For the first third of the game, I have to say I was enthralled by this little mystery. Sure, it’s totally derivative of classic sci-fi tropes, but an idea doesn’t have to be original to be compelling. Now, this is a pretty great setup for a story. When The Institute kidnaps the player’s infant son, it becomes their mission to rescue their child and to uncover the truth behind this shady organization. How Do You Tell a Good Story in an Open World RPG? No one is quite sure why they’re doing this, but it’s clear they’re trying to manipulate the wasteland toward some mysterious end. To make things worse, their salvage teams shoot civilians on sight. They believe they’re kidnapping their friends and family, and replacing them with synthetic clones. The people of The Wasteland are terrified of this organization. In many cases, they’re stronger, smarter, and never need to sleep, eat, or succumb to disease. The most advanced synths are completely indistinguishable from humans, with blood and flesh reminiscent of the replicants in Blade Runner. Their greatest achievements are “synths:” super-advanced, artificial people.
The Institute’s motto is “mankind, redefined.” They live in a retro-futuristic utopia beneath the ruins of MIT, where they work on all sorts of wondrous technology to improve their lives. But The Institute is so poorly written, so confusing, and so full of plot holes, that we really need to drill down and deconstruct it.
Normally, I try to keep these articles focused on solutions rather than problems. Breaking Down The Storyīefore we can fix The Institute, we need to understand why it doesn’t work.
So, how do we improve The Institute? How do we turn these bumbling scientists into a compelling organization? Well, let’s take a look! Worst of all, the player never gets a chance to learn anything of substance about them, nor can they change them for the better. Their goals are inconsistent and nonsensical. Their actions are both incompetent and corrupt. Out of all of FALLOUT 4’s factions, people make fun of The Institute the most.
In the last installment, we talked about The Railroad, transforming this ragtag band of wannabe spies into a clandestine operation full of lies and intrigue. So, rather than continue to bash the game for its problems, why not learn from it instead? What can this game’s shortcomings teach us about narrative, gameplay, and worldbuilding? How can we improve upon FALLOUT 4? In the last article, we focused on FALLOUT 4, its narrative, and the in-game faction known as “The Railroad.” For this installment, we’ll deconstruct The Institute.įALLOUT 4’s issues have been discussed at length. In this series, we deconstruct video games and try to improve them.
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