i like how we arent a vault dweller looking for his son/father.

Man this a dark story. This would have really pushed one's morals because the odds are they would have had you doing questionable things to find the cure faster and in the end a bet you would have been the true enemy to the people of the wasteland or you dont do questionable things and more people die from the plague but your not hated

I’d actually love to see a version of this game become a prequel to New Vegas

It's very cool to see that Obsidian actually used a lot of the ideas from the Van Buren project. Such as there being several couriers like there are several prisoners. The satellite that can strike earth. Viktor the robot could also be a nod to the van buren villain, as well as Mr house considering his ending. They also decided to use Caesar's legion, as well as the powder gangers, which were supposed to be in Van Buren as well. Great video, you earned yourself one more sub!

I have a head canon that the main events of Van Buren did happen, while the finer details that conflict with lore are either discarded or altered to fit into the rest of the franchise. The entire setup plus the build up to the events of New Vegas are so cool and it breaks my heart that such a creative project was scrapped.

Honestly I prefer the fact we got New Vegas over this story line. The Legion IMO served as a much more realistic and grounded antagonist compared to Victor Presper, though it's clear that basically half of his character went to Ulysses and the other went to Caesar. On top of that, Lonesome Road seems to attempt recreate what BOMB1 was.

Oh! An interesting but very minor thing you missed- in the design document for the Blackfoot tribe, there's a SINGLE line reference to a companion named "Christine Royce"- which would get reused in Dead Money. Also, the reason Arcade and Jean-Paul are in both Van Buren and New Vegas is because they were actually first made as characters for a fallout tabletop game J.E. Sawyer would play with others.

2248?! Damn tandi lived a very long life

Currently, I'm working on transitioning Van Buren into a D&D campaign. These videos help immensely.

Argos kinda sucks. I don’t know what their intentions were really for that enemy, but it doesn’t sound so menacing if it just returns us to the prison again.

The blue flu hitting a bit on o close to home

Apparently Joshua Graham was supposed to make an appearance in Van Buren but was less nuanced and more of a maniac than his Honest Hearts portrayal.

Thats a damn good story.

A large part of the Van Buren plot was actually integrated in a mod for New Vegas called Beyond Boulder Dome.

honestly getting harrassed by the same robots periodically over and over again while working with a timer to hunt down other prisoners sounds like a really big pain in the ass

fun fact, the jefferson engine was going to be replaced with the gamebryo engine for fallout 3. then bethesda makes a fallout 3 game using the gamebryo engine(4 to but what ever.) on topic: you missed Daniel from honest hearts was also in van buren as one of the prisoners.

It would be interesting to play as a prisoner (good or bad character) trying to prove that you are innocent person or running from NCR . And also about fallout 4 , I wish they haven't removed the ending slides :( now you feel like you accomplished nothing . If that happened in van buren OMG XD Samurai Jack shit.

Wow this really need to become a future fallout game this is prefect to bring back the good old fallouts again

Macready's storyline in Fallout 4 might of recycled the new plague concept. He says his son was healthy one day, to suddenly get sick with a fever and blue boils all over his body. Since Bethesda likes to connect their games together. There can be a chance it's a major plotline for Fallout 5.

Seems like Victor the Securitron might've been been inspired by ARGOS too, I mean both follow the character anyways, lol.

Well, I'm subscribing - this stuff is great, and you have a very good "narration-voice", if that makes sense.

Fallout 1: where is the chip Fallout 2: where is the geck Fallout 3 : where is my dad Fallout New Vegas: Something something politics Fallout 3 Van Buren: why am I in prison?

Yo, this sounds so good tho. EDIT: Too many race against time moments tho. I don't like time limits.

They should just make the canon storyline from Van Buren (which lines up with the stories from new Vegas and FO1 and FO2) into a book.

I've read all of the van Buren design documents- glad to see someone share the information with others! Good job dude.

The BOMB part seems weird. That means they had planned to use an orbital nuke to cleanse their own region after a risk of an infection they engineered themselves for them. That's hard to believe, even in Fallout standards.

I hate how fallout keeps hitting the nail with it's predictions for the future

So a game where you would have started as a prisoner was cancelled as the franchise was sold to a publisher renowned for having games where you start as a prisoner. Seems legit.

They need to make this game, the story looks amazing

An important thing about Victor Presper that this video dosnt mention was that he was a pre-war survivor. He was already an accomplished scientist who was put into stasis before the bombs dropped (IIRC he predicted that nuclear war would happen) and his pre-war education and knowledge of technology meant he was considered a really valuable asset by the NCR (who he no clue where he came from, they just were really impressed with his level of technical knowledge). The people he didn’t want to get wiped out by his BOMB1 plot he would put into stasis beforehand and emerge after the 2nd apocalypse. This video is sorta old so this stuff may have already been commented on but maybe some curious visitor will see this and go hmm (or you could just read the van buren design documents). The pre-war scientist parts were also recycled into old world blues content (but modified with the brains in jars stuff. Presper was basically like a combination of the think tank and mobius but with his body intact).

I feel like starting as a prisoner was just telegraphing how Bethesda was gonna obtain the property.

That new plague is exactly COVID-19

I played Fallout 1 and 2 when they were new, I loved them both. I was not happy with Bethesda's Fallout 3 or 4 (although they were fun after tons of mods) That said... I'm not sure how much I would like Van Buren from this description. Time limit, race against time, being chased and have to move, towns being killed by disease so you have to rush. Rush rush rush. No. That's not what Fallout is about, its exploring, doing side quests, having conversations, killing tougher and tougher enemies in wasteland encounters. The only time limit was in Fallout 1, and only in the start. After you found the chip, you just took your time. Being captured by an unstoppable robot and being put back in a prison sounds really irritating. Now if we are being chased by killable enemies (even if they are hard.. I'd prefer them to be hard) bring it on... the more fighting the better.

It is interesting to see that Daniel from Honest Hearts was going to be in this. I will be sure to spray him with hand sanitizer or lysol next time I play that DLC, so I do not get the plague.

You unwittingly play as Typhoid Mary? That's brilliant!

It's scary how Van Buren starts out almost like Skyrim...

Good investigative research and a nicely put-together narrative! I'm a fan of Fallout lore and series, and now I know the story behind Fallout Van Buren, thanks to you! Much obliged for sharing it!

Boggles my mind how we have mods like new California or the frontier, but nobody has taken it upon themselves to finish and release Van Buren

Bom 2 can be found in Fallout 76. In the later stage of the game you will also be able to fire nukes, but from what we now up to know from ground sites. They can be used against others or to close "cracks" in the earth and the creating high levels of loot for a while.

i can literally imagine myself playing Van Buren screaming at Joshua to stop antagonising the people around him. Which, he wasn’t turned burned man until he failed caesar at the first battle of hoover dam or some crap, so it could be assumed he would’ve been a legion companion and still had the traits of “aggressive Legate”

have you guys seen the trailer to fallout 76? if so is one of the wrecked satellites/building a nod to van buren? You see it just for a small moment....

Anyone else here in 2020 and notice the striking similarity between "the new plague" and coronavirus?

I'd be optimistic because now Bethesda and Obsidian are Under the same umbrella now. But also we aren't gonna get any Fallout game for least 5 years.

OH MY GOD HOW I WOULDVE MUCH RATHER HAD PLAYED THAT THAN FO3

They should recreate like a Fallout Origins trilogy, like remastering FO1, FO2, And Van Buren in Fallout 4's engine

To me it a begin of the Game kinda similar to Skyrim opening where the dragons come and the player flee the area

"This game would take place in the Mdiwest commonwealth." *Sees the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde*

"The facility would come under attack by a group of soldiers led by [...] Victor" I knew it! Fallout New Vegas did take inspiration from Fallout Van Buren!

Is the New Plague a coronavirus? The back story is just too creepy.

What I’m seeing is that the next Fallout (spin-off) could basically be Van Buren, because NV doesn’t look like it retcons most of the stuff. Bethesda might make it (God Forbid), but I’m hoping Obsidian can make another game, being Van Buren. Maybe with some DLC being in the Mohave, maybe some in Legion Territory.

4:00 Oh no

Man, you have a nice voice. I hope someday we get to play this game via some loving 8 bit shoestring effort or a fully funded A+ project. Thank you :)

I like how Obsidian used some plot points of Van Buren for The Outer Worlds. I won't see Bethesda do that, that's for sure.

200,000 deaths caused a nationwide quarantine? Even the crazy world of fallout says to stay home

i think this channel deserves more credit. those videos are great!

If the GDD is publicly available - someone could take it and make this game, right?

sad that we don’t get to see Denver in Fallout

3:43 Based and red pilled slide

I wonder if the orbital strikes in the Broken Steel DLC were inspired by Van Buren.

This was really informative and perfectly explained, you made it really engaging. By the way, do you have any vocal training? Your inflections, pauses, emphasis and dips are impeccable!

Wtf this is more interesting than bethesda fallout 3 story what a shame i want to play this

this sounds like what would have been the greatest game ever made. Although that game is way to ambitious and advanced for the time it would have come out. There is no way most of the mechanics would have been possible back then.

That story hits a lil too close to home in 2020

3:41 sounds familiar

2:11 This (probably) creates a funny mental image if you live in the UK

Man, the new plague sound alot like the coronavirus. This game was ahead of its time

Hm, the plot thread with the scientist is a little bit too reminiscent of Fallout 1 and the Master, and the time limits don't sound very pleasing. Still better than the grey and dull re-tread that FO3 was, but I'm okay with the deal so far- New Vegas was great and FO4 (Especially Far Harbor) had some interesting improvements and additions to the series. If only FO76 was a co-op RPG instead of... whatever the hell it wants to be ^^

Hi Mr Retcon. Thank you for your video. I would love a fallout game in Denver. And I makes total sense with the super max prisons we have in the mountains.

You can play some van buuran in a fallout 2 mod. Unfortunately I don’t think we’ll ever see it expanded on due to the modded being a Russian and the whole war thing.

I personally consider aspects of Van Buren that doesn’t conflict with new Vegas canon. I mean, Bethesda doesn’t care about the canon at this point. Look at 76. So I’m happy with head canon now more than ever.

Sounds a lot better than fallout 3 2008

Not sure if we'll get timed quests since Bethesda has simplified the shit out of Fallout but if 5 were to come out I would love it if they went with the New Plague as the main plot.

Good stuff man! Have to ask. Have you tried Battle Brothers, you know since you liked turn-based stuff?

Wait the enclave existed before the apocalypse?

I read that van Buren Hoover dam was under dodge, an NCR now leader for the settlement

Fallout 5 might feature the plague as a big part of the story, it was in fallout 4. It was the virus Macready's son has.

the ONLY antoganist of the fallout titles god damn i am sick of looking at SUPER MUTANTS

Argos sounds kind of annoying honestly. I could see it being a big threat if it killed you, but just dragging you back to the starting point seems like padding.

Everyone in the comment section: *Interplay good, Bethesda bad*

I never knew about this. It’s located exactly where I wanted a fallout game

The next Fallout game needs to completely ditch the whole “Leave the vault and go find _____” bullshit. It’s so lame and tedious. We’ve seen it in every single game since Fallout 1. New Vegas was the only game to give us a completely radically new start to a Fallout game as you had to go hunt down and find your would-be killer, and get answers from him, only to find yourself caught up in a grander scheme to take over the entire region of New Vegas, and you had to the choice to decide who gets to wear the crown.

All I'd ask of Van Buren is to either make the Prisoner be a decendant of Mr. Bishop or to bring back the talking head that some npc's had

Somehow I feel like going through Deus Ex's story again, but it still sounds like a good story.

It seems to me that Mothership Zeta drew at least partially from this. As I recall (it’s been forever since I’ve played Fallout 3) near the end of Zeta you fire a death ray at Canada from outer space, reminiscent of shooting nukes from outer space.

The ticking clock of the disease killing visited towns could very easily become a really frustrating feature. Seems like that clock would be pretty fast so side quests and the like would become unavailable pretty fast.

This sounds so great!

Hey Retcon Raider your voice sounds like one who narrates of the top ten list channels.

So the character starts the game off in custody, before being rescued via a non-friendly entity? Why does that sound familiar..?

Gotta appreciate the ppl working in the fallout community tryna make van buren a game that was never released into one kinda sad progress has been very slow

bethesda story writers: "lets make our game the sole focus to find our family member in the wastes while we save the state while we're at it" Interplay/black isle/obsidian story writers: "lets make the whole fucking world have deep, deep, lore"

Being a vault dweller should have stayed in Fallout 1, and maybe 3 for reintroducing new people to the franchise, but I always dislike that every other bethesda's Fallout, the main character is always a vault dweller, like come on, there are so many people out there in the wasteland... interesting characters, stories, why is always a vault dweller looking for a relative the main story?

watching this because i was interested in Van Buren but oh boy... that new plague 😳

Fallout new Vegas happens after fallout 3 (the Bethesda one) and is referenced by arcade ganon that the bos hunted the enclave aka broken steel

One small thing i noticed about the story was how in fallout 1 you were a vault dweller, in 2 you were a tribal and in van buren you wouldve been a prisoner. While fallout 3, 4 and 76 all have you as a vault dweller. There's nothing wrong with being a vault dweller but its interesting how interplay and obsidian wanted you to be someone else like fallout 2 and nv

Yep, Bethesda Clearly went the other way with this one, this had potential. New Vegas would've been a literal successor to this instead of a spiritual one. I can see them trying to remake something similar to this on a Canadian based fallout game. Also the Prisoner would've been a true wastelander instead of a Vault dweller also, that's a fresh start. I'm expecting Fallout 5 to be in the Midwest or somewhere in the south, or even Canada, but have a strong feeling it's going to Missouri (St.Louis), or New Orleans.

Damn, this would have been a fun fallout. Iso or 3D, it's just a great concept. Still hoping for a Midwest Fallout.

Nice to see that it has its place in Fallout canon

there's a reality in which we got van buren and black isle kept the fallout ip and i'm just sad that i'm not in that reality

According to Bethesda the bombs fell in 2077, was it originally 2076 and later retconned?

I hope they use this idea in a future proper fallout singleplayer game