So, another post about Pre-war America - no, I'm not ranting about the lack of Pre-war mentioning articles. Essentially, this time, I'm talking about;
THE PRE-WAR PLEASURE VILLAGES OF YESTERYEAR!
But first, a word from our sponsor;
NUKA COLA; A delicious beverage, refreshing and cool, even IF you don't know how to open the bottle, it still tastes cool!
You know the types; Point Lookout, Primm, etc. I'm a big fan of the idea of insular, or quasi-insular, communities that were built solely for tourists. These types of places really echo the whole Pre-war luxury of the US and make the point of the rise and fall of America. Primm less so, however, mostly thanks to the real lack of any tourists in the town, the lack of any backstory for the place and the real lack of any defining characters; you could make the case for Primm Slimm, but I digress. Point Lookout, however, has an atmosphere of lost life, which oddly serves to make it one of the most remarkable and stand out places in the Fallout universe for me for it's life. The place feels like it has a life of it's own, with the odd Swampers and feral Dogs running through the long abandoned boardwalk and town, with the few non-hostile people left in the town clinging on, taking refuge in the boardwalk which still boasts about malt sodas and popcorn. The old bumper cars and ferris wheel further add to the atmosphere of lost innocence of the Pre-war world. Then, the Point Lookout bank, motel rooms and naval recruitment station all show the darker side of the Pre-war world; the new plague fear, greed and criminality, the pint-sized slasher's infamy and the espionage and rivalry conducted between the two remaining super-powers of the Pre-war world.
The swamps of Point Lookout, making up the majority of the map, add plenty of Pre-war backstory; adding further to the espionage between the two countries by highlighting torture methods used in interrogating suspected spies at the Turtledove concentration camp and then highlighting the less-than-ethical activities of Pre-war companies before the Great War, like for instance the Bysshe Company's search for bio-gas deposits to maximize profits, despite the ethical qualms of acquiring the gas from the massive amount of corpses buried in the swamps. The inhabitants of the swamp even add something to the Pre-war focus themselves; highlighting the various ways which people recovering from the war managed the collapse of society. With disease, inbreeding and mental illness becoming rife, it highlights the collapse. It also highlights Post-war farming and the darker businesses of the Post-war world, with moonshine, chem and weapons smuggling being shown.
If you've got your own opinions, knowledge or ideas about the Pre-war world and how the old world is echoed through the "modern" Post-war world, post 'em down below.
Cheers.
(This presentation was brought to you by Vault-Tec's Happy-Chappy© greeter system)