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Fallout lore denizen and Elder Scrolls narrative lead says it's 'insane' that fans think he 'doesn't give a s**t' about the lore

Bethesda veteran Emil Pagliarulo defends his dedication to the Fallout lore, despite accusations that he does not care about it. Pagliarulo has been involved in the Fallout series for over 15 years, serving as lead designer and writer on Fallout 3 and 4, and design director on Fallout 76. He says that Fallout is 'part of [him] in a way that's hard to explain' and that he takes his role as the series's lore advisor very seriously.

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Ahead of the release of the highly anticipated Fallout TV show, Bethesda veteran Emil Pagliarulo has been fighting back against claims that "he doesn't give a shit about the lore" of Fallout, saying it's been "the honor of a lifetime" to be the series's lore advisor.

Pagliarulo has been credited on numerous Bethesda games, having served as the writing director for space-exploration RPG Starfield, a senior writer on Skyrim, and more, but his roles within the Fallout series alone are significant. He was the lead designer and writer of Fallout 3 and 4, as well as the design director of Fallout 76. Reflecting on his time with the series in a thread on Twitter, Pagliarulo says "Fallout is part of me in a way that's hard to explain," defending his devotion to the lore. 

🧵 (1/6) So, Fallout. Please excuse my moment of introspection, but seeing Fallout hysteria grip the mass market in the lead up to the Amazon show's premiere has been so surreal. I never could have imagined, in 2007 when I first started down this road, that it would end up here. pic.twitter.com/YLSEMQVTPbApril 9, 2024

"For 15+ years, I've had a section of my brain, a good 30% at its lowest, partitioned off for the desolation of the post-apocalypse," he says. "There's a psychological cost there I had to learn how to manage. But that pales next to the privilege of being the person whose job and passion it is to keep the Fallout lore intact. Whether advising the TV showrunners, the great devs on Fallout 76, our external partners, or even folks down the hall, it's the honor of a lifetime.

"Occasionally I'll read something to the effect of, 'He doesn't give a shit about the lore.' That is such an insane statement. Just ask the people I've annoyed over the years with my hardcore adherence to the canon. Mistakes and discrepancies KILL me. As they should."

Speaking about the TV adaptation specifically, Pagliarulo adds that to him, the show "is something of an impossibility" because of how the team "captured the essence of Fallout so well." We'll have to wait and see what viewers think of it, but here at GamesRadar+, we gave the show four out of five stars, praising it as a "game-accurate, hilarious quest through the Wasteland anchored by plenty of personality and punchy social commentary."

For more games like Fallout, be sure to check out our picks for the top 25 best RPGs.