Fallout 4 Rumors: Boston and Three Dog

Hardcore Wastelanders have been anticipating Fallout 4 since we finished the final add-on for Fallout: New Vegas, "Lonesome Road". Yesterday, Reddit user GNR_Informant posted claims about Fallout 4 that supposedly came from a friend who “works in Public Relations at Bethesda.”

GNR_Informant writes:

•First and foremost, the game will take place in Boston, and be kind of a direct sequel to Fallout 3 with a few groups returning. 

•From what it sounds like, "The Institute" is pretty much the downtown DC or New Vegas of this game. Boston is going to be unlike anything we've seen in a Fallout game before, with buildings more on par with cyberpunk and retro-futurism. 

•Androids play a big part in this game. The railroad from Fallout 3 is a faction. The enemies of the railroad is "the Plantation" -- a group who force Androids to farm so that Humans can get food. The Institute is highly advanced and probably obtained or built their own GECK to start a farm. 

•Due to complaints about using Super Mutants and the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 3 excessively and going against the lore too much, Bethesda has decided to avoid using these groups. Bethesda wants to make a new "race" (think Ghoul, Super Mutant) which will be central to Boston. Bethesda is currently looking at Lovecraftian fiction since Boston is around "Lovecraft Country". 

•Bethesda has no plans to reinvent the leveling up system to make it more like Skyrim and want to make Fallout 4 more distinct from Skyrim since of the complaints that Oblivion and Fallout 3 were too similar. Bethesda is thinking about introducing a system, similar to Skyrim, where your skills can level up if you perform certain tasks.

These are not the first indications that the next Fallout game will be set in and around Boston. Back in June of 2012, Reddit user nMarauder reported that representatives from Bethesda were scouting MIT as a potential setting for a future project. A second Reddit user--Fallout4boston--Xbox 720/Xbox Next and Playstation 4).out_4_will_take_place_in_boston/" target="_blank" title="Fallout 4 in Boston">corroborated nMarauder’s claim two months later.

GNR_Informant's post appears just three days after voice actor Erik Todd Dellums tweeted: “To all my #Fallout3 and #ThreeDog fans: There may be more of the Dog coming! Fingers crossed!” While Bethesda has yet to confirm any of these rumors, Dellums’s tweet indicates that Bethesda is in some stage of development for the next title in the popular Fallout series. At this point, it is only safe to say that any Fallout game that Bethesda has yet to announce will be developed and released for the next-gen consoles (Xbox 720/Xbox Next and Playstation 4).

Fallout 4 and Dragon Age 3 Rumors

Fallout 4 To Be Set in Boston?
Fallout 4 is an inevitability. Bethesda's Fallout 3 was extremely successful among gamers and critics. Skyrim DLC will likely remain the priority, but there is no doubt that a creative team has been working on Fallout 4 since the last New Vegas DLC. The Fallout games have been set in California, Nevada, Utah, Texas, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Maryland. According to Reddit user "Fallout4boston," the next Fallout game will be based in Boston. "Fallout4boston" claims to be an MIT employee and, according to the post, the Boston-area school will play an important role in the next game.

Fans of Fallout 3 may remember that "The Commonwealth"--the name for New England in the Fallout canon--is home to the Institute, an organization built from the remnants of MIT that creates androids. The story was developed in the quest "The Replicated Man" where we learn that a group called The Railroad works to help androids gain their independence--clearly referencing the nineteenth-century Underground Railroad.

[Correction: I had stated that Bethesda had developed Fallout: New Vegas. New Vegas was actually developed by Obsidian. Thanks to reddit user olioster for pointing that out.]

Playing the Role of The Inquisitor in Dragon Age III
Two leaked Dragon Age III surveys may give a sneak peak into the third installment in the series. Developers have already revealed that the game will be set in Orlais, but these surveys could reveal the premise of the plot and some points about the companions and gameplay.

The first document gives these details:

"The great nation of Orlais, the most powerful empire in Dragon Age, tears itself apart in civil war. The stout men and women of Ferelden struggle to recover and reclaim their nation from the horde of vile Darkspawn that lay waste to its lands a decade ago.
"The Chantry, the once-unified faith of the Dragon Age world stands divided. The Templar order has broken away, claiming the church has become too lax in policing the dangerous powers o the mages. The Mage circles have rebelled, believing the Templars have become too strict, too zealous in their duties, and too quick to slaughter those who step out of line.
"The world of Dragon Age is one on the brink of collapse, and when a desperate gathering in the name of peace becomes the epicentre of a magical blast that decimates the Chantry's leadership, it becomes clear that someone or something is manipulating events to drive the world into chaos.
"From the ashes of that explosion, something new rises: The Inquisition. As the Inquisitor, it falls to you to build up your power and martial your forces, uncover secrets and build connections across the world. You must explore forgotten spaces, uncover ancient mysteries and uproot those who would destroy the fabric of the world."

The second document tells us the following:

"Choose the direct method and gather your armies, send spies into the shadows or engage in a political war, make friends and use your connections indirectly: it is up to you how you lead the inquisition. But you'll have to take lead of it from the beginning.
"Make your player a rogue, warrior or mage and set up your crew from up to ten complex companions to lead them against those who attack you by systematically spying on, revealing and destroying them."

 Dragon Age III will likely be released some time in 2014.