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Fallout co-creator says turn-based and real-time RPGs both have “loud vocal advocates” who won’t play anything else, so devs can’t please everyone
A co-creator of the original Fallout has weighed in on the long-running debate between turn-based and real-time combat in role-playing games, arguing that both camps include committed fans who refuse to play games using the other system. The comment highlights a persistent tension in RPG design, where developers must choose a combat style knowing it will alienate a vocal segment of the potential audience regardless of which they pick.
The remarks reflect a broader industry reality that RPG combat systems remain divisive among players, with strong preferences on both sides making it effectively impossible to satisfy everyone with a single approach. The comments come from a figure closely associated with Fallout, a franchise itself rooted in turn-based combat, giving added weight to the observation given the series' own history of shifting design approaches across its instalments.
In short
- Fallout co-creator says turn-based and real-time RPG fans are equally passionate.
- Both fanbases include people who won't play the other style.
- Developers can't please both audiences with one combat system.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Player preferences for combat systems are demonstrably strong and often immovable. Communities have repeatedly shown that vocal segments will refuse to engage with games using the 'wrong' system, as evidenced in reviews, forums, and sales patterns. Developers face a genuine constraint where attempting to accommodate both approaches typically results in compromised mechanics that satisfy neither camp, reflecting hard-won industry wisdom about the real limits of design solutions.
The case against
Whilst strong preferences certainly exist, characterising this as an unsolvable problem overstates the rigidity of player behaviour. Many players enjoy both turn-based and real-time RPGs when well-executed, and the loudest voices shouldn't dictate design constraints. Modern development has demonstrated that thoughtful hybrid systems, robust customisation options, and excellent execution can appeal across the divide, suggesting the observation reflects creative resignation rather than exhaustion of the design space.
Explained simply
Role-playing games let players guide a character through a story and make choices about how they develop. In combat, some games use turn-based systems, where players take actions one at a time, while others use real-time systems, where events unfold continuously.
The original Fallout was a turn-based role-playing game, and its co-creator is closely associated with that style. The Fallout series has changed its approach to combat across later games, reflecting a wider design choice faced by developers.
Players can have strong preferences for one system and avoid games that use the other. That can affect how developers shape a game and which players it attracts, though no single approach will suit everyone.