Chris Lay
This chapter argues that there are three important senses of philosophical freedom that can be explained in the way that Bethesda empowers Fallout modders, especially for high-profile projects like Fallout: London (a “total conversion” mod that changes Fallout 4 into a different game entirely). First, in being handed the keys to reshape Fallout 4 as they please, players have the kind of freedom that existentialists like Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre describe as absolute freedom : the ability to determine for themselves what is meaningful. But this relies on another freedom that links both player and game architecture. Just like the philosopher Spinoza finds freedom in recognizing yourself among the interconnected series of causes and effects in the universe, there is an immanent freedom in understanding your connection to the comprehensive system of modding tools that form the Fallout Creation Kit. This freedom then equips players to actively construct their own meaning in the game through a creative freedom , as discussed by thinkers like Simone Weil. Taken together, these three freedoms capture the spirit of Bethesda-era Fallout , a series about making your own way amidst a sprawling, overwhelming world. Even if modding is mandatory for some, it's like Moira Brown, Fallout 3 's enthusiastic shopkeeper/tinkerer, says when she asks how to put broken glass back together: “Even if the pieces fit, you can't make it whole again the way it was. But if you're clever, you can still use the pieces to make other useful things. Maybe even something wonderful …”