Bethesda's Pete Hines Assures Gamers That Toxic and Trolling Players Will Not Be an Issue in 'Fallout 76'
When Bethesda finally confirmed that "Fallout 76" is going to be an online game, many fans immediately voiced their disappointment and concern over the move.
For some, the disappointment stemmed from the developer opting to release a multiplayer title as opposed to bringing another single player game to the market.
Others are more open to the idea of Bethesda working on a multiplayer title but are worried about the possibility that the game's community could quickly turn toxic.
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It's hard to blame those people for worrying about that, too.
Whether it's the communities of popular MOBAs like "Dota 2" or "League of Legends" or first-person shooters like "Call of Duty" or "Battlefield," there are typically individuals who participate in online contests just to mess with the people they are playing with, resulting in unpleasant experiences for those on the receiving end of the harassment.
Bethesda games are typically very popular, and there's a pretty good chance that once "Fallout 76" is released, it will attract more than its fair share of trolls.
For those folks worried about the virtual wasteland turning toxic in more ways than one, Bethesda's senior vice president of global marketing and communications Pete Hines has provided some assurance.
During a recent interview with Gamespot, Hines said that once players enter the game's world, they will find fellow players there who are filling certain roles. Some players are going to be helpful, others will be business-minded, and then there will likely be also those players who will prefer to try out a more chaotic playstyle.
Those players who go around hurting everyone are the ones that multiplayer-averse fans are probably the most worried about, but Hines noted that they will not be able to just disrupt others as much as they want.
Hines said that there will be systems implemented that will prevent players from harassing one another. To be more specific, Hines mentioned that the game "literally doesn't allow" for someone to continually chase and harass a fellow player.
Specific details about those anti-trolling systems have not been provided yet, but it seems that one way in which the developers are attempting to prevent harassment is through making dying inside the game less punishing. Players will not lose progression or their entire inventories just because they were killed.
Players also don't have to worry about their surroundings being too crowded as well.
Over on Twitter, Hines assured a fan that bumping constantly into other players is simply not something that will happen in the game. He added that players should also not worry about nuclear bombs being dropped on them.
Hines also indicated that they will reveal more about the anti-trolling measures that will be included in the game in the future, so fans can look forward to that.
If the developers can indeed successfully implement systems that will prevent trolls from ruining the game, then more Bethesda fans will likely be on board with trying out this multiplayer title.
For now, fans will just have to wait and see how the developers will attempt to manage the trolls.
"Fallout 76" will be officially released for the PC, PS4 and Xbox One on Nov. 14.
