Fallout 76 brings the post-apocalyptic series to West Virginia. That’s not a part of the US often explored in videogames, and the presence of those rural landmarks in a big-budget game has been a cause of celebration for local gamers. Over the weekend, several hundred such Fallout fans gathered at one of the most prominent locations depicted in the game.
400 local fans made the trek to Camden Park this past Sunday, decked out in Fallout gear to celebrate the game and its setting. The Park offered discounted tickets for those showing up in Fallout shirts, but otherwise the meet-up was entirely community organized.
You can find a few real world locations in the best RPGs on PC – but yeah, they’re mostly from Fallout.
Chris Barker, who organized the event, tells the Herald-Dispatch he expected about 15 people would attend, but fans came out in the hundreds. You can see plenty of photos on the meetup’s Facebook page.
Barker says “I want the people who make Fallout to know that they made the right choice by picking this community to make the game. It’s an awesome community that everyone overlooks.”
That’s similar to what fellow local Dylan Bishop wrote for us in his look at Fallout 76’s Camden Park, saying that the location’s “inclusion in a game as big as Fallout 76 is a chance to show the world that West Virginia isn’t just a statistic. It’s a reminder that the state and its surrounding regions are communities filled with real people, who’ve undergone real experiences in every one of Fallout 76’s locations – including a teensy, tiny amusement park.”
Awesome to see so many smiling faces that showed up at Camden Park over the weekend. We’re excited to see more as we explore more West Virginia together . #Fallout76
Source: https://t.co/jYJR7VVzKr pic.twitter.com/6hpLaS3wuV
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) July 9, 2018
Bethesda has certainly aimed for authenticity here, even building on West Virginia folklore to create some of those nasty Fallout 76 monsters. West Virginia tourism has also seen a boost thanks to the upcoming game. Of course, Bethesda takes its name from a small city in Maryland, so the company may just be paying it forward on some East Coast love.