Music is a huge part of the Fallout franchise. The songs of the post-war era, in which the threat of nuclear war loomed overhead, set the tone for the entire series. Whether the music is blaring from your Pip-Boy as you wander the Wasteland or is being played in a local bar, music is part of Fallout's unique DNA.
Fallout 4 is no exception, and it sounds like Bethesda has spent a long time making sure they got the soundtrack for the latest installment just right. In a new blog post, Bethesda explains the process for how they selected which songs to include and which to cut. It also goes in-depth about the creation of original songs for players to listen to as they explore, a first for the franchise.
For starters, an Ink Spots track was a must have. Music from the band was used as the opening theme for the very first Fallout and has been part of the franchise ever since.
"You know you want to open the trailer with that riff from The Ink Spots," game director Todd Howard says. "It's just part of the Fallout vibe."
Howard selected "It's All Over But the Crying" from the band to use in the game, which you can hear in the game's announcement trailer. From there Howard and audio director Mark Lampert partnered with Chris Parker, co-founder of music-licensing agency Brandracket. Parker found a selection of more obscure, less mainstream music that matched the world of Fallout perfectly, with lyrics that dealt with uranium, radioactivity and more.
Once the team had a solid selection of music to choose from, it was time to select the best tracks for the job. Howard made a playlist and listened to the songs non-stop for three or four days while at work. Some grew annoying after repeated listenings, while others were too long and interrupted the flow of the game. Those were tossed out, creating a leaner, more effective soundtrack.
Lampert says the music always has a way of matching up with what he's doing in-game.
"There were times when I was getting ready to launch a big battle and ‘Ride of the Valkyries' happened to come on," Lampert says. "And then there are much more mellow, downbeat pieces that just seem to fit the picture at night, when you're not in the midst of something."
The result is a soundtrack for Fallout 4 that is three times the size of Fallout 3.
But the soundtrack wasn't done yet. The team wanted to add original music for the game, and so they looked to singer and actor Lynda Carter for help. The Wonder Woman actress had done voice-work with Bethesda before, but this marks her first time doing music for the series. She plays the character of Magnolia in the game, a singer in the town of Goodneighbor.
"The songs all came together much faster than I expected," Howard says. "It started out with shooting emails back and forth between her and some of her band mates. We just threw out themes of the game, examples of some of the other music that would be on the radio to give a sense of the time period and instrumentation. I think they thought it would be harder to hit the mark, but they hit it right from the start."
Fallout 4 arrives on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on Nov. 10. You can read more about the game's perk system here.
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