Fallout Shelter
Fallout Shelter – Vault Experiments
Fallout Shelter
“I have a Death Room,” says Matt Grandstaff.
While that might not seem very communal coming from Bethesda’s Global Community Lead, Matt has a straightforward reason for this somewhat drastic interior-design choice: The good of the many outweighs the good of few. If that sounds draconian, well… this is the post-apocalypse, and if mankind is to survive in this nuke-blasted wasteland, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Welcome to Matt’s Vault 025 in Fallout Shelter – available now for free on Google Play and the App Store. The critically acclaimed simulation rocketed to the top of the iOS charts when it debuted in June, and has been a staple on Matt’s phone ever since. But, like many longtime Overseers, Matt is now taking the next logical step to enhance his experience in the Wasteland: role-playing various scenarios for his personal amusement. Hey, he’s the Overseer, so why not?
Whether you’ve just started on your journey as an Overseer, or are already managing multiple Vaults, role-playing in Fallout Shelter adds a new dimension to an already addictive experience. Following are three of our own Vault Experiments that you can try for yourself.
People Person’s Paper Vault
When it came to Matt Clinkscales’ Vault Experiment, he turned to one of his favorite sitcoms for inspiration: The Office. “My goal is to re-create the cast of the show in a post-nuclear underground Vault,” says the game’s brand manager. “This includes matching up each new dweller with a similar member of the cast.”
Clink (as he’s known around our office) started simply enough with well-known staples like Michael Scott and Pam Beesly. But soon enough, Clink had to start digging deep, layering in late-season additions like Holly Flax and Clark Green. Clink is also doing his best to stay true to the show. “I have to make sure that Dwight Schrute is protecting the Vault,” he says, “and keep Kelly Kapoor in stylish Vault clothing.”
The biggest challenge in Clink’s Vault 200 (borrowing the suite number of the show’s Dunder Mifflin Paper Company): “Keeping the relationships canonical is impossible,” Clink groans “Jim and Pam haven’t quite been a match in my vault, which is breaking my heart. Then again, it wasn’t till the end of the third season that their romance really began… so there’s always hope!”
Family Affair
Never mind the nuclear winter outside the Vault. For Vice President of PR & Marketing Pete Hines, winter is coming inside his vault.
“I basically built my own Craster’s Keep,” Pete says, referring to the ornery wildling from the Game of Thrones series. For those who aren’t familiar with either the books or the HBO show, Craster is a peculiar fellow who lives north of a giant wall of ice, and survives the threat of the deadly White Walkers by breeding his own family. Yech!
In Pete’s case, that meant every child in this particular Vault was sired by one (very busy) man. “I didn’t take it to the extreme by expelling all males from the Vault, but you could,” Pete says. His one ProTip? “Make sure you name all the kids in a way that helps you keep track of moms versus the daughters. Comes in handy.”
Pete wasn’t just thinking about Game of Thrones when he started this particular experiment, though. He also drew inspiration from the legendary Vault 69, which was populated with 999 women and one man. “Conversely, Vault 68 had all men and one woman,” Pete says. “I haven’t been brave enough to try that one yet!”
Natural Selection
Having spent more than 100 hours in Fallout Shelter, Matt Grandstaff now has a Vault that’s at full capacity. And yet, like any happening location (or, perhaps, because it’s the only happening location in the Wasteland), more and more people keep on knockin’ on that Vault door. How to deal with the influx of potential dwellers? “I’m executing a process called Matt-ural Selection, where I weed out the weaker – and sadder – dwellers for the better ones,” Matt says.
Enter the Death Room: an empty power plant where hapless dwellers are sent in groups of two or three, unceremoniously stripped of their weapons and uniforms, and subject to repeated Rush modes.
Chin up, though! Matt isn’t an unreasonable Overseer. All he requires is that dwellers maintain a happiness rating of 80% or higher. A Debbie Downer can also escape the Death Room if he or she successfully completes three Rush modes. “If they fail at any point, they’re subject to Rush modes until they can fight no more,” Matt says. “At that point, I welcome new replacement dwellers with a big smile.”
Like any gladiatorial arena, the Death Room has spawned one legend: a dweller named Adam Murray, who survived a whopping seven consecutive Rush modes. “He died in the Death Room weeks later,” Matt sighs. “His name lives on as an inspiration for all mankind.”
Do you have a Vault Experiment of your own? Let us know by sharing your #VaultLife experiments on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and we’ll round up some of our favorites to share with all of you. We might even send you a nifty gift for telling us your stories! Keep an eye on this post for updates and other cool ways to role-play within Fallout Shelter.
Be sure to check more Fallout Shelter features on Bethesda.net:
Fallout Shelter DOs & DON’Ts for First-Time Overseers
Fallout Shelter: A Better Life... Underground and on Android!
