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[Neonivek]

I didn't mind being (mostly) a Elder Scrolls-style blank slate.

I actually don't mind in most cases. But Fallout New Vegas sure does make the fact that you probably had a life before the tragic event apparent. you could have had a pregnant wife, pregnant kids, and a pregnant dog all waiting for you to come home after work.

You could have had a sick aunt dying of cancer needing those last few bottlecaps to pay for that life saving surgery she needed.

It was like that bullet was some sort of background erasing bullet. As soon as it hit you, your entire history was erased.

At least I was engrossed in the mystery.

Re: NV. The Courier doesn't have amnesia. Even Lonesome Road is explained away as "but for me, it was Tuesday."
Amnesia is just fan speculation for many things, but it isn't needed nor stated explicitly.

Really? But the doctor at the start of New Vegas states this... and the fact that it is outright implied that you have Amnesia is quite apparent.

But fine you don't have Amnesia... You just don't remember anything before you were shot.

Like, how he can tell the New Reno singer that he remembers him, or not

I figure this is just an outright lie. "Yeah of course I remember you Jim"... "My name is Bob"

I mean it isn't like you volunteer up any information the player wouldn't know. like suddenly going "yes, I remember. You were wearing that dog mask with the little UFO symbol on the forehead".

This is different from Fallout 3 where they outright tell you your past, who your family is, etc.

It would be so nice if they ever remade Fallout 3 (or did a game with a start similar to it) that they made it more open ended. So you kind of determine how your childhood went outside a few scripted events.

[Sergius]

Quote by Joshua Sawyer: "The Courier is not an amnesiac. Questions about the NCR, Legion, local goings on, etc. are present so the player does not stumble around without a clue. We can't assume any given player is familiar with these factions."

The Courier remembers Benny shooting him, right down to what he was wearing, and he remembers he is a Courier and had a parcel to deliver.
You remember everything in your life. But since you created the character, what those events are is up to you. It's just that most people equate "PC asking common knowledge questions" with "PC has amnesia", but nearly every game does that.

Courier's Amnesia can be easily categorized as Fanon disproved by Word of God.

EDIT: BTW, this:

Like, how he can tell the New Reno singer that he remembers him, or not

I figure this is just an outright lie. "Yeah of course I remember you Jim"... "My name is Bob"

I mean it isn't like you volunteer up any information the player wouldn't know. like suddenly going "yes, I remember. You were wearing that dog mask with the little UFO symbol on the forehead".

Actually, you say "Aren't you that singer from New Reno? I think I saw you play the clubs there" before he can tell you.

[Neonivek]

Courier's Amnesia can be easily categorized as Fanon disproved by Word of God.

So it is a storytelling flub... a rather sizable one.

That would have been patched if the World of God just said "yeah he has Amnesia." or just never said anything.

[Rolan7]

I think the courier has amnesia, a little Googling suggests the same.  The courier has to be told about things like the NCR, there's a lot of dialogue that indicates he/she doesn't remember anything.  Hell, you have to rediscover the mailboxes.

If the Courier doesn't have amnesia, then a *lot* of information should have been in the manual or something.  Like the Lonesome Road backstory.  Nah, the bullet gave you amnesia.

Well, shit!  That's actually really bad storytelling then.  There were a lot of things the player should have known, that's actually very immersion-breaking and I'm going to disregard it.  Why would he even say that!?

This is different from Fallout 3 where they outright tell you your past, who your family is, etc.

Speaking of that, it was hard for me to do evil in Fallout 3.  I mean, I'm a 19 year old out of a sheltered vault, with a ridiculously loving father I'm searching for.  I'm, what, supposed to take up slave trading?  What would he think of me??

I didn't really consider being a bad kid, I'm not sure I could handle that as a player actually :/

Fallout 4's setup sounds a little similar...  Though it's also really different, and I could see doing evil in order to reunite with a SO.

Meanwhile my couriers were an apathetic mercenary, a mad scientist yandere, and...  An alcoholic brawler woman who joined the Legion.  None were exactly "good".

[Neonivek]

Well, shit!  That's actually really bad storytelling then.  There were a lot of things the player should have known, that's actually very immersion-breaking and I'm going to disregard it.  Why would he even say that!?

Yeah I mean... that was rather immensely poorly written. I mean the Legion being evil was just content being left out of the game, so all you got was the one side of the Legion (then again they are Rome... Being good to their own people and terrible to everyone else... fits the mythology). This is, well, they give you every single reason to believe the Courier has Amnesia right down to him not remembering places, having people see if he remembers him, and even sort of nods to his altered state... Yet Word of God came and goes "Nope"

I think I'll have to side with you and ignore the Word of God... out of respect for the Game.

[Sergius]

Again, 90% of games let you ask things that should be public knowledge. Some even lampshade this calling you stupid for asking such a thing.

Singling out New Vegas out for this seems misguided to me.

[Neonivek]

Again, 90% of games let you ask things that should be public knowledge. Some even lampshade this calling you stupid for asking such a thing.

Singling out New Vegas out for this seems misguided to me.

Yeah but usually you were a dummy with his heads in the clouds, or your actually more accurately asking for their opinion.

Not someone who was shot in the brain, buried underground with no oxygen, and then healed by a doctor who outright tells you that you might have suffered brain damage.

[Teneb]

Really? But the doctor at the start of New Vegas states this... and the fact that it is outright implied that you have Amnesia is quite apparent.

But fine you don't have Amnesia... You just don't remember anything before you were shot.

The doctor never says the word amnesia or memory loss. He does conduct a test to see if there were any sequels, but unless you pick INT 1 or 2, he'll won't say anything about mental damage.

It's just that there is no NPC that walks up to you and say "As you know, COURIER, your backstory goes like this..." as is done in quite a few games.

Ninja'd

(then again they are Rome... Being good to their own people and terrible to everyone else... fits the mythology).

They are not Rome, though Ceasar hoped to turn them into it with New Vegas as the capital... they are a Roman Legion, as the name states. There is no real civilians in the Legion. There are civilians living in Legion land, but they are not actual members. And roman legions could be pretty harsh to the average legionnaire, with stuff like decimation, or to whomever was in the way (since the only real hope for soldiers to get some money outside what they'd receive at the end of the tour (that had no set duration, by the way) was looting).


Holy shit such ninja arts.

[KingofstarrySkies]

I am physically unable to play an evil courier.
Or evil lone wanderer.
Or an evil pretty much anything.

Courier especially, because there are so many fucking douchebags in the Mojave who need their shit beaten in.

[Neonivek]

There is no real civilians in the Legion.

From what I hear there are. They just never got around to adding it to the game.

[Sergius]

Like Teneb says, he checks for brain damage when evaluating your Int level. If it is high enough he literally tells you that "maybe them bullets done your brain some good."

[Teneb]

Like Teneb says, he checks for brain damage when evaluating your Int level. If it is high enough he literally tells you that "maybe them bullets done your brain some good."

I should mention that there is some brain damage, which is what kickstarts the whole plot of Old World Blues (you do not turn into an animal after being lobotomized), but amnesia is not it.

[Neonivek]

Like Teneb says, he checks for brain damage when evaluating your Int level. If it is high enough he literally tells you that "maybe them bullets done your brain some good."

You still could have brain damage. He is only checking for more serious forms of brain damage.

Though that might count as "Beyond what a normal person would know about brain damage" I guess. So I might not be being fair to the game.

[Sergius]

Like Teneb says, he checks for brain damage when evaluating your Int level. If it is high enough he literally tells you that "maybe them bullets done your brain some good."

I should mention that there is some brain damage, which is what kickstarts the whole plot of Old World Blues (you do not turn into an animal after being lobotomized), but amnesia is not it.

There is damage, obviously, since there was a bullet. But not "brain damage" in the sense of your brain working in any diminished capacity. The OWB plot explains that the scar or bullet fragments or whatever messed the scanner that was supposed to lobotomize you. In fact, it's the opposite, it made it Work as Intended for the first time, while the lobotomites are the scanner thing fucking up.

[KingofstarrySkies]

You're kind of really desperately grasping for an excuse here, from what I'm getting. It's fine to just not like the plot...