Cain appreciated the performances and storytelling, but singled out how the show nailed the Fallout “vibe” as its biggest achievement. “I was just looking at all the props,” he said of one scene. “I realized after a few minutes went by that I had not followed the dialogue at all, because I was so engrossed by it visually.”
On a more sour note, Cain took time to address the way fans of the series can behave poorly online, particularly regarding any perceived rivalry between Fallout entries developed by Bethesda (3, 4, and 76), and those from Interplay, Black Isle, and Obsidian (1, 2, and New Vegas). Cain spoke positively of Todd Howard, and said that “Some of the stuff you [series fans] say online is so off.” See also: the debate about whether the show somehow overrode or ignored the events of those non-Bethesda games, which has since been denied by a senior developer at the studio.
I don’t see many people saying that. I see more people expressing disappointment in the apparently underwhelming and abrupt demise of the NCR, which for all practical purposes resets the west coast to a lawless Fallout 1 type state.
I’m not sure where I stand on that, because I could see the unraveling of the NCR as being interesting if expanded upon, but the point is that it is a reasonable opinion to hold. This Tim Cain video isn’t saying people shouldn’t criticize things or that they are unreasonable for not enjoying things. He’s saying that regardless of the merits of a production, you shouldn’t level personal attacks and moral judgements on creators just because you don’t personally like what they made.
That is a fair point and one I share; though I admit my bias. The NCR was always my favorite of the factions (excluding myself through Yes Man in NV) and it just seemed kinda fucked up with what they did to them. Not so much that they basically deleted them, but that they did it off-screen. I hope that future seasons explore that instead of using it as an excuse to not feature the NCR ever again.