Fallout LDN: Game Mechanics

Main article HERE:

Here, I want to talk about game mechanics, i.e. what would make this game stand out from other Fallout titles and games in general.

At the time I write this, I have no idea whether Bethesda are planning to cover any of these in Fallout 4.

Character alignments

Anyway, Fallout 3 had a Karma system, where the player's choices influenced Karma to make them be viewed by NPCs as either "good" or "evil". Many other RPGs use this model. A select few also utilise the "lawful/chaotic" system, e.g. Dungeons & Dragons games such as Neverwinter Nights. I think there is also scope for this in Fallout, for example, stealing isn't always an evil deed, but would mean you are viewed as "chaotic". This allows for combinations such as "Chaotic Good", "Lawful Neutral", "Neutral Evil" etc. An overview of the different character alignments can be found here.

Actions which raised/lowered Karma had a Halo/Horns icon to visually indicate this to the player. Actions which increase Lawfulness (apprehending criminals, restoring order, returning stolen goods to their owner etc) or decrease (stealing, breaking and entering etc) would have "cop/robber" icons. Some actions affect both alignments simultaneously (e.g. setting slaves free from their owners can be both chaotic and good).

Multiple currency

Fallout 3 (in some way), and Fallout New Vegas to a larger extent, acknowledge that there are more forms of currency than bottle caps, e.g. cigarettes, pre-war money, NCR banknotes and Legion currency. But, essentially, caps are still the dominant currency and all traders deal in caps.

With a true multi-currency system, traders can deal with multiple forms of currency and even choose to reject some, seeing it as worthless, e.g. in an example system, you have caps, seashells and cocoa beans. A trader may not accept caps, but you could pay him in seashells and cocoa beans, but if you give him 10 caps, then he'll exchange it for either two shells or a cocoa bean.

This also means that there could also be NPCs dotted around the capital acting as Bureaux de Change/Currency Exchanges where the player can exchange one currency for another. Exchange rates can vary, dependent on the owner, demand and how much cash you have, and some may also accept non-currency items as well.

Resourcefulness

Making your own weapons was also a great feature in previous Fallouts, as well as making modifications as well. This would be a major feature in Fallout LDN, the reason being that firearms would be in shorter supply in the UK than the US, so weapons would be more 'homebrew' than normal. One popular modification for firearms, owing to a more scarce supply of ammunition, would be bayonettage - lashing a knife to the end of your rifle to stick in your foe at close range.

In addition to the usual guns and melee weapons, players would also get to mess around with bows and arrows, adding things like scopes, poison tips, nerve gas canisters, EMP, explosives, incendiaries etc.

Faction Power

In Fallout New Vegas, you can build either a good or bad reputation with the different factions there (e.g. the NCR, Caesar's Legion, The Strip etc). Fallout LDN would give the player the opportunity to interact with many factions; however, some of these vie to control more of the city. As well as gaining or reducing trust with a faction, the player can carry out tasks to increase or decrease a faction's influence, or power, meaning more or less of their units on the streets and more/less territory held (factions can take territory off others). This allows the player to mould the city into the form he/she sees fit: a strict, lawful society, a den of pure evil, a city of goodness, something more chaotic (and combinations of those).

Other concepts

I'll add more when they come to mind...