I guess I'm the very minor minority here, but I've never understood why people take the Fallout-games on a literal level seriously.
That is not to say that these games don't try to tackle serious topics - for example mankind's relationship to their creations/technology. But they present these topics in an overdrawn, hyperbolic way and additionally don't spare to even wink at the player. For example, the depiction of violence/gore is - for me at least - ironic.
I don't think these games want to be taken seriously on the level of mere appearance. With the way their narration is carried out, they much rather try to make the players ask for the meaning of what is told/presented than to request the players to suspend their disbelief and immerse themselfs in some alternate reality.

I thought we might propose and discuss interpretations on the various topics Fallout games have picked up.

Like I said above, one of the major topics in those games is mankind's relation to technology. Man's creations are on a regular basis his undoing (atom-bombs) but also his means of salvation/survival (for example the water chip). The game is dealing - most notably with the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave - with the question of how tech is supposed to be used. Is tech/science supposed to be a viable tool for political entities and their goals (e.g. Enclave) or is its usage supposed to be for the benefit of everyone or is it supposed to be restricted and controlled (Brotherhood).

Another is the question of what it means to be human/what humanity is. One can not only encounter that topic with the Institut in the forth installement of the series but in every game in so far as they not only confront the player with abhorrent behaviour but also with ghouls and mutants, who beg the question of whether or not they are still to be called humans and to be treated as persons.

I think people take seriously Fallout series, because it maybe was the one of the first RPG game (i don't forgot about Diablo) and people like it.

I think that to be human it means to help each other, communicate. Without this humanity will slowly die. I agree in case with Brotherhood Of Steel, tech must be preserved or restricted if all people will kill each other with hi-tech weapons.

@shadowshade Personally for me I really take the Fallout series serious because it deals with serious and at times realistic problems that are happening or could happen in my lifetime. Not to mention the lore of the game is very interesting and deep.

The main topic Fallout pickups on is that war never changes, Yes the ways war are fought always change but the reasons behind war are always the same. 

Both the Enclave and the Brotherhood fought for power and control trough technology. Technology can be both humanity's savior or humanity's end. Fallout shows this and it is summed up in that war never changes because we always fight for power, control, and wealth using whatever weapons we can. 

The intro for Fallout does a pretty good job at explaining it, I will provide a link to the youtube video of the intro so you can view it if you want. Or you could look up Fallout intro movie if you dont like clicking links.

Code:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkBNKa2KXZE

maybe it have strong connection to Mad Max universe, because Mad Max world is totally wasteland & cruel place to live, even the morality is questionable. maybe that's why fans want fallout to follow how fallout 2 theme of dark, cruel ambiguity of the wasteland.

The narration might come across wacky at times but the game's overall lore is still very realistic in most ways.

I think people take the game so serious for 2 reasons being :

People really adore the franchise because of it's quality and diversity in gaming genres , the first 3 games were more classic rpg with lots of clicking in order to complete actions and dialogue while after bethesda acquired the license the made 2 3d rpg's which were totally different kinds of games from the previous , then came fallout 4 which became more of a action 3d rpg with base building elements it had some alright lore but removed quite a bit of the old elements present in new vegas and 3 and then a minor mention of fallout shelter for widening the audience of the series al though not adding any lore it did earn it's minor spot. Because of this and the detail in all of the games and the unique atmosphere and way of doing things/design choices makes it unique and truly remarkable.

The second reason is a far more obvious one being that a lot of people still have fear after the 2 world war and cold war and in this specifically the latter for almost potentially destroying large portions of the world or maybe all of it , this makes people scared of it of course but also more interested in potential scenarios related to it.

Thanks for all the responses!

MrEggs0925 wrote:

Not to mention the lore of the game is very interesting and deep.

I don't doubt that. It's just that the lore or the way it's presented is very different from say the Elder Scrolls. The latter has no direct feed-back into the real world, it wants to be taken as an distinct universe. Of course, it's influenced by real cultures but to get the most out of it you need to forget the real-world-background. In Fallout on the other hand, the real world is tied in, it doesn't make sense without our knowledge of western culture and history. You couldn't have those games for example without them also being parodies on the US of the 50s or, in general, parodies on the optimistic belief in progress. This trait feeds directly back into the real world and is therefore anti-escapistic: it not only wants to be played like any other game but Fallout also wants - more than most games - to be "read" as a comment on the real world.

MrEggs0925 wrote:

The main topic Fallout pickups on is that war never changes, Yes the ways war are fought always change but the reasons behind war are always the same. 
Both the Enclave and the Brotherhood fought for power and control trough technology. Technology can be both humanity's savior or humanity's end. Fallout shows this and it is summed up in that war never changes because we always fight for power, control, and wealth using whatever weapons we can. 

I agree - the means change due to technological progress, but the ends stay the same, because we, the humans never change and therefore war is a constant of human existence. Read in such a way, Fallout becomes a clear rejection not only of the idea that there can be a "war to end all wars" but also of the assumption that the world can be made "a better place".

@"shadowshade" I feel that the Fallout series is both serious and outlandish, dark and comedic, somber and yet satirical. The horror of atomic annihilation was at one time( and still is ) a possible reality. Many feared that one day everything they held dear was going to incinerated in atomic fire. It was a time of economic surplus for the Western world while many other places faced famine, disease and social turmoil( USSR and such). The advancements in technology, when first created, was meant to help humanity as whole, but sadly sealed it's fate within the Fallout lore.

I see Fallout's storytelling to be similar to how Stanley Kubrick directed the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The pre-war America was a strong prosperous nation with economic and societal stability, or so it seemed. The more a person reads terminals, notes, or watch videos, they will see that it was all a farse. The true America was a feeble country plagued with corruption and fear. This is where the satirical part comes up. But even on it's death bed, America's elite only saw strife in the sense of quotes. The military was so bloated that it soon enough destroy itself along with the rest of the world. Many terminals reflect this by having over zealous patriots God blessing America, while at the same time having other terminals pledging their allegiance to The People's Army of China. The game makes it clear that neither side was right and that they were what was wrong with humanity.

To sum it up, Fallout is an interesting title whose true meaning is only what the gamer decides it to be: a dark, somber tome about the plight of humanity; a wacky and zany adventure with over the top eggheads, psychos, and aliens; or a mix of both the real and surreal.

Fallout basically mirrors most peoples ideas on what it would be like to live on this planet after an atomic war broke out. Humanity and sanity in this game are drastically different from our everyday life with most human characters. However fallout does retain some mental struggles our society deals with today. Raiders and Fiends are drug addicts and/or mentally insane survivors that see the wasteland as a place to act out their own fantasies. The NCR retains somewhat of the modern day U.S government seeking law and order through out the Mojave but also utilizing a taxation system upon those who live within their land. The Legion somewhat represent a massive terrorist group/cult that seek to grow through conflict and strengthening the human race. Fallout basically serves as a way to implement our own survivor into this broken world so we can simulate how we would act or to do things we simply would never do.

I heavily enjoy fallout due to the vast amount of choices you can make in game and how it will affect both you and those around you. People most likely take it serious due to the amazing story it has and how it somewhat reflects on our current day issues and culture. Showing how even after an atomic war and hundreds of years these issues and parts of our culture can still carry on even during the time of an apocalypse.