Could Fallout 4 Show Us an Earlier Post-Apocalypse?

The first trailer for Fallout 4 dropped like an atomic bomb today, kicking off a flurry of discussion and speculation among the Shacknews staff. The most hotly debated and deeply analyzed portion revolved around the various flashbacks, and what they could mean for this journey into the wasteland. Indulge us for a moment, as we engage in wild speculation about how this Fallout game could be going back to a much earlier time in Fallout lore.

We should establish some points about the timeline. The Fallout series has a 1950s aesthetic, reminiscent of Cold War-era atomic paranoia, but it's actually far removed from that era. Instead, it takes place in an alternate timeline with a much longer Cold War. The bombs that turned the world into a ruined wasteland didn't drop until 2077, and the last two games (Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas) took place more than 150 years later, in the 2200s. 

So, when we say that it could be set in an earlier time, we're still referring to the future: the late 2000s at the absolute earliest. That said, there are signs that could point to our lead protagonist being present when the bombs dropped.

The flashbacks may appear disconnected, but altogether they seem to tell a complete narrative arc of life before the Great War. We see a dog searching through a house, interspersed with snippets of a foreboding news report. In flashback, a couple watches over a baby.

As the dog runs out of the house, a series of flashback scenes occurs quickly. Community members gather on the street.

Civilians crowd around a fenced area guarded by the army, overlooking a billboard advertising the safety of Vaults.

Finally, we see the door to Vault 111. Near the end of the trailer, we see civilians standing outside when a bomb drops, and one woman holding her baby is wearing identical clothing to the mother we saw inside the house. 

On the whole, the vignettes tell the story of one small community in the midst of the Great War. It was peaceful and idyllic, then disrupted by a looming threat. Panicked, the people headed for the vaults only to be denied by guards. They were left outside when the bombs dropped, apparently doomed. Or were they? 

While those details could have been added for thematic resonance, the presence of the dog suggests something more at play. It didn't search the kitchen, where lingering food smells might have been. Instead, it headed straight for the nursery, even playing with the baby's mobile. It rushed out of the house as if it had caught a scent, and headed down the path we saw civilians go to attempt to enter the vault. At the very end of the trailer, the dog reunites with its master, an apparent denizen of Vault 111, and the likely protagonist of our story.

Here is where we enter the territory of wild speculation. What if that baby wasn't doomed by the blast, but instead its parents found a way to safeguard him inside Vault 111? We do see running towards the Vault from first-person perspective in flashback, and Fallout fans know how the series likes to place us in the eyes of an infant for its opening moments. If the baby grew up to be a young adult, the family dog could still be alive, and searching for its master. Or perhaps the dog entered the vault with the infant, and simply remembers the house better than his human does.

But wouldn't the blast have killed the onlookers? Not necessarily. As photographs can attest, people stood dangerously close to nuclear bomb testing in real life. Though those areas were ruined for years to follow, the viewers weren't immediately killed. If the civilians survived the shockwave, they could have had a chance to save their child--even if they themselves were doomed. 

If that is the case, this Fallout game would actually be a prequel, taking place much earlier than all previous games. Even the earliest Fallout game, the original, took place almost 100 years after the disaster. An adult who was an infant as of the Great War would place this one sometime in the 2090s, only 15-20 years after nukes covered the planet. That setting could open storytelling avenues previously sealed off for Bethesda, as well as give a more relatable story by juxtaposing the world before and after its fiery ruin.

Or maybe the dog is just a random canine, looking for food in a nursery. We'll surely know more once E3 comes.