Fallout creator explained why it's important to leave things unsaid in the game's lore
If you reveal everything at once, players won't want to see an expansion or sequel.
Fallout creator Tim Cain recently introduced a new blog. This time he decided to discuss the mysteries in the lore of the games.
According to the creator, developers should not answer all the questions that may arise from the player. This ambiguity will create ground for additions or sequels, "the whole point of having an unexplored world is so that you can explore it later."
In Fallout, we didn't explain who Harold was. There was no need for that - it doesn't matter to the plot and it doesn't matter to the world. It's an interesting mystery.
Another example is the unfinished quest from Arcanum with the half-ogre island:
You know what? People with money and power don't answer to you. They don't answer to anyone. This is one of the themes I show in my games.
Tim Cain highlighted two approaches to creating a "mystery": you can scatter a lot of clues around the game so that players have the opportunity to build their theories, and the developers don't confirm anything.
The second way is not to do anything at all:
There is another way - just don't develop the lore. The developers themselves don't know about it, the game never mentions it, and players will never be able to find out about it within this game.
