Fallout 4 Boston Setting, Old-Fashioned Hero Revealed By Casting Documents

We didn't get the Fallout 4 announcement we were hoping for this past weekend but today brought some unexpected details on the post-apocalyptic RPG. A new report reveals some possible details on the plot and characters.

Fallout 4 casting documents confirm the previous rumor that the game is set in the Boston area. Massachusetts was previously referenced in passing during Fallout 3 After the nuclear apocalypse, the state reformed as the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is home to the Institute, an organization that specializes in creating androids.

The documents obtained by Kotaku mention a few characters who live in this area, including an engineer named Sturges and a DJ known as Travis Miles. The latter's a bit surprising, as it seemed likely that Three Dog would be making a return. Maybe there's going to be multiple radio stations in the Commonwealth? With all the money that Bethesda made off Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, they can surely afford to pay for licenses on another set of old-timey songs for the radio.

The player character apparently begins the game in a cryogenic sleep chamber. It sounds like they've been asleep since before the outbreak of the war. Here's an excerpt from the opening monologue:

This could be a situation similar to RAGE. The player might have been one of the "best and the brightest" who was put in cryo sleep in a safe shelter to ensure that they could survive the nuclear destruction and perhaps ensure that civilization and/or the American government lives on. Perhaps their main mission in the game will be restoring order in some way. Either way, the cryo sleep allows the player character to occupy the "ignorant outsider" role that Fallout heroes typically occupy.

This is the most definitive proof we've seen that Fallout 4 (if that's what it's actually called) is in development. We always assumed that Bethesda would make a new Fallout. Fans' intense desire for a sequel was only proved by the obsession over the teaser website.

Now that Spike VGX has come and gone, I wouldn't expect an official announcement from Bethesda about Fallout 4 before the end of the year. To be fair, though, they could announce the game on Christmas morning and still draw plenty of attention. A year or so of teases and fake rumors have created quite a hunger among gamers.