'Not much' fan feedback used in Fallout 3 development

Bethesda prefers internal feedback from 'people who are actually playing the game'.

'Not much' fan feedback has been factored into the development of hotly anticipated open world RPG Fallout 3, Pete Hines told us at Leipzig 08.

Speaking in an interview with VideoGamer.com published elsewhere on the site, Bethesda Softworks vice president Pete Hines revealed that the developer instead prefers to rely on internal feedback.

The development of Fallout 3 has been accompanied by vociferous complaints from the series' loyal fan base, some of whom have bemoaned the direction Bethesda, responsible for the popular fantasy RPG Oblivion, has taken with the cult franchise.

However, Hines told VideoGamer.com that "you have to take feedback from the people who are actually playing the game".

When asked how much the series' protective fan base figured in the development of the game, he replied: "Not much. When you're designing a game, you have this group of people on the inside who are working on it every day and who know everything about the decisions that are being made. You don't just take a chunk of that, throw it out to the community and say, "We don't know how this question works, so let's ask the fans". You're working and changing every day - it's a constant, fluid process. It's not like we say, "Okay, everything is done now, let's see what they say then go back and change it."

He added: "We're big believers in playing the game, putting things in and then letting folks see how it feels, as opposed to "Oh, that sounds terrible!" It turns out that ideas that sound terrible, when slightly tweaked, can be f$!king awesome in the game. And it's sometimes the case that awesome-sounding ideas will suck when you actually put them in. You're never a slave to how something is written on paper - you put it in the game an play it. You have to take feedback from the people who are actually playing the game."

Fallout 3 is due out in Europe on October 31 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. You can check out the rest of our interview with Pete Hines right here.