Wild Wasteland

"Wild Wasteland unleashes the most bizarre and silly elements of post-apocalyptic America. Not for the faint of heart or the serious of temperament."

- Fallout: New Vegas description

Wild Wasteland is a trait in Fallout: New Vegas. It adds (and in some cases changes) random encounters and locations with humor similar to Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics special encounters. Players without Wild Wasteland will find less humorous analogues in places where Wild Wasteland modifies things.

Events that are modified/triggered by Wild Wasteland are indicated by an "alien-esque" music that will play for a moment. A message saying "..." and an image of the Vault Boy with spirals for eyes will appear, identical to the Wild Wasteland image.

Wild Wasteland encounters
There are 15 major Wild Wasteland encounters throughout New Vegas. Besides encounters, Wild Wasteland also has a few effects on things that also occur in the base game. Although these changes or events are specific to taking the Wild Wasteland trait, their occurrence is not accompanied by the "..." message.

That Fridge Was a Death Trap!
Occurrence: Slightly southeast of Goodsprings, along the road out of town, you will find a refrigerator lying on the desert floor, wherein you will find a curled up skeleton... and a Suave gambler hat.

This is a reference to the fourth Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in which Indy survives a nuclear blast by climbing into a lead-lined refrigerator and being catapulted miles away. Many consider this to be possibly one of the silliest stunts in the history of the Indiana Jones franchise, and "Indy's" appearance here seems to suggest the likelier outcome of trying to survive Armageddon inside a fridge

Crashed alien ship
Occurrence: As you close in on the area just north of Horowitz Farmstead, what looked like a mercenary camp from a distance turns into an extraterrestrial landing, complete with broken spacecraft, and three stranded aliens. If you look closely at the UFO you can see cables and tubes hanging out a hatch (obviously broken). The alien captain has the unique alien blaster (though he cannot use it) along with over 100 alien power cells. Two other aliens carry tri-beam laser rifles along with some energy cells and drained energy cells.

What Is It, Boy?
Occurrence: This encounter will only appear with Rex as your companion. At some point, Rex will speak to you with an "aroo!" You then divine that Little Jimmy may have fallen into a well, the location of which is unlocked on your Pip-Boy's world map (northeast of New Vegas, right outside the wall). The well contains an Abilene Kid LE BB gun, 200 BBs, and a straw hat.

A reference to a joke about the 1954 Lassie TV series, where Timmy was frequently rescued after Lassie warned somebody. On the TV show Timmy never fell into a well, though he did get in a lot of similar predicaments.

Maud's Muggers
Occurrence: When you exit Cerulean Robotics, a group of three elderly women (know as Maud's Muggers) named Irate Ida, Rancorous Ruth and Malefic Maud wearing pre-War spring outfits and armed with rolling pins and switchblades will attack you. They often have a small amount of caps a piece showing the 'success' of previous muggings.

This is possibly a reference to a Monty Python sketch named Hell's Grannies. The drunks in Freeside and James Garrett of the Atomic Wrangler may occasionally mention them.

Getting Too Close
Occurrence: During the quest I Put a Spell on You, if you unwittingly divulge to Captain Curtis that you know a mole is using the Control Tower during the night and then stake it out, he ambushes you there. Right before the ambush occurs, Curtis says "You're getting too close, seamus!".

A reference to Carmen Sandiego.

R.O.U.S.
Occurrence: You may not think they exist, but in certain underground locations, such as the New Vegas Sewers, the Broc Flower Cave, or Vaults with peeling election posters, are rats one-and-a-half to two-times bigger than normal. These are rodents of unusual size.

This is a reference to The Princess Bride and the R.O.U.S.s that inhabit the Fire Swamp.

Owen and Beru
Occurrence: Located just in front of a ruined Nipton house, to the right of the town hall, there are two corpses. One looks to be a male human, while the other is female, lying next to each other. They look like they've been charred. Looking at the burned corpses will reveal the male to be named "Owen" and the female "Beru".

This is a reference to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker's uncle Owen Lars and aunt Beru Lars are burned to death and their charred corpses are shown.

Romanes Eunt Domus
Occurrence: Scrawled on a concrete building in Cottonwood Cove, some upstart has scrawled the graffiti Romanes Eunt Domus.

This is a reference to Monty Python's The Life of Brian where Brian is writing graffiti on the palace wall and uses the same incorrect conjugation, trying to write "Romans go home" but instead writes "People called Romanes they go the house".

Crusoe Sucks as an Investigator
Occurrence: During the side quest Beyond the Beef, a dead investigator is discovered inside an Ultra-Luxe hotel room. Further investigation of this crime-scene reveals his name to be "Crusoe," with a shock of red hair, sunglasses and a business suit.

This could be a reference to Horatio Caine from CSI: Miami, who is portrayed by David Caruso (red hair, sunglasses).

The Future of Law Enforcement
Occurrence: If you frame Heck Gunderson during the Beyond the Beef side quest you may hear the arresting Securitron say: "Dead or alive, you're coming with me" and "Your move creep". Players may also over hear the Securitons saying this instead of their usual banter on the Strip.

This is a reference to the 1987 film RoboCop, when he confronts a criminal.

The One


Occurrence: Slightly north-west of the Devil's Throat is a large, unexploded bomb known as The One. Amid the crackle of your Geiger counter, you can open up the bomb, and scavenge some energy weapon ammunition, if you can stand the glowing one and super mutant master attacks.

Johnny Five-Aces
Occurrence: During Barton Thorn's quest, you're instructed to investigate an overlook south of Goodsprings. There's a dead Prospector up here named Johnny, wearing glasses, with a glass pitcher next to him, and five aces on the table. On the cliff are four balls in a line.

This is a reference to the failed game project Zybourne Clock, more specifically to its protagonist, "Johnny Five-Aces", as well as a metaphorical explanation of time-travel involving four balls placed on the edge of a cliff. Initially announced on the Something Awful forums, the project featured questionable artwork and a somewhat convoluted plot material, and eventually became a forum meme.

Game Over Man, Game Over!
Occurrence: If you're listening to the NCR Emergency Radio during the final battle for Hoover Dam, among the chatter about positioning snipers and reinforcing positions you may hear lines "They're coming out of the walls man! They're coming outta the damn walls." and "[Panic] Game Over Man! GAME OVER!".

If you search the rooms near the control panels where you meet Fantastic for the 2nd time, you may find 3 Legion Centurions standing in a small room next to a hole in the wall. 3 NCR soldiers are at their feet, dead, and one of them is named "Private Hudson". This will only occur if you search this room AFTER hearing the radio broadcast.

This is a reference to Bill Paxton's character Private First Class William Hudson from aliens.

Dammit, I'm an ambassador
Occurrence: During the quest Kings' Gambit, there is a dialogue option for the trait when discussing dealing with Pacer with Ambassador Crocker. You tell him that Pacer has a heart condition and is addicted to jet and insinuate that Crocker ought to be able to figure out what to do with that information. He responds with "Damn it, I'm an ambassador, not a doctor!", a permutation of the phrase "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not an {Insert Profession Here}" often attributed to Leonard "Bones" McCoy on Star Trek.

Holy Frag Grenades
Occurrence: In the south church of Camp Searchlight, there are 3 Holy Frag Grenades on a table. The writing on a box beside these grenades reads "Pull the pin and count to 5 3 "

Reference to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

Donnie and Marie
If the player warns Motor-Runner that they are there to kill him, Motor-Runner will refer to his dogs (BoneGnash and GhashBone) as "Donnie and Marie" before engaging the player in combat. There is also a script that would cause BoneGnash and GhashBone to be renamed to Donnie and Marie, though it is unused.

Pimp-Boy 3 Billion
After you acquire the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion from Mick in Mick & Ralph's, some disco music will play every time the Pimp-Boy is equipped.

Mr. New Vegas
Mr. New Vegas has a number of special intro lines that only play with Wild Wasteland:
 * "Stay classy, New Vegas." - a reference to the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
 * "Mojave, mo' problems, am I right?" - a reference to The Notorious B.I.G's song, Mo' Money, Mo' Problems.

EXTERMINATE!
While in combat, the Freeside Securitrons guarding The Strip North Gate will repeatedly shout, "Exterminate!" This is a declaration frequently made by the Daleks, a genocidal race of cyborgs and recurring villains in the science fiction television series Doctor Who.

They got better
If your reputation with Freeside has reached Vilified, some Freeside residents may harass you by saying, "Witch! Witch! You should be burned for all the people you've turned into newts!" This is a reference to from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where a villager accuses a woman of witchcraft for turning him into a newt, despite the fact that he is still human.

Hound dog
While in Freeside, Cass may be whistled at or otherwise hit on by members of the Kings, to which she will respond dismissively, "ain't nothing but a hound dog". Without the trait, Cass will mutter "somebody's asking for a boot in their fusebox". This is a reference to the song of the same name by "Big Momma" Thornton, covered years later by Elvis Presley.

Credits
The credits are significantly changed with Wild Wasteland. Most names will now carry a rather silly nickname, and other nonsense messages from the developers are interjected semi-randomly. This is a holdover from the developer comment credits from the first two Fallout games.

G is for ghost people
In the add-on Dead Money, the companion Dog and God will say "OM NOM NOM" when eating ghost people. This is a reference to the internet meme, where OM NOM NOM represents eating something. The meme originates from the sound Cookie Monster makes while eating cookies in the Sesame Street TV series.

Get an axe!
When Dean Domino kills his first Ghost Person he will say, "He's not dead... it's a trick. Get an axe." This is a reference to a scene near the beginning of Army of Darkness, wherin the series' hero: Ashley "Ash" Williams cautions a knight against touching a seemingly deceased Deadite who, true to his warning, proves to be merely faking.

Two-Bears-High-Fiving
A Dead Horses tribal named Two-Bears-High-Fiving will rush out of the Angel Cave. This refers to a mod from New Vegas Nexus that makes it optional to select the dialogue "Two bears high fiving" during the beginning of Fallout: New Vegas, while being tested by Doc Mitchell.

TAKE DRUGS, KILL A BEAR!
When speaking to White Bird with the trait active, during the Rite of Passage quest, he will shout, "TAKE DRUGS, KILL A BEAR!" when giving the Courier the quest objective. This is probably a reference to the "Advice Dog" internet meme.

Walking Eye
When entering the Magnetohydraulics Complex, directly to the left of the courier is an object called a Walking Eye. This is a reference to The Venture Bros. episode Fallen Arches, where Dr. Venture builds a walking eye.

Lobotomites! Wash the Walking Eye
After departing from X-13 Research Facility, Dr. 0 will get on the exterior intercom and yell out "Lobotomites! Wash the Walking Eye". This could also be a The Venture Bros. reference, as Dr Venture tries to attract the attention of super villains by hand washing his walking eye in his front yard. Additionally, Dr. 0's voice actor just so happens to also be Dr. Venture's.

Stripe
When looking for Gabe in Higg's Village, a miniature legendary deathclaw will attack the player doing as much damage as the legendary deathclaw. It is named Stripe referencing Gremlins. On the ground in front of Stripe's doghouse is a chunk of mutilated flesh called a "chicken" leg.

...And then Explode and Die
Inside X-7a "Left Field" Artillery Launch you'll encounter a Wild Wasteland Encounter where a garbled message over the intercom may be heard, ending with "...And then Explode and Die". This is a reference from the film Serenity in which the same announcement is made over the ships intercom as the ship hurtles through turbulence.

Dogs Playing Poker
X-8 Testing Facility: Just after the high school test, you will encounter a room with a window, through which can be seen 5 dogs. Normally they will be obediently staring at a screen depicting a woman petting a dog. If you have the wild wasteland perk however, they will be instead gathered around a table playing poker while utterly ignoring the forementioned screen in the background, as depicted in the picture at right.

This is a reference to the painting , c. 1906, part of the Dogs Playing Poker series by C. M. Coolidge.

Wolverines
When X-8 Research Center, during the simulation you'll encounter a high school wall that has a Red Dawn "Wolverines" reference.

7 Garden Gnomes
At the construction site there are 7 intact garden gnomes mining the red diamonds, likely referencing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Hey who turned out the lights?!
At multiple locations, including the X-12 Research Center and the Z-43 Innovative Toxins Plant, it is possible to hear trauma override harnesses say "Hey who turned out the lights?!" which is yet another Dr. Who reference from the episode Silence in the Library.

Rokit 88
Just slightly northeast of the Big MT West Tunnel there will be an abandoned truck stuck in a rock. Upon nearing the truck, 2 sentry bot Mk 3's will appear and attack the player. The truck's cab is separated from the rest of the truck and appears on the other side of the hill. The back of the truck is irradiated and bears a New Jersey license plate that reads "Rokit 88". This is a reference to the Film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

Plan 9
When speaking to Dr. Mobius he will say something about having to implement plan 9 (instead of plan c, as he would without wild wasteland trait). This is a reference to the film Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Behind the scenes

 * In an interview with Chris Avellone on gametrailers, he notes that the Wild Wasteland trait adds more references to older content in Fallout and Fallout 2, in regards to special encounters.
 * According to J.E. Sawyer, the trait was added as a compromise because different members of the team often suggested "wacky" content that others thought would be out of place.

Bugs

 * BoneGnash and GhashBone are not renamed if the player takes the Wild Wasteland trait, despite Motor-Runner referring to them as "Donnie and Marie". Resources which would allow for them to be renamed exist, but are not implemented.
 * The special dialogue on the NCR Emergency Radio channel may be processed while there are no radios tuned in to the station, causing the "..." message to appear for seemingly no reason.
 * Sometimes even without the trait, Two-Bears-High-Fiving will still appear to the Courier.