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.

383 Comments

  • -Six-Shooter-

    Posted Feb 9, 2010 12:38 pm PT

    Bethesda did a great job on Fallout 3 and the DLC's, whilst not creating a multiplayer function, i say; bethesda has proven/earned their rights to make a sequel if you look at the selling-stats of F3...

    BTW: you can go BLAH-ting about how good F1 and F2 where/are, but the perspective of the past is not helping to create new and innovative gameplay.. like multiplayer, the VATS or anything for that matter.. (it's hard to think outside the box, especially in game-world)

  • -Six-Shooter-

    Posted Feb 9, 2010 12:38 pm PT

    Bethesda did a great job on Fallout 3 and the DLC's, whilst not creating a multiplayer function, i say; bethesda has proven/earned their rights to make a sequel if you look at the selling-stats of F3...

    BTW: you can go BLAH-ting about how good F1 and F2 where/are, but the perspective of the past is not helping to create new and innovative gameplay.. like multiplayer, the VATS or anything for that matter.. (it's hard to think outside the box, especially in game-world)

  • joker0711

    Posted Feb 8, 2010 9:02 pm PT

    I'm not a huge fan of MMORPGs (Everquest or WoW), but once you give it a Fallout theme, I'm all over it. I think this would be amazing. I'd like to see Interplay make it, but I just hope it gets done and gets done well.

  • sethbouldin

    Posted Feb 8, 2010 5:10 pm PT

    @tki_raziel

    "everything like in all Bethesda RPGs scales with player level"
    That ill-researched statement made me lose all interest in what you had to say.

  • tki_raziel

    Posted Feb 6, 2010 2:12 pm PT

    Good job with fail dialogues based on skills? Have u played first Fallouts to see the options u had when u talked with some1? There is no limit to inventory u can carry ammunition for an entire enemy base. Game has no challange, everything like in all Bethesda RPGs scales with player level, like the world evolves because of u, not u evolving because what happends in the world, there are no proper towns in F3 everything is a mess humanity didnt evolve a bit, game is more like a zombie shooter, u shoot ghouls in metro tunnels for X hours. Few quests worth mentoning and few moments in game have a real feeling. I hope Obsidian does something more from Fallout then the joke of Fallout 3, but probably not much because Bethesda wont let them to do it their way.

  • robulastage

    Posted Feb 6, 2010 12:16 pm PT

    The shooter aspect of Fallout3 was extremely clunky and unrefined. VATS did the shooter aspect of the game a huge favor. Other than how clunky the shooting is, I say Bethesda did a great job with it, and I'd like to see them run further with the franchise.

  • tki_raziel

    Posted Feb 6, 2010 7:22 am PT

    Bethesda only destroyed everything was good in Fallout and used the name to make a crapy FPS for console players. Fallout 1&2 cant be beaten by VATS and graphics. Too bad Interplay dosent have any financial power anymore, anyway the Fallout license landed in the wrong hands.

  • otanikun

    Posted Feb 4, 2010 9:53 am PT

    Stop Interplay, give it to Bethesda

  • SuperYeti22

    Posted Jan 16, 2010 3:39 pm PT

    @Chrisjag92

    Maybe so Interplay made the franchise, but when Bethesda bought the franchise, and made Fallout 3, they did a way better job doing it. After Bethesda's hard work on Fallout 3, Interplay is going to shoot it in the face by turning it back into the old crap that was fun in the 90's while it lasted, but not anymore these days

  • Sperataca

    Posted Jan 16, 2010 8:49 am PT

    i dont see why they have to fight about this crap. its frikkin fallout agreat game universe with a huge and really easily expanded universe. Also why doesnt bethesda offer to buy them out? i am sure they could pull somthing togethere to make a offer. interplay only has 16,000 in assests? it just seems that they want to continue making great games which they did back in the day so why no continue there legacy? all in all i would rather see them both contibuting to make a better game for every one that scwabbiling over a dead corpes like some super mutes

  • Heythatsmychair

    Posted Jan 14, 2010 6:27 pm PT

    I would like to see a Fallout game like the old one be brought to XBLA. Something like Alien Breed Evolution but Fallout.

  • CTC24

    Posted Dec 27, 2009 8:55 pm PT

    So Interplay is accusing Bethesda of stupid reasons, just to get their beloved "Fallout" back? If they do get the title and rights back their already in debt so its just going to sit there for a long time until they pay off the debt and raise money to make a new Fallout game. I say that's stupid, they gave it to Bethesda and they made an excellent game of that title, so why take it back? I would be on their side if they weren't in debt and had a decent amount of money in their pockets to make another great game.

  • Glaice

    Posted Dec 26, 2009 12:07 am PT

    Why does Interplay have to market v13 as a Fallout game at all? It could be Wasteland, or some variant thereof, which Bethesda would not own the IP to and allow Interplay to do their own thing. By doing that, I'm sure that Chris could go back, remembering what the first games were all about, remain true to lore (which to speak of was really just a loose idea based on Wasteland anyways) and make a fantastic game, all the while letting Bethesda continue on their path. All this suit and counter suit looks more like a chest thumping contest or teenage drama to me anyways!

  • Neogenic

    Posted Dec 21, 2009 12:56 pm PT

    I am also neutral here. Fallout 3 is an awsome game, no matter how you look at it. It's not perfect, but what game is? I never played the original Fallout series, but i do know that Interplay made some awsome games in their day (My favorite was Messiah), so i'll bet the original fallout series is great. Anyway, i hope that Interplay can continue this MMORPG. It sounds fun.

  • hydn631

    Posted Dec 19, 2009 10:50 am PT

    Im in nuetral position here, fallout 3 was great in every aspect except the awful combat so in a sense bethseda did a good thing. But then again Interpay started fallout and made amazing games and are sadly declining. Maybe interplay could make combat, cause bethseda, they havent made a good comabt system in any of their "award winning" rpgs yet.

  • Crush_Project

    Posted Dec 16, 2009 10:07 pm PT

    lol yeti, and the guys that changed the entire format from a tactical 3rd person to a lame and typical 1st person shooter didnt ruin the title? How bout when they changed VATS to be the biggest noob invention in the history of gaming? and you people love them for it.

    And as stated below, they took out all the humor that made the game what it was. The ending is painfully static etc. I can go on and on about how bethesda did exactly the opposite of what your saying and ruined the title. Imo bethesda would have been better off starting their own title.

  • xEpiphoneSG

    Posted Dec 9, 2009 2:39 pm PT

    also

    @SuperYeti22

    I completely agree with you...

    It is like picking up a toy that a little kid wasnt even using, and then when you walk away he throws a tantrum because he wants it back!...haha funny stuff

  • xEpiphoneSG

    Posted Dec 9, 2009 2:35 pm PT

    if it happens then hope that it is bethesda and they are cool enough to make it for Xbox 360 and PS3 (well i dont care bout PS3) ...

  • bagelnbutter

    Posted Dec 7, 2009 2:57 pm PT

    i think they should try a mmorpg for the game itd be kinda cool

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