Tag: Fallout

‘Sense Of Place,’ Fallout 76 Research To Be Published In New Scientific Journal

 

A study done last year that found the video game Fallout 76 may help forge new emotional connections between those playing it and West Virginia, will be published in a new journal under the American Psychological Association. 

The new journal is titled Technology, Mind, and Behavior.

 

Texas Tech University associate professor Nick Bowman and colleagues spent three months studying more than 500 people who played Fallout 76. About 80 percent of those individuals were not native to West Virginia.

 

His team’s research found that players developed a “sense of place,” or a meaningful and emotional connection with the artifacts and places portrayed in the game.

 

Bowman said in an emailed statement that he hopes his findings add “to a body of research into video games that goes beyond basic criticism of the medium.”

 

He noted there is a lot of research that looks at the negative influence of games on players and that his research might provide something positive.

 

Bowman also said he hopes players, especially who are sheltering in place at home during the coronavirus pandemic, find some comfort in exploring West Virginia right now in virtual space.

 

“Of course not all games are social spaces and many folks are turning to their favorite games to take a temporary break from their surroundings … [but] video games can also be profoundly social spaces,” Bowman said. “Already our team has been thinking about ways to chat with World of Warcraft players to see how they’re finding each other online, both to completely forget about COVID-19 … and to bond with each other and stay in touch.”

 

Bowman said there is not yet a date set for the new publication, however the pre-print of his Fallout 76 research is currently available for viewing here.

W.Va. Tourism Officials Celebrate Launch of 'Fallout 76' Video Game

Bethesda Game Studios’ “Fallout 76” video game hit store shelves this week. West Virginia Tourism officials are hoping to promote the state to a wider audience with the game’s launch.

“Fallout 76” debuted Wednesday to a worldwide audience. The game takes place exclusively in West Virginia during a post-apocalyptic time period, and it’s the biggest game yet to come out of Bethesda Game Studios.

State Tourism officials heralded the game’s worldwide release with an event at the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston.

This latest installment in the “Fallout” family of games is a prequel to the rest. It features West Virginia folklore, monsters, and iconic places like Woodburn Hall on West Virginia University’s campus, the Greenbrier Resort, and the state Capitol.

West Virginia Tourism’s website features an interactive map of West Virginia locations included in the game.

Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby says West Virginia “has never had a tourism opportunity quite like this.”

 

In October, state Tourism officials announced a partnership with Bethesda to promote both the game and the state.

Reclamation Day: 'Fallout 76' Released to the Public

Imagine a world devastated by nuclear war. You’re one of a handful of lucky survivors who took shelter before the bombs fell and destroyed civilization as we know it. Your Vault-Tec bomb shelter is well-stocked and secure. You and your fellow survivors could live in the vault for years, decades even.

Life goes on in the vault much as it did before. Jobs are assigned, families form, civilization lives on. To pass the time, stories are told of the land that was and will be again. Songs of home and hill are sung with reverence to pass the time and find joy in the toil. Tales of resilience and heroism against impossible odds fuel the imagination. Stories about wild, wonderful West Virginia paint a picture of beauty and life, sorrow and struggle.

Children whose entire world is contained within this underground safe haven struggle to imagine a place that’s almost heaven, with hills bathed in glory. Sons and daughters of the mountains learn what it means to be a West Virginian without ever seeing the land they love. In the dark, tales of monsters and unimaginable horror haunt nightmares as well.

Years pass this way. Young and old eagerly await “Reclamation Day,” the day the vault doors open, and celebrate its coming every year like the homecoming celebrations of old. Reclamation Day is the day we’ll have a chance to rebuild the world that was lost, a world that lives on in the memories of some and the dreams of others, a day to remember that, no matter the struggle, Mountaineers are always free.

“For when the fighting has stopped, and the fallout has settled, you must rebuild. In Vault 76, our future begins.”

This is the world Bethesda Game Studios has created in “Fallout 76.”

If you’re from West Virginia, you can tell that it is remarkably different from other games in the “Fallout” series in one important regard. In the eight other installments in the series, those locked away in these underground fallout shelters view the outside world with suspicion, leaving the safety of their vaults to take on the dangers of the outside world only when forced to do so.

But in the trailer for “Fallout 76,” viewers see the remains of a party in one of these vaults– decorated with streamers and balloons, confetti scattered and completely empty. At the first opportunity, every resident of Vault 76 abandoned the safety to return to the home they love, even those who had never experienced it’s beauty before nuclear war.

Who but West Virginians would be eager to return to their war-torn world for the chance to rebuild it?

Who but sons and daughters of the Mountain State would keep the dreams and stories of what it means to be West Virginian alive for all that time?

Who but Mountaineers would celebrate “Reclamation Day” as a homecoming? Without help, working to make the world a better place with nothing but pure grit and Mountain ingenuity.

Twenty million players will learn firsthand through Wednesday’s release of “Fallout 76” what it means to be a West Virginian and what it’s like to live in the Mountain State – the beauty and the struggle, the identity and pride, the sacrifice and the joy.

They’ll learn what it means to be a Mountaineer and why Mountaineers are always free.

John Barton is a resident of Lincoln County, West Virginia, and runs 100 Days in Appalachia’s “Fallout 76” Reddit page. He and his wife, Christal, are the founders of WV Autism, a support group for the families of children with autism in the state.

New Partnership with Award-Winning Video Game Publisher Aims to Boost Tourism in W.Va.

The award-winning video game publisher Bethesda Softworks is launching a new online game set in post-nuclear West Virginia, and the West Virginia Tourism Office is partnering with the company to promote both the game and the state.

Gov. Jim Justice said in a news release the West Virginia Tourism Office will collaborate with Bethesda Softworks to create advertising strategies to educate players about West Virginia’s landscape and culture, as well as offer an open invitation to visit the state over the coming months.

“It’s finally time the rest of the world sees what a gem West Virginia is,” said Justice. “For years, I’ve been saying we have it all: beautiful scenery, the best people you could ask for and more. And now, we get to share a piece of that with people all over the world through the unique lens of this video game.”

The game, called Fallout 76, was officially announced in June and is a prequel to the family of Fallout video games that started in the late 90s. All Fallout games are set in post-apocalyptic times with cyberpunk and retro futuristic art and style.

Credit Bethesda Softworks, LLC
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Fallout 76 will be the largest and most ambitious of the Fallout family of games. Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby said in the news release she feels the partnership with Bethesda will be a major benefit to the state.

“Our goal is to welcome each and every one of the game’s players to Almost Heaven,” said Ruby. “Bethesda has been a terrific partner since day one. They’ve really embraced West Virginia and its beauty. We believe this unique partnership has tremendous potential to bring folks to visit the Mountain State.”

Fallout 76 is set to launch in November.

Latest in Popular Video Game Series to Be Set in West Virginia

West Virginia will be the setting for the latest in a video game series with an international following. The game will feature landscapes, folklore and well-known locations from around the state in a post-apocalyptic time period.

Over the weekend, American-based Bethesda Game Studios revealed a new trailer and exclusive gameplay for its biggest video game to-date titled, Fallout 76.

Bethesda Director and Executive Producer Todd Howard revealed details for the upcoming game at the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“Set in the hills of West Virginia,” he said, “you are one of the first to emerge into an untamed and very different wasteland.”

Howard says Fallout 76 is a prequel to the family of Fallout video games that started in the late 90s and set in post-apocalyptic times with cyberpunk and retro futuristic art and style.

Some well-known locations are seen in the latest game trailer, like the State Capitol, the Greenbrier Resort, and West Virginia University’s Woodburn Hall. Some of West Virginia’s own local monsters, like the Beast of Grafton and the Mothman, also make an appearance.

“Now most people don’t know West Virginia that well,” Howard said. “It is an incredible array of natural wonders, towns, and government secrets, and the quest will take you through six distinct regions; each with their own style, risks, and rewards.”

Howard says Fallout 76 will be the first Fallout game to be played entirely online and uses new technology to enhance gameplay and visual landscape.

Both the teaser and the latest trailer feature John Denver’s song “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

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