Last week we were able to share a moment with ourselves Jonathan RushArt Director, am Fallout 76 about the latest game update. Rendezvous with the Moon, as it is known, is the sixteenth major update and introduces new events and a new questline Costa shopholotapes, notes, blueprints, etc. It has been available since June 23rd.
Hollywood and horror cinema as a source of inspiration
How did you envision the Hollywood-style rewards for the final season and what can players expect in future updates?
Pre-war Hollywood is a subject that we didn’t really address in the Fallout series. As a tribute to our community of builders, and as a respect to our community of people who love to get out and shoot things, this style of packaging has resulted in some really cool rewards for people to use to gear up or build their camps and offer as a quick look at another angle of Fallout.
We would like to continue this trend for the next few seasons, right? We are always striving to enrich the gaming experience. So if the theme fits the Fallout universe and there are a lot of fun and interesting options that we can offer our players, then we will.
What was the inspiration behind the new cryptids, the Ogua and the Blue Demon? Were you sitting around telling horror stories or something?
It’s funny you say that because it’s kind of true. If you look at the coat of arms you can see the group of caravan leaders sitting around the fire and the blue devil in the background howling like a werewolf.
I think one of the benefits of being able to tell a fallout story in the woods is that you can sort of leverage the elements of campfire stories where people look over their shoulders to make sure nothing sneaks into the bushes Take that back to the cryptids. Cryptids were a concept for me. At least it was a relatively new thing.
Of course by the time I turned 76 I knew what the Mothman was, in the movies, in the books, in the Sheepsquatch and whatnot, but I didn’t know they were called cryptids. When we first started researching cryptids, I was amazed at how many there actually were. In West Virginia alone, I think a few dozen. There are tons of them. This is of course. Some were a little crazier than others, and others seemed to fit right into the Fallout universe.
So Ogua, it was just like that, it’s really cool. I mean, snapping turtles are something of a simple nutcase and finding a way to house them was just a fluke. So we found the opportunity to do that with this update, and the blue devil kind of evoked the kind of werewolf horror vibe that haunts people at night. And it seemed to fit well with the themes of these public events related to the Blue Ridge Caravan and the protection of their wares.
An aesthetic that follows a clearly defined process
How do you go about designing new content that is visually compelling and unique while making sure it fits into the existing world of Fallout 76?
When we think about new content for the game, it all starts. This is the general theme, the context of the content must fit the theme of the world of Fallout. As part of 76, the Blue Ridge Caravan is one of the fan favorite factions and they are very unique and specific to Fallout 76, which made us want to push their story even further. There are many characters in this faction that players are dying to know about, such as the ram in the promo artwork.
To make sure it sticks, we make sure the bones match the rest of the world. After we match the basic level with the rest of the world, theme, tone and rhythm are a kind of decoration to make us stand out from others.
They brought a real sheep skull as a reference for the creation of the Sheepsquatch Club. In the Rendezvous with the Moon update, were there any other similar examples of real-world item or creature inspiration?
I don’t have anything that I have physical copies of for the Rendezvous with the Moon update.
No, it was more about the collecting, collecting media references for snapping turtles, and the blue devil is interesting because we didn’t want him to look like a die-hard werewolf.
We wanted him to have other spooky elements and give him a sort of crouched pose that sets him apart from the traditional werewolf-like creature that was the focus of our original designs.
Can you explain how the development process works? How do you work with other teams, such as the game or story teams, to plan and execute an update?
Therefore, it is first necessary to get an overview. What kind of content do we plan to release over the years? What kind of content? What pace do we want to give this project? What are the highlights?
And then we bring in the design and we tell them, “We want to create a new expedition space.” We want to create a new space for quests and story content. Let’s do Atlantic City.
So quest design and system design. What does that mean ? How does it look like? how big is the room How many missions are there? How many quests are there?Until the quest design brings out the story, characters, tone, and lore, what kind of rewards do we have and we take that information and then move on to the art?
It’s like saying to ourselves, “Okay, we need to expand this space now.” The level design will flesh out the framework of the space. The art will then spice it up and decorate it with all the clutter, lighting and weather. So it is a comprehensive process. This starts with the calendar and continues with the design of simple documents.
What’s next for Fallout 76?
How has your role as Art Director on Fallout 76 evolved over the years?
That’s a good question. You know, I think Bethesda Games is really cool and unique because it allows people to explore many different facets of game production.
In the beginning I was fortunate to be quite involved in the production aspect, the programming. I believe that early programming experiences during my career as an art director gave me additional vocabulary to communicate more effectively with other departments.
How does the Rendezvous with the Moon update fit into your overall Fallout 76 picture?
Well, I mean, the general idea of 76 is to do more of what players love. Players love public events. They love fighting new bosses. You enjoy getting all the rewards that come with it. This is therefore part of a broader perspective: No doubt there will be more such events in the future. I wish it happened more often.
We’ll see what happens, but there will certainly be more projects like this in the future to find ways to use the Appalachian region and possibly other regions as well.
You mentioned the cadences of MAJ. Are there ongoing conversations in the studio about whether the schedule you’re currently using is consistent with what the teams can produce? Or are you planning to extend this schedule?
The good news for us is that we never run out of ideas. We have so much to do. I mean we could stay here for the next 50 years.
Yes, what we need to do is look at the list of things we are bringing to the game or the way we want to develop it further and prioritize them based on what we think players will respond better to would or how it would really enrich their gaming experience.
Once that list of features or experiences is prioritized, we need to look at the studio layout, headcount, and timeline, and then plot along the timeline from there.
If I understand correctly, is the calendar set by the teams working at least for them at the moment?
Yes, yes, that’s, you know, one of the challenges with online gaming, of course it’s these regular updates, online gaming can be really difficult to work with.
But like I said, we have a very experienced team 76er dedicated and we’re very confident that we can maintain that pace for our players.
What should players look forward to in upcoming updates?
Atlantic city. I wish I could show things, I wish I could talk more about them. Damn, this is the coolest content ever on 76. It’s really fun. Players will love it and I can’t wait to show them this project.
A planned release date or window?
As far as Atlantic City is concerned, we brought out a first highlight this year. Then a second one will be released early next year.