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First Fallout MMORPG art surfaces

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Oct 30, 2009 5:09 pm PT

To boost arguments in Bethesda lawsuit, Interplay releases concept shots for its Masthead-developed postnuclear role-playing game.

Sporting the latest in irradiated fashions…

One week after it countersued Bethesda Softworks over the Fallout massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Interplay has fired another shot over its former ally's bow. To bolster its contention that it is actively working on an MMORPG set in the postnuclear role-playing game's universe, the company released the first concept art for the game, code-named Project V13.

Project V13 lead system designer Chris Taylor*, an original Fallout developer who was rehired in September 2008, posted four concept art paintings on the official Interplay forums (registration required)."Keep in mind that this is concept art. It's not finalized art, but it will give you a feel for what we are aiming for with V13," cautioned Taylor.

Cacti are well suited to the apres-apocalypse.

The four shots show that Interplay and Earthrise developer Masthead, which is codeveloping Project V13, are departing somewhat from the original Fallout's aesthetic. The "Survivor" image shows a surprisingly well-groomed wasteland wanderer sporting three weapons--two energy pistols in his hands and a shotgun of sorts on his back. The other three shots show various parts of the apres-apocalyptic landscape, including a desert, a factory, and an airplane junkyard.

This flight is still delayed?

The release of the Project V13 shots is the latest chapter in the increasingly ugly legal battle between Bethesda and Interplay. In September, the Fallout 3 developer-publisher filed suit against the formerly major publisher that released the first Fallout games in the late 1990s.

The suit stemmed from a 2007 deal that saw Bethesda buy the Fallout IP outright and then license the rights to make a Fallout-branded MMORPG back to Interplay. Bethesda claims Interplay violated that deal by deceptively selling the original Fallout games as the "Fallout Trilogy" and misleading customers that it contained Fallout 3.

12,126 days without a civilization-ending nuclear accident.

Bethesda also accused Interplay of not raising the MMORPG funding required by the contract. After announcing its intention to terminate the MMORPG deal in April, Bethesda pointed to a June 30 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that revealed that Interplay only had $2.54 million in debt and only $16,000 in cash assets. That figure was far short of the $30 million required by the agreement.

In its countersuit, Interplay accused Bethesda of 10 counts of breach of contract, including violating the terms of the trademark licensing agreement (TLA) and asset purchase agreement (APA) entered into in 2007. It is seeking to retain limited licensing rights for Fallout, including those for a planned pen-and-paper RPG, or to have the 2007 agreement nullified and have the entire Fallout IP return to Interplay.

*Not to be confused with Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor.

363 Comments

  • und3roath

    Posted Dec 2, 2009 8:32 pm PT

    no i thinkbethesda should get it they have the funds and weather people loved or hated fallout 3 it made a ton of money!! i personally have liked all fallout games so i am a little sad interplay and bethesda arent friends any more.

  • maelstrom

    Posted Nov 26, 2009 7:02 pm PT

    Whatever...the new Fallout was completely devoid of the dark humor and quirky design that made the original Fallout games so likable. Breach of contract be damned...I'm backing Interplay in this situation because I actually played the original Fallout games, and even though I liked Fallout 3, it just wasn't the same experience that I remember from the 90's. Granted this will be an MMO, but I would like to see what the original team comes up with.

  • Australians

    Posted Nov 24, 2009 1:02 am PT

    well interplay was good in the 90s but not they have lost it hell they use to have some great games in the early 90s

  • pzio

    Posted Nov 23, 2009 4:13 pm PT

    I think Interplay is definitely a washed out company who is vying for attention so people will notice them again, but I hope they resolve their differences with only some licensing rights of Fallout going to Interplay. I think Bethesda was a little too hard on them with the whole deadline deal, as they have so much debt right now that it would take a long, long time to get out of it, especially with the economy the way it is these days. I think an original-style Fallout MMORPG should happen, along with an iPhone port of it

  • SuperYeti22

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 7:06 pm PT

    This is f****** stupid. Interplay will destroy Fallout. Interplay is like a 3-year-old having a tantrum. "We wanted to make a fallout game of our own, but you didn't like it, so you tried to take away privliges(I probably spelled this wrong. Hey, sue me!) and the fallout universe, so we're going to take back the fallout universe and completely ruin it! Waaah!" Interplay should take a fallout gun and fire it... while shoving it down its pants!

  • GreaseyJuggler

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 12:42 pm PT

    Do i detect a hint of jealousy there Interplay?? Way to backpedal.

  • ImmortalityX

    Posted Nov 12, 2009 3:38 am PT

    woww interplay sounds like a poor company crying for help lol
    they're definitely sueing Bethesda because they handed their rights to Fallout to a way more creative company and saw what they COULD have done with it, they probably just feel retarded for giving it away!

    now they cant take it anymore and want their franchise back even though they'll turn it straight to ruin with them behind it's developing wheel.
    (i mean you've seen their games.. -_- )

    how does interplay expect to win this?
    they didnt follow contract with Bethesda because they were in debt! AND they've been selling Fallout(interplay) games when they sold their rights to Fallout years ago...

    I hope Bethesda pulls through, cause they made this game badass and it has taken up tons of my time lmao good luck Bethesda, dont let the system f''''k you!!

  • fatredfu

    Posted Nov 11, 2009 12:49 pm PT

    is this going to be a kid's game?
    wtf? these images are crap, too cheery. Welcome to the wasteland of pastels... er wait... no... what?

  • azazazazaz3

    Posted Nov 10, 2009 8:07 pm PT

    robgam3r see a f****** psycologist

  • nomorepain4u

    Posted Nov 10, 2009 8:05 pm PT

    what the hell are you talking bout robgam3r. u are f+++++ up. interplay will ruin fallout.screw you interplay go betheda. oh and by the way interplay take these crap cartoonish images and shove em up your a++. they suck.interplay will ruin fallout

  • azazazazaz3

    Posted Nov 10, 2009 8:05 pm PT

    interplay's gonna mess everything up

  • nomorepain4u

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 5:15 pm PT

    interplay will ruin fallout

  • nomorepain4u

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 5:15 pm PT

    screw you interplay go betheda. oh and by the way interplay take these crap cartoonish images and shove em up your a++. they suck

  • nomorepain4u

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 5:14 pm PT

    what the hell are you talking bout robgam3r. u are f+++++ up

  • hobobobo00

    Posted Nov 6, 2009 7:12 pm PT

    interplay sucks

  • bagehi

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 12:10 pm PT

    "We painted 4 pictures!" is not the same as developing an MMO. It has been over 2 years since Interplay "started" the MMO project and all they seem to have to show for it is four paintings. It reminds me of the DECADE spent waiting for Fallout 3 before they sold it to another developer to make.

  • LXIndustries

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 11:46 am PT

    I certainly hope Bethesda comes out on top of this suit.
    They did and exemplary job on TES and Fallout alike and I can only believe would continue doing so with both franchises.
    I would think that any future Fallout game made by Interplay just would not have the same inpact as one by Bethesda - they seem to have the formula for these games well in hand.

  • MaccyMan

    Posted Nov 5, 2009 9:22 am PT

    I would rather Bethesda make it. Reason being, interplay doesn't have any goddamn money. You can't make a game without money, and interplay trying to steal the Fallout Franchise back from Bethesda is childish. If they can't MAKE the game why do they think that they can MAKE the game?

  • solatron

    Posted Nov 4, 2009 5:28 am PT

    @noxian: its pretty newschool? u gotta be kidding me. MMOs are emphasize on quantity over quality. i think you're just a new kid on the block trying to ditch the concept of old school who actually knows nothing of the past.

  • noxian

    Posted Nov 3, 2009 1:32 pm PT

    @phaedruslives: the problem with that is there's really only ONE original Fallout mind behind this game. there are some people out there seriously overhyping the "omg its the original Fallout makers" angle not realizing one man doesn't make a game studio, no matter how much we like to hype singular personalities these days. Taylor didn't make Fallout by himself and with that having been said the rest of the team is about as new to the franchise as anyone at Bethesda.

    as far as Fallout not needing an MMO, there we're in total agreement. in fact if we were to bring up the REAL oldschool versus newschool conflict, THAT'S more relevent than anything else. most old fans of fallout i've ever known all think an MMO simply doesn't fit the concept of Fallout where your existence was pretty much alone. yes there were towns and such but even with those the original concept was they were few and far between. a far cry from the very notion of massive multiplayer. frankly, the whole idea that every rpg needs to be turned into an MMO is pretty newschool.

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