Understanding Fallout’s Canon with Tim Cain

What the Heck is Canon Anyway?

So, Tim Cain, one of the legends behind Fallout, threw down some knowledge recently about what it means to stand by something in the gaming world, a little thing called canon. Basically, he says that canon is whatever the owner of a franchise decides it is. Yep, it’s that simple! But, hey, that’s totally fine because the glorious thing about interpretations is that nobody’s really wrong—at least not if they’re having fun with it!

The Case of Harold: Ghoul, Mutant, or Something Else?

Now, let’s talk about Harold. You know, that loveable, mutant tree-man straight out of the original Fallout game? He’s like if a tree hugger went a bit too far and became a walking environmental issue. Players have been scratching their heads for ages, trying to figure out if he’s a ghoul, a mutant, or maybe just a guy who’s had one too many Nuka-Cola’s. According to Cain, it’s all up for debate. If the caretakers of Fallout say Harold’s a ghoul, then you gotta roll with it. But hey, you could also think he’s neither! And guess what? That’s perfectly okay! There’s beauty in how we all see things differently.

Cain also gets into why the whole community sentiment thing can kind of get messy. He reminds us that while it’s fun to debate what’s real in the gaming universe, developers—even a whole room of them—often have divergently different views about what canon even is! Unlike a short story that has one or two minds behind it, games are like a potluck dinner where everyone brings their own dish to the table, and sometimes the flavors don’t exactly match up.

In the grand scheme of things, Cain believes communities should not dictate canon based on popular opinion. You know, the whole “tyranny of the majority” thing—because who really wants a game defined by what the loudest voices say online? It’s like letting the most dramatic kid in class run the show.

So, at the end of the day, when you’re knee-deep in Fallout debates online, remember: discussions about canon often just boil down to everyone sharing their unique interpretations. And as Cain himself said with a wink, if it’s his game, he’s all good with whatever intent he had in mind. So keep your debates lively, folks, and remember that no matter how twisted the canon might be, your take on it is yours alone!