The Escapist - From Black Isle to Bethesda

The latest Escapist has a post-apoc theme with a piece on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. called Worlds from the Zone and another on Fallout's history titled From Black Isle to Bethesda: Fallout's Story.  This second piece is written by Michael "Zonk" Zenke from Slashdot but some readers may remember his work at RPGDot (particularly MMORPGDot) as "Dialogue".  There are a couple of small dodgy factual bits (such as Black Isle being credited instead of Interplay) but it's generally a good read (although perhaps a subject that has been well done before):

Their straightforward design hung all character actions on a series of simple attributes and skills, and nearly matched the degree of flexibility seen in Jackson's GURPS. This open-minded outlook extended to the gameplay and story, as well. The "do what you want" sandbox concept made famous by Grand Theft Auto and The Elder Scrolls series was still something of a rarity in 1997. (For instance, Fallout's competition that year was the on-rails Japanese RPG Final Fantasy VII.) By empowering players, the Black Isle developers made the game world's drama and emotion more poignant. The dystopian imagery and black humor laced throughout the game drew the player in, making him a party to a joke that was one-third funny and two-thirds horrifying. In short: it worked.