Amazon's Fallout TV Show: 10 Things Fans Need To See

There was much excitement back in July, when Amazon announced that it was working on a TV adaptation of the popular post-apocalyptic RPG videogame series, Fallout.

Few franchises inspire such devotion as Fallout. First published by Interplay in 1997, the open-world turn-based game was subtitled 'A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game', and while the graphics and gameplay have changed over the years, that remains the core principal behind the series.

Each game begins either in an underground vault (constructed by the mischievous Vault-Tec) or in the wastes of a destroyed city such as Washington DC or Boston. Throughout the player's adventure, there are dangerous enemies, futuristic weapons, people to help and a key mission to complete. Yet while it takes place in the future, the past is very important in Fallout. Reminders of life prior to armageddon are scattered everywhere, and the alternate historical timeline is a fascinating glimpse at a world that could have been.

So far, little is known about Amazon's Fallout. We know that the creators of Westworld are involved, and that they recently signed a five-year deal with the streaming giant. And in a parallel statement, Lisa Joy and Jonah Nolan confirmed they were in discussion with Todd Howard and 'the rest of the brilliant lunatics at Bethesda' to produce what has potential to be the videogame-television crossover phenomenon of the decade.

We all know the games - what key elements from Fallout will help make Amazon's TV show a hit?

The bombs in Fallout are where it all starts, or where it all ends, depending on your perspective.

For a conflict that lasted a long ten years, when the bombs came, they came quickly, and very few people were prepared. On October 23rd, 2077, China began launching nuclear missiles from its hidden bases and submarines. The United States retaliated, naturally, and the result was billions of casualties across the globe and a massively-poisoned landscape, soaked with radiation and practically uninhabitable. Those that survived arguably had it even worse.

The Fallout games have often depicted events surrounding The Great War. Most prologues contain a glimpse of the conflict, while Fallout 4 features a short introduction of life before the bombs, and a desperate dash to a nearby vault. When the Chinese bombs land in Boston, the blast shoots over the player as they descend agonisingly slowly into their protective underground refuge.

By way of introducing viewers fresh to the franchise, or simply creating an exciting start to the series, there can be few more dramatic scenes than nuclear devastation, and it also offers a unique chance to add perspective to Fallout's story.