Easter Egg Overviews A collection of Easter Eggs in Fallout 3. The following are community submitted and not confirmed unless verified by a developer. Please boil and consume at your own risk.
1984
| References | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Description | Reference | |
| Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell | Irving Cheng's "Daily Affirmation" reads, "Comrade Cheng is watching you," which references the quote "Big Brother is watching you." | [1] | |
| The Vault 92 overseer's terminal contains the phrase, "sanity is not statistical" which is a reference to the book's quote, "sanity was statistical." | [2][3] | ||
American Civil War
The names of several characters are references to historical aspects of the American Civil War.
- Four Score is a Dog who bears the name of the first words of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
- Hannibal Hamlin was the name of Abraham Lincoln's first vice president.
- Leroy Walker is named after LeRoy Pope Walker, the first Confederate States Secretary of War.
- Bill Seward is named after William H. Seward, the United States Secretary of State from 1861-1869.
- Caleb Smith is named after Caleb B. Smith, Lincoln's Secretary of Interior from 1861-62.
- Simone Cameron is named after Simon Cameron, Lincoln's Secretary of War from 1861-62.
Apocalypse Now
The Mister Gutsy model of robot often says, "There is nothing I like better than the smell of plasma in the morning." when in combat.[4] This is a reference to the line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." in the movie Apocalypse Now.
The Beatles
When having Charon switch from melee combat to ranged weapons, he will make a remark which references the song called "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" by The Beatles.[5]
Bethesda Softworks
During the birthday sequence in Vault 101, Butch will attempt to take the Lone Wanderer's sweetroll that was given to them by Old Lady Palmer. This is a running Easter egg in Bethesda games, particularly in the Elder Scrolls series.
Billy Idol
The name of the quest A Nice Day for a Right Wedding is a play-on-words of the lyrics "It's a nice day for a white wedding" from the song "White Wedding" by Billy Idol.
Blade Runner
- Fawkes' power attack line "Wake up... time to die!"[6] is a direct quote from the movie Blade Runner.
Bradbury, Ray
The McClellan family townhome contains several references to the works of Ray Bradbury.
- The location as a whole is a reference to Ray Bradbury's short story "There Will Come Soft Rains," about a robotic house in Allendale, California that still works after a nuclear war, not knowing that its owners have perished in the atomic blast. The poem that the Mister Handy recites is "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale, a post-apocalyptic poem from 1920,[7] which also inspired Bradbury's story of the same name.[8]
- "Only one living thing makes an appearance in the [Bradbury] story: a wild dog (though a family dog in later versions), which had been slowly dying from radiation poisoning. It makes its way back to the house only to die; its corpse is then swiftly removed by the house's automated cleaning robots." The dead body of the McClellans' dog Muffy can be found in the vicinity of the house exterior.[9]
- The name of the townhome is also a reference to the McClellan family from another one of Ray Bradbury's books, Fahrenheit 451. The address "Bradley Place" is a play-on-words of Ray Bradbury's last name, while the number of 2026 is a reference to the setting of "There Will Come Soft Rains", taking place in August 2026.[10]
Cool Hand Luke
Rory McLaren will say, "Nobody can eat 50 eggs!" from the film Cool Hand Luke, in which the title character accepts a bet to eat 50 eggs in an hour.
Die Hard
Bryan Wilks, while in the Pulowski Preservation shelter during the Those! quest, says, "Now I know what a TV dinner feels like," a quote from the movie.
Dirty Harry
Callahan's Magnum refers to Dirty Harry's revolver.
Duck and Cover
The explosives skill book Duck and Cover!, as well as posters take their name and the image of Bert the Turtle from a instructional film of the same name.
Fawkes, Guy
When asked about his name, Fawkes says that it was the name of a man who died for what he believed in.
Fear Factory
The first log entry in the research lead terminals in the Museum of Technology contains lyrics from the song Archetype by the band Fear Factory.
Robby the Robot
The Art of Fallout 3 states that during development, Emil Pagliarulo's input on every robot was to "make it more like Robby the Robot." The protectron's original design went through many iterations before artists settled on a design that has "the vintage character of Robby" and that "captures the quintessential 1950's robot character more than any other."[11]
GURPS
The word "GURPS" can appear as a password when hacking computers; this is the name of the RPG rules system.
I Married a Maoist
The movie mentioned on the Broadway Cinema marquee references the 1949 film The Woman on Pier 13, originally slated to be titled I Married a Communist.
Incredible Hulk, The
A Mister Gutsy says, "I'm starting to get angry. You would not like me when I'm angry." This is a quote from the opening sequence of the TV series The Incredible Hulk.
Internet culture
Moira Brown's terminal password is MB3K-OMFG; the last four characters, OMFG, are a common internet acronym for "Oh My Fucking God."
Jefferson, Thomas
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance," and "Commerce with all nations, alliance with none;" both lines spoken by John Henry Eden, are attributed to Thomas Jefferson.
Led Zeppelin
The name of the perk Escalator to Heaven is a reference to the song Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin.
Legend of Zelda, The
The quest name The Legend of Zeta in the add-on Mothership Zeta is a reference to the game series The Legend of Zelda.
Lincoln, Abraham
The Karmic title "Last, Best Hope of Humanity" is a phrase in Lincoln's closing remarks to his 1862 Annual Message to Congress. The dog Four Score is a reference to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Lincoln's Repeater is a reference to Abraham Lincoln's Henry rifle.
Lost
The combination to Billy Creel's safe is 15, 16, 23, 42; which is the latter two-thirds of a recurring chain of numbers in the television show Lost.
MacArthur, Douglas
Sergeant RL-3 says, "Old warbots never die! We just rust away." This is a reference to General Douglas MacArthur's quote, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away..."
Ministry
Fawkes says, "I only kill to know I'm alive," which is from the song "So What" by Ministry.
Moby Dick
If the Lone Wanderer visits Fort Independence and asks an Outcast named Defender Morgan, "What have you got against the Brotherhood?", she will refer to Elder Lyons as "Ahab Lyons," who "is off chasing his super mutant white whale." This is a reference to Herman Melville's Moby Dick.
Music Man, The
Three Dog's line "Trouble, oh we got trouble, right here in Rivet City!" is a reference to the song Trouble Right Here In River City from the 1950s musical The Music Man. The refrain to the aforementioned song is "Trouble, oh we got trouble, right here in River City!"
Mythology, Norse
Ymir and Jotun are references to the Ymir and Jötunn. The names of Desmond Lockheart's dogs Freki and Geri in Point Lookout are a reference to Odin's two wolf companions named Freki and Geri. Fre
Occam's Razor
Occam's Razor refers to the scientific principle of the same name.
Paradise Lost
John Milton's Paradise Lost appears in Fallout 3 as a skill-training book.
Peanuts
Inside the Little Lamplight clinic, a sign reading "The Doctor is in" can be found, which was often seen on Lucy's stand in the series.
Portal
When a Robobrain loses track of the Lone Wanderer, they may say "Are you still there?", which is noted in script notes as "Homage to 'Portal, of course.[12]
Princess Bride, The
While patching up the Lone Wanderer during the Wasteland Survival Guide personal injury sub-quest, Moira asks them to describe the pain with the line, "And remember, this is for posterity!" This echoes a line used by Count Rugin in The Princess Bride.
P.S. I Love You
A movie marquee in Vernon Square displays the title "P.S. I Hate You," a reference to the 2007 film P.S. I Love You.
Red Army propaganda
The Civil Defense Administration poster, "Where will you be when the holocaust comes?" is modeled after a Soviet Red Army recruitment poster.
Rosie the Riveter
The haircut "Wendy the Welder," available to female characters, is a reference to Rosie the Riveter, a model for working women during World War II.
Saving Private Ryan
Asked what she does for the Brotherhood, Knight Captain Dusk replies that she is a sniper, and then says "Put any mutie bastard within one mile of me and my rifle and well, pack it up troops... fight's over." Jackson in Saving Private Ryan makes the same remark, with 'Hitler' replacing 'mutie' as the subject.
Serenity
After the Galaxy News Radio quest, Three Dog shouts "You can't stop the signal!" This is a quote from the film Serenity.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe
The Point Lookout quest "An Antique Land" is a reference to the first line of the poem "Ozymandias" by English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The name of the ship, the USS Ozymandias, is a reference to the title, and the Bysshe Company mentioned within the quest is a reference to the poet's middle name.
Sifl and Olly Show, The
One of the 911 Dispatch terminals in the Germantown Police HQ contains rantings referencing the song "Llama School" from The Sifl and Olly Show. The password for a computer terminal in the same building is "Vicious Coy", the name of the Precious Roy knockoff on the X-and-O show.
Smokey the Bear
When Three Dog is talking about radiation, he says, "Remember, only you can prevent human flesh fires." This is a reference to the iconic slogan "only you can prevent forest fires."
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
During the first fade-to-white in the opening character creation, The Overseer says, "Dammit! We need a doctor, not a deadbeat," a reference to lines in the original Star Trek in which Leonard McCoy says to Captain Kirk, "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a [profession that isn't medical]." Doctor Preston in Rivet City will say "I'm a doctor, not a dealer!" when asked about purchasing chems.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
The password for the shipping computer in the Nuka-Cola Plant is NC-C1864. The call letters of the USS Reliant was NCC-1864.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Doctor Gillian Taylor and her whales from the movie are mentioned in a terminal (Log Entry MA-0085) on the first floor in the Museum Authority Building.
Star Trek: Voyager
The robot Sawbones greets the player character with, "Please state the nature of the medical emergency," the signature phrase of the Emergency Medical hologram "The Doctor" from Star Trek: Voyager.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
During the Mothership Zeta add-on, it is possible to enter the waste disposal area of the ship during the quest Among the Stars where Sally is found fixing an elevator. There is an optional speech option here, "what an incredible smell you've discovered," which is also Han Solo's line from the movie Episode IV: A New Hope in which the main characters find themselves in the Maintenance Level of the Death Star.
Strapping Young Lad
The bottom log entry on the Maintenance Department terminal in the Presidential Sub Level (accessed through a Broken Steel quest) references Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad's song "Detox."
Street Fighter
When entering Little Lamplight for the first time and talking to Mayor MacCready, there is a Speech challenge that goes, "The day I showed up here is the best day of your life. For me, it was Tuesday." This references the 1994 film Street Fighter.
Terminator
When talking to the slave Prosper in The Pitt add-on, one dialogue option reads, "Your Clothes. Give them to me. Now." Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in The Terminator.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The picture for the Cyborg perk refers to the Terminator series T-101 appearance.
Them!
The quest Those! is a reference to the 1954 Oscar-nominated sci-fi classic Them!
Tommy James & The Shondells
Eulogy Jones' slave bodyguards Crimson and Clover are references to the song "Crimson And Clover" by the group Tommy James and the Shondells.
United States moon landing
When completing Head of State in favor of the Slavers, Three Dog will report on the incident with a news section on Galaxy News Radio. He closes with the phrase "One small step backwards for man, one giant evolutionary rewind for mankind..." This is a reference to U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong's quote after taking his first step on the moon. The original quote is "One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."
West Side Story
Paul Hannon Jr.'s line "Birth to Earth, womb to tomb" is a direct quote from the Broadway show West Side Story.
Wing Commander IV
John Henry Eden's quote "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance," is a quote from Wing Commander IV The Price of Freedom.
Wizard of Oz, The
After completing The American Dream and convincing President Eden to self-destruct, Three Dog will report on the incident on Galaxy News Radio, opening with the phrase: "Ding, dong, the sanctimonious, self-righteous, self-proclaimed Presidential asshole is dead!" This is a reference to "Ding, dong, the witch is dead!" sung by the munchkins in The Wizard of Oz.
X-Men
The perk Adamantium Skeleton is a reference to the fictional metal alloy that makes up the skeleton of Wolverine from X-Men.
Zen Buddhism
- When the Lone Wanderer tries to rob Uncle Leo, his dialogue, in which he tells them the clothes are a gift and he wishes he could give the Wanderer the "wonderful moon," comes from a Zen Buddhist koan.
References
- ↑ Tenpenny Tower terminal entries; Cheng personal computer, Daily Affirmation
- ↑ Vault 92 terminal entries; Richard Rubin's terminal, Personal Entry 000897377
- ↑ 1984: Part 3, Chapter 4, george-orwell.org
- ↑ Mister Gutsy: "There's nothing I like better than the smell of plasma in the morning!"
(Mister Gutsy's dialogue) - ↑ Lone Wanderer: "I want you to use ranged weapons."
Charon: "If that is what you wish, then it is what I shall do. I must say, that I find happiness in a warm gun."
(Charon's dialogue) - ↑ Fawkes: "Wake up... time to die!"
(Fawkes' dialogue) - ↑ Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition pp.428-429: "14.06: TOWNHOME (MCCLELLAN HOUSEHOLD): Read Children Bedtime Poem"
He heads to the bunk-bed room, and reads to the two tiny skeletons:
This is a poem by Sara Teasdale (1919). Also used in the Ray Bradury short story, "There Will Come Soft Rains" from the Martian Chronicles).
(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide/Tour of the Capital Wasteland) - ↑ Joel Burgess on Twitter: "So, example: I think the easter egg I'm most proud of is the McClellan house in Fallout 3. I won't detail it in full here, but it's a location full of references to Ray Bradbury, and a specific story in the Martian Chronicles."
- ↑ There Will Come Soft Rains at Wikipedia
- ↑ Joel Burgess on Twitter: "If you know the source material, the name of the family, the address, the dead dog, the poem the robot reads... all big nods to Bradbury. The house itself basically mirrors Bradbury's story. It's a glaringly obvious homage if you get the reference."
- ↑ The Art of Fallout 3, Robots p. 45: "Emil's input on every robot was "make it more like Robby the Robot!" and this was the mind-set we had in approaching the various mechanical creatures in the world. The Protectron is an original design that went through many iterations before settling on something that does have the vintage character of Robby, and we think he captures the quintessential 1950's robot character more than any other."
- ↑ Robobrain: "Are you still there?"
Script note: "Homage to Portal, of course."
(Robobrain dialogue)