Fallout could have ended very differently. Tim Cain shares his rejected idea for the cult RPG's finale: „cake and balloons”
Tim Cain had his reasons for thinking about a happy ending to the first Fallout before he was talked out of it by the other creators of the iconic RPG.
Tim Cain insisted on a cheerful ending for Fallout, with "cake and balloons," before the other developers talked him out of it.
The co-creator of the cult post-apocalyptic RPG regularly answers fans' questions, mainly in the form of videos published on his Cain On Games channel on YouTube. For many players, he is one of the most important people who made Fallout such a recognizable title.
However, it seems that Cain also had ideas that should be considered less successful. Without giving away any spoilers, none of the endings in the first Fallout can be considered happy. Meanwhile, the American insisted on concluding the game with a "party," a classic happy ending where everyone lived... let's say, longer and relatively happily.
The idea of such an ending seems bizarre. Even if we put aside the cynical remark: "people don't enjoy completely happy endings," it is undeniable that such an epilogue in a bleak, post-apocalyptic setting would stir mixed emotions. Especially if we were to take the mention of "cake and balloons" literally. It's hard to be surprised that in the end, Cain's idea gave way to Leonard Boyarsky's concept, and the dev himself agrees that it was a good decision.
However, the creator gave a reason why he insisted on his opinion. Tim Cain had doubts whether "people would buy" such a grim ending to the Fallout story. He didn't go into detail, but it seems the American was concerned that the absence of a happy ending might put off the players.
This wasn't the only idea of Cain's from his developer days that his coworkers dismissed. We encourage you to watch the material of the developer, in which he talked about his misguided (or at least unapproved) ideas related not only to Fallout, but also to such projects as Arcanum, Pillars of Eternity, and South Park: The Stick of Truth.
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