Movies & TVFalloutTodd Howard says the Fallout show was so fanatical about detail that ‘We were sharing the files right from the games and they were 3D printing things’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Movies & TVFalloutTodd Howard says the Fallout show was so fanatical about detail that ‘We were sharing the files right from the games and they were 3D printing things’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Kate Green/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video)

Say what you like about Bethesda (and I will), but it’s a studio that’s great at detail. Both Tamriel and the Wasteland overflow with gewgaws and knick-knacks that add life and colour to their respective worlds, alongside all the obligatory skeletons on toilets. Imagine, then, just how detailed the sets of the Fallout show had to be to surprise ol’ Todd Howard himself.
In a chat withKinda Funny, Howard said that the experience of visiting the set for Amazon’s Fallout was “surreal,” noting that he “thought there’d be more movie magic, like, ‘Eh, they’re gonna fake a lot of stuff, a lot of it’s gonna be CG,'” before coming face-to-face with the show’s Vaults.
“You step in and they’ve built this two-story Vault, and the lights are all—they’re not fake lights… it’s incredible attention to detail.” Howard says Fallout’s production designer Howard Cummings was “meticulous about translating every little thing,” to the point that Bethesda was “sharing the files right from the games and they were 3D printing things.” The set designers even had to apologise when they couldn’t replicate the scale of a hallway one-to-one from the games.
Howard says his favourite example of the show’s fanatical obsession with detail (onehe’s chatted about before) comes from visiting a Vault Overseer’s office. “You sit down and they have all the papers, and they have this note that no one will ever see that’s, like, to the Overseer that they had written.” Even the paperwork was in order: “You have the stack of papers and you flip it over and they have the power report in the Vault and then, like, the food supply. I’m like, ‘You didn’t even fake the stack of papers!'”
The attention to detail is something that the Fallout cast have called out, too. In an interview withGamesRadar, Ella Purnell (who plays protagonist Lucy MacLean) noted that stuff like completed paperwork “allows you to be better at your job because you’re reacting in real time. You’re able to improvise a little” using the detailed props that surround actors in their scenes.
All of which just makes me like the show even more than I already did. And hey, credit to Howard, he doesn’t take the show’s respect for Fallout as a compliment to himself personally. Howard says he’s a “caretaker” for the series, and shouted out the “400 people” currently at Bethesda who help make the games as well as “the developers from the past: Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, all of them at Interplay over the days,” and, yes, “the folks at Obsidian,” too. I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to thinkBethesda doesn’t hate Obsidian and New Vegas after all.
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
More about movies tvFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesMythic Quest Season 4 trailer wrestles with Roblox, AI, and the US CongressLatestDragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga runSee more latest►
More about movies tvFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesMythic Quest Season 4 trailer wrestles with Roblox, AI, and the US CongressLatestDragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga runSee more latest►
More about movies tvFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesMythic Quest Season 4 trailer wrestles with Roblox, AI, and the US Congress
More about movies tv
Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesMythic Quest Season 4 trailer wrestles with Roblox, AI, and the US Congress
Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires
Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires
Mythic Quest Season 4 trailer wrestles with Roblox, AI, and the US Congress
Mythic Quest Season 4 trailer wrestles with Roblox, AI, and the US Congress
LatestDragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga runSee more latest►
Latest
Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga run
Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga run
Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga run
See more latest►
Most PopularHarrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us RemakeTencent says it’s not a Chinese military company and is willing to sue the US Department of Defense if it isn’t removed from a blacklistAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAsus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forwardToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funnyDeus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriouslyLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hopeThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago
Most PopularHarrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us RemakeTencent says it’s not a Chinese military company and is willing to sue the US Department of Defense if it isn’t removed from a blacklistAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAsus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forwardToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funnyDeus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriouslyLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hopeThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago
Most PopularHarrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us RemakeTencent says it’s not a Chinese military company and is willing to sue the US Department of Defense if it isn’t removed from a blacklistAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAsus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forwardToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funnyDeus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriouslyLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hopeThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago
Most Popular
Harrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Remake
Tencent says it’s not a Chinese military company and is willing to sue the US Department of Defense if it isn’t removed from a blacklist
All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes
Asus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forward
Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10
We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funny
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’
It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriously
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hope
The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’
If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS
1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
1
Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
2
Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
3
Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
4
Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
5
Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review
1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review
1
Thank Goodness You’re Here! review
2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review
2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review
2
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review
3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
3
WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
4Ikea Utespelare desk review
4Ikea Utespelare desk review
4
Ikea Utespelare desk review
5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
5
Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review