Oops: Video game publishers often receive criticism for poor stewardship of the industry's history. Many don't care about game preservation; some make critical errors when they profess to care. Recent comments from the producer of the original Fallout should serve as a reminder that archives should always have redundancies.
Tim Cain, one of Fallout's original creators, revealed that the production assets for the first game are probably lost. In a recent video on game preservation, he blamed publishers' hubris and carelessness as key barriers to safeguarding development history. His remarks underscore the importance of redundant backups and better stewardship of gaming's creative legacy.
After Cain left Interplay during Fallout 2's development, the company ordered him to destroy his personal archives. He complied, believing Interplay would maintain the official materials. However, the company failed to preserve them, leaving a significant gap in the historical record of the franchise's development.
Ironically, the company called Cain to ask if he still had his files. He initially suspected that they planned to sue him if he did. However, it was the opposite – Interplay hoped that Cain had disobeyed orders and maintained a redundancy because the company had lost its repository.
Bethesda and Microsoft can continue re-releasing the original Fallout games thanks to Interplay's recovery of the final retail build and GOG's commitment to maintaining compatibility with modern Windows systems. However, much of the game's original production material – including source artwork and the clay models used to film dialogue portraits – is now lost forever.
A particularly notable loss is an early build of Fallout that used the GURPS ruleset developed by Steve Jackson Games. Interplay replaced it with the SPECIAL system after licensing negotiations fell through, but the original GURPS version no longer exists.
Cain also explained that source code was often lost in earlier decades because some developers kept materials private and eventually misplaced them, making the same mistake as Interplay. In other cases, no organized preservation effort existed at all.
Publicly releasing the source code is the best method for preserving classic games. It allows modding communities to continue their work and ensures games remain accessible. Iconic titles like Doom and Quake have been open-source for years. In celebration of Command & Conquer's recent 30th anniversary, EA released the code for five games in the series.
Cain's recent videos illuminate other interesting aspects of Fallout's early history. In 2021, he explained why Interplay's original Fallout 3 project, codenamed Van Buren, failed before Bethesda developed the Fallout 3 we all know. Cain also revealed some of his unfulfilled wishes for the franchise.
