Video games are often viewed as a fun but ultimately trivial use of one's time. However, just like other forms of fictional entertainment, games can teach us important lessons that apply to the real world as well. Although you (hopefully) won't find yourself scavenging your way through a post-apocalyptic hellscape anytime soon, here are some helpful life lessons you can learn from playing Fallout 4...and a few you probably shouldn't.
Lesson #1: Don't
Judge People By Their Appearances
We've all made assumptions about people based on how they
look, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea. After all, sometimes a super
mutant turns out to be a pretty cool guy. Like in the real world, characters in
Fallout 4 frequently have more going on with them than it would appear at first
glance. That might not be enough to prevent you from headshotting a raider a
thousand yards out the moment you spot him, but it's a good reminder to occasionally
check your preconceived notions – especially since there's a very good chance that
you look like a horrendously dressed idiot yourself.
Lesson #2: Achieving
Your Goals Requires Planning Ahead
Plenty of video games contain skill trees, but Fallout 4's
new approach to the SPECIAL system practically requires a five-year plan to maximize
your potential. Since perks are now tied to your SPECIAL levels, it's not enough
to allocate your skill points based on the underlying stat or a few abilities
that tickle your fancy – you've also got to think about your broader goals, the
late-game perks you'd like to acquire, and the perks you can do without. Coming
up with a long-term plan will help you minimize the time it takes to reach your
goals. As in the real world, you'll also need to make some shrewd choices along
the way – the Pain Train perks may sound tempting, but if you never use power
armor, they'll be about as useful as a degree in Russian Literature...
Lesson #3: Money Is Kinda Dumb...But Still Hugely Important
As adults, we work so hard in the pursuit of the almighty
dollar that it's easy to forget that they are still just scraps of paper with
dead presidents doodled on them. Money only has value because we say it does,
and nothing drives this home like the Fallout series, which humorously
undermines the abstract concept of money by casting aside our familiar paper
bills for an utterly – or perhaps equally – absurd form of currency: bottle caps.
That said, while collecting and trading bottle caps is totally arbitrary, you can't opt out of the system. Like in the real world, the people in Fallout 4 have things that you want to buy, and you'll have to deal in their choice of currency in order to get them. But hey, look on the bright side: At least with bottle caps, every Nuka Cola you buy actually costs one less cap than its asking price.
Lesson #4: A
Home-Cooked Meal Is Better Than Junk Food
The wasteland is littered with processed food, but just
because that can of Cram survived the apocalypse doesn't mean it's good for
you. Most of the ready-to-eat food you'll find while scavenging in Fallout 4
offers little nutritional value – a mild HP boost that likely comes with an
unwanted dose of radiation. The healthier option is to forgo the junk food
entirely and eat a homemade meal instead. Cooking stations offer a bunch of
easy-to-make recipes that will not only replenish your health but bestow some
solid bonuses such as increased endurance or carrying capacity. Cooking is also
considerably cheaper than buying food and medicine from vendors. All of these
aspects are true in the real world as well – though hopefully radiation
poisoning is less of a daily concern.
Lesson #5: There Is
No Cosmic Morality
Most video games present player choices as black-and-white, good-versus-evil
decisions. This morally simplistic approach to player agency often carries supernatural
consequences – perform enough dubious actions for instance, and you might take
on the ominous red hue of an evil overlord, just to reiterate the fact that you
are now a Bad Person.
Not only are the choices you're presented with in Fallout 4 a lot more ambiguous, there is no such form of cosmic justice. You're decisions do carry consequences, but like in the real world, their impact is much more personal – you only get in trouble if you get caught red-handed, and in most cases that boils down to whether those close to you approve of your actions or not. Granted, Fallout 4's denizens often express their disapproval with shotguns, but you can chalk their tempers up to living in a post-apocalyptic world.
Coming Up Next: Five lessons you totally shouldn't learn from Fallout 4...