Should you pay someone for how long they spend on a project or base the value on the end result? In theory, the more experience you have and the better you are at your job, the faster you can do it. One Bethesda developer, Nate Purkeypile, managed to build a settlement in Fallout 76 in just two days.
"On Fallout and Skyrim, I worked on places like Diamond City and the lighting for Blackreach," Purkeypile says during a GDC talk (recorded by Michael Leri). "And those all taught me a lot of different things, and I got faster and faster over time. My last city that I made was Crater in Fallout 76, and I did that in like two days."
Ask anyone who's ever tried to code anything in a video game and they'll tell you that's astonishingly fast. Even making a door is a Herculean feat.
"But there's no way I would have been able to do that if I hadn't made Diamond City, Tenpenny Tower, Little Lamplight and all that before," Purkeypile explains. "I think I got a lot better over time too. Little Lamplight is honestly kind of confusing. Diamond City has much better landmarking and all the vendors are right in the middle, so it's a much better city."
I love the way Tenpenny tower is so visible from a lot of Fallout 3's southern Wasteland. I wonder if that was something Purkeypile ensured would happen. I also thought the whole vibe of Little Lamplight was great. It really looked like a place kids had turned into their home.
As for the Crater, I could imagine it fitting in well in Mad Max's world if it didn't have any water around it, so that's another great Wasteland location.
While you're here, check out our list of the best open-world games you can play right now. See what cool locations you can spot and ponder how long they took to build.
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