After the success of Fallout 3 and New Vegas, people have been clamoring for a sequel to Bethesda’s beloved RPG survival shooter. Bethesda has been a little silent on the subject, leading to a lot of speculation to when – even if – it would be released.

(Said speculation in video form.)

So I’ve done what any sane person would do with an unholy obsession for more Fallout: I’ve made a list of demands for the sequel that I want. You can yell at me all you like, but this is my list… so make your own if you don’t agree.

No MMO

A lot of speculation has been circling around the idea that Fallout 4 could potentially be an MMO. It’s not unfounded speculation, as Bethesda and Zenimax have taken the Elder Scrolls game franchise into that territory (although the reviews are mixed).

I don’t think Fallout would make a good MMO. The whole point of Fallout is feeling like you survived the apocalypse only to be stuck in an irradiated wasteland with little friends, food, or weapons. Turning it into an MMO would alter the tone of the game. Users’ experiences would be ruined by people running around naked spamming the talk button to let everyone know how large their genitalia is. Bethesda would have to sacrifice atmosphere and tone, and I don’t think the sales would be close enough to condone such a switch.

Borderlands-style Co-Op

Now, while I don’t like the massive online genre for Fallout 4, I do think that Borderlands style of online Co-Op would be great. What better way to brave the wasteland of America than with 3 other friends? You could adventure together or separate out multi-tiered quests between players, turning glorified fetch quests into a group operation. Which leads me to my next point.

A Dynamic Wasteland

You know what caught my attention in Fallout 3? It wasn’t the bombs, bullets or bottle caps. It was my little home in Megaton. It was the Super Duper Mart full of blood-thirsty bandits. What was the difference between these bandits and my own existence in the Fallout world? They had a base and I had a shabby little home that had to be gifted to me.

Why not allow players to grab a piece of territory and hold it? If I wanted to kill those bandits and set up shop in Super Duper Mart, I should be able to. How awesome would it be to create a camp in the wastes, gather followers (and co-op friends) and create my own society? What I saw in Fallout 3 was a severe lack of leadership, a void I was willing to fill with my own post-apocalyptic ideology. New Vegas made this a little better by giving you more factions to befriend and follow, but that made the problem even more apparent: you were just following. Go get these items, help me write this book, blow up this bomb for me and I’ll give you (blank). What if I didn’t want to be a glorified mercenary? Maybe I want to become the next president of the Wasteland. Maybe my group of friends already have ideas for how to set up a cool tribe of survivalists.

It would add to the gritty atmosphere of Fallout 4 if I could walk into the Super Duper Mart, lay waste to the bandits, and set up shop and claim it as my homestead. I would have to defend it, of course, but it would add another layer to your home and give me a sense of ownership. My home would no longer be a place of safety like my little apartment in Megaton. I would have to scratch a living trying to keep my place from being over-run by giant ants, bandits, super mutants, or even … gasp … DeathClaws.

Paired with a strong RPG narrative, this new survival dynamic would allow players to make the experience more their own. It would also establish the perception that your actions have genuine consequences. Did you cause trouble in a nearby town? Expect the angry citizens (or law bringers) to come knocking on your door. Thus, in turn, this would also flesh out the Karma system in Fallout and allow you genuine repercussions for your actions and words.

Look Beyond ‘Fetch Quests’

Collect trinket B and deliver it to quest giver A for C Reward. Plug in whatever you want for the

variables, but a fetch quest has a very generic feel to it, especially after completing about 20 of the same type. If I have to travel far and wide to get something, have it at least make sense. But better yet, try to deviate from the tried and true fetch quest formula when possible. The unfortunate part about Fallout 3’s main campaign was that trying to find your dad felt like one big fetch quest. Why do I need to go find someone, and why does it have to take so long to do it? Don’t use fetch quests as filler.

Branching Stories, Please

What I loved about Fallout New Vegas was that the different factions involved (NCR, the Legion, and the New Vegas crew) altered the main quests based on who you wanted to work with. It was great, and something that was lacking in Fallout 3. I really hope that with Fallout 4, we get a story that will adapt to the choices we make and will allow us to become our own boss. I could follow the main quest, but maybe I want to do it my own way, and with my group of rag tag survivors.

In the end, Fallout 4 is most likely on the way and I hope Bethesda will consider how their content could be enriched by these suggestions. Fallout could use the added dynamic complexities.

But what about you? What would you like to see in the next Fallout game? Comment below, and I’ll see you in the wasteland.