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 that of Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics special encounters. Players without Wild Wasteland will find less humorous analogues in places of the Wild Wasteland encounters.

Events that are modified/triggered by Wild Wasteland are indicated by an "alien-esque" music and a on-screen message saying "..." with an image of the Vault Boy with spirals for eyes, 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.

Hovering 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. 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 a child's skeleton, a Mole Rat, 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. Any resident of Freeside may occasionally mention them.

You're getting too close, Seamus!
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 graffito 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 inflection, trying to write "Romans go home" but instead writes "People called Romanes they go the house".

Dead 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.

Dead or alive, you're coming with me
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 "Game Over Man! GAME OVER!".

If you search the rooms near the control panels where you meet Fantastic for the second time, you may find three Legion Centurions standing in a small room next to a hole in the wall. Three 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!".

This phrase is a permutation of the phrase "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a(n) {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
Occurrence: 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 reference to the Daleks, a genocidal race of alien-robot hybrids and recurring villains in the science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Bravo Bravo Charlie
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 "Location Bravo Bravo Charlie The Doctor is coming."

This is a reference to the science fiction television series Doctor Who created by the BBC, Bravo Bravo Charlie being the phonetic alphabet representation for B B C and "The Doctor" being the title character.

Witch! Witch!
Occurrence: 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.

Ain't nothing but a hound dog
Occurrence: 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", instead of the normal response of "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. Also, most instances of the name Dead Money is replaced with "Dead Monkey".

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, wherein 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.

Are you my mummy?
In the wine cellar near the bell tower from which you trigger the Gala Event, the phrase "I AM NOT YOUR MUMMY" scrawled is on the central pillar. This is in reference to The Empty Child, a character Jamie from Doctor Who, referencing the gas-mask similarity between the character and the Ghosts.

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 a reference to the "Insanity Wolf" internet meme.

Walking eye
In the Magnetohydraulics Complex are four robots known as walking eyes. One can be seen directly to the left, two others are in the flooded room to the left - one on the ceiling above the door frame and one on the desk. The last one is perched on top of the flooded room on the left corner (if you leave the flooded area and are on the crosswalk, jump and you will see it). This scene is a reference to the robotic spider in The Venture Bros. episode Fallen Arches.

Lobotomites! Wash the walking eye!
While wandering the crater, you may hear a message over the intercom from Dr. 0 (voiced by James Urbaniak) shouting "Lobotomites! Wash the walking eye!"  This is also a reference to The Venture Bros. episode Fallen Arches mentioned above.

Stripe
Behind Dr. Borous' house in Higgs Village is a dog house containing a miniature deathclaw named Stripe that is roughly as difficult to kill as a legendary deathclaw. Its name is a reference to the Gremlins movie series, as is the "'chicken' leg" lying on the ground in front of the dog house.

...And then Explode and Die
Inside X-7a "Left Field" Artillery Launch, the player will hear a garbled intercom message that ends with "...and then explode and die." This is a reference to the film Serenity in which the same announcement is made over the ship's intercom.

Dogs Playing Poker
In the X-8 research center, after exiting the high school testing area, is a room with a window that looks into another room containing five cyberdogs. Where they would normally be sitting, staring obediently at an image of Vault Girl petting a dog (which is itself a reference to Fallout Tactics), with Wild Wasteland they are sitting around a table littered with cards, poker chips, and alcohol. This is a reference to the famous "Dogs Playing Poker" series of paintings. A similar scene appears in the Fallout Tactics special encounter Brahmin Poker.

Wolverines!
In the X-8 research center's high school testing area, the word "Wolverines" has been spelled out on a wall. This is a reference to the movie Red Dawn, where high school students fend off an invasion by Soviet forces.

Hi-ho! Hi-ho! It's off to work we go!
At the construction site, there are seven Garden gnomes positioned around the large red crystals, along with pickaxes and lanterns. There is a grave nearby. This is a reference to the film 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 a trauma override harness say "Hey who turned out the lights?!" This is a reference to the Doctor Who episodes "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead."

Rokit 88
Slightly northeast of the Big MT West Tunnel is an abandoned military truck that has been cut in half by a hill. The fact that the truck has slipped & fused into the hill may be a reference to the urban legend of the Philadelphia Experiment where it is said a government cloaking and or teleportation experiment had warped dimensions of time and space, fusing crew members into the solid deck of their ship. Also, the trucks cargo area contains several barrels of radioactive waste and it has a New Jersey license plate that reads "Rokit 88." The license plate is a reference to the film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

Plan 9
When speaking to Dr. Mobius, he will mention having to implement Plan 9 (instead of Plan C, as he would without Wild Wasteland). This is a reference to the infamous film Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Kilroy Was Here
As you exit the Think Tank or The Sink, turn left and follow the dome's wall. On the wall is a piece of graffiti that reads "Kilroy was here." This phrase was popular with United States soldiers during World War II, who drew the same doodle at various places they were stationed, encamped, or visited, but the origin of the doodle is unknown.

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

 * 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.