The Xbox Twitter account has announced who will donate $ 10,000 to the Montgomery County Humane Society, an institute dedicated to animal rescue. He has also invited his followers to donate to this shelter that is located in Alabama, United States.
The donation was made due to the death of River, the German shepherd who gave life to Meatball, the Fallout 4 NPC. The death of the pet led Joel Burgess, one of the creative directors of the game, to do a long and moving thread about River
Bethesda and her relationship with River
From what Burgess says, Meatball’s behaviors and sounds come directly from River. Much of what we see in the game came after months of living together, walks through rural areas and even simulated stress situations. The team’s goal was to create a realistic dog and that’s why they made River a part of the team.
In this way, River spent months with Bethesda developers who tried to bring everything that was River to the game. Burgess comments that they programmed the NPC as a protector instead of an enemy attacker because that is how they perceived River in real life. Also, he recalled that Meatdoga / River won the award for Best Dog in a Video Game
The thread has led many people to share images with their own pets and from the game itself, as for many Meatball it is memorable. There have also been many donations to local groups. So a lot of good things have come out of River’s inclusion as an NPC.