Abstract
Problem: What does Fallout's creator most regret about the development of Fallout 1 and Fallout 2?
Approach: Tim Cain answers a viewer question, splitting his answer into separate regrets for each game, drawing on his development notes and memory of the production timeline.
Findings: For Fallout 1, the biggest regret is companion AI — companions were added too late and inherited enemy NPC code, leading to infamous friendly fire issues. For Fallout 2, it's the cut "Abbey of Lost Knowledge" location, a pacifist order preserving pre-war knowledge that would have served as a philosophical counterpoint to the Brotherhood of Steel.
Key insight: Both regrets stem from the same root cause: insufficient development time. The companion problems were later solved in Arcanum, while the Abbey concept — directly inspired by A Canticle for Leibowitz — never found a home in any shipped game.
References
- Tim Cain. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbFYkw1zlcA