Before it changed into something more inclusive, the Bitmob Game Club was a feature in which a handful of community writers played a few levels of the same game every week, then wrote about it in their own style. The final series, before everyone got involved with the Rez edition, was going to be about Fallout.

The project never came about, but I wrote my first contribution and left it sitting on my hard drive until today.

The simple graphics encouraged my imagination to fill in most of the game's scenes, almost like a book or radio drama. Here's my representation of what the first couple of hours was like in my head.

I stumble across a few dirty tents clustered around a building. A mean-looking dude stands by the entrance to the building.

“Hey, put that weapon away,” he orders because of the pistol in my hand. I acquiesce -- not wanting to start a fight -- and let myself in.

In the largest room stands a muscular, important-looking man. I greet him.

“Who are you?”

I consider telling him I'm there to join -- earning their trust could gain me some equipment. But I'm not sure my companion, Ian, would help me through my initiation. I can count on his loyalty better than these amoral thugs, anyway.

“I'm an explorer.”

“We don't need those kinds of people around here,” he says. He shoots me dead.

I'm Albert, a charismatic (with 9 CH points to prove it) former vault-dweller. I'm on a quest for a “water chip” to save my dying underground home. The Overseer told me to search a nearby vault for my McGuffin, but I found nothing there. So far, the closest I've come to saving them is peering down a dusty well.

Now, I'm back in Shady Sands to collect a reward for solving their radscorpion problem.

It's late at night, so Doctor Razlo refuses to see me. He doesn't sleep or anything -- he just stands there all night in his shack. I pass the time by burglarizing his home and reading the book I steal. It's about medicine, a subject I'm already a journeyman of.

Finally, the doctor makes an antidote. I administer it to his patient. (Apparently, Razlo can't move from his spot.) The guy thanks me, but, really, Ian deserves most of the credit.

When I first tripped over Shady Sands, I suggested he tag along. He shoots two bullets for every one that I can get off. The bastard accidentally hit me once, but I forgive him. Everyone here seems to fight by standing still and taking turns to shoot. That's rather boring to me, so it's good having Ian around to quicken it up.

Ian and I have rolled around the wasteland stabbing rats, shooting giant scorpions, and dying a lot.

We got ourselves killed on a slapstick misadventure in Junktown. As I chatted with the Mayor Killian Darkwater, an assassin interrupted us. Ian stood between the assassin and Killian; the Mayor shot back at his would-be killer but also hit Ian. Everyone blasted everyone else and only a couple of guards survived.

We die a lot.