the character creation screen.

Setting the stats is as simple as answering your door when the doorbell rings - as a helpful Vault-Tec salesman is there to record your stat settings, getting that completed in the nick of time!

A side note and something that was confirmed at the press event, once you complete the look for the two characters the game actually custom-generates a baby that is based on their shared genetics and appearance. And how cool is that?