But the biggest overhaul to the franchise’s sonic identity came in the form of Fallout 3’s licensed soundtrack, which was expanded to include 20 songs from the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s played via in-game radio stations. From the moment Bethesda dropped the now-legendary Fallout 3 teaser trailer featuring The Ink Spots’ “I Don’t Want to Set the World On Fire” back in 2007, the song captured the imaginations of millions of gamers and became the de facto main theme of the franchise.
Subsequently, Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, added new songs to the catalog that expanded to encompass the crooner and country-Western sounds of the ‘50s that better fit the game’s setting. “The music of the late ’50s, which is when Vegas started to really become a place that anyone cared about—that era was a little bit different in terms of the Rat Pack vibe,” New Vegas lead designer told Engadget back in 2010. “It’s still ’50s but it’s late ’50s.”
For Fallout 4, Howard and audio director Mark Lampert opted for a more optimistic tone, choosing the Ink Spots’ “It’s All Over But the Crying” for the game’s reveal trailer. “It’s very sad,” Howard said of the song in a 2015 interview with Bethesda.net. “…but then it’s also unique amongst The Ink Spots’ songs because the second half is very lively. It’s almost like, ‘Well, it’s all over, let’s go!’ It actually has a fun end to it. It’s almost danceable.”
Flowers need to be given to the devs at Bethesda for curating such wonderful songs. There are tons more songs from the ‘40s and ‘50s that fit the style of the game, but they were clearly deliberate about choosing ones that would stand the test of time and make the game more engaging no matter what the player may be up to. Even the simple act of walking toward a waypoint can be super fun when you’ve got this blaring out of your Pip-Boy:
The trees are the sappiest
The days are the nappiest
