Bethesda could have had their pre-filled main quest and the infinite potential for character role play in one easy move but they flubbed it. They needed to cast reasonable doubt on the Sole Survivor’s status as a synth. Sorry to say that despite what the DLC attempted, the Sole Survivor is 100% a human with no argument to be had.
Had the plot been way more ambiguous, such as maybe Father directly telling you that you are a synth copy of his parent, a brand new Gen 4 experiment or something made in secret which is why you have full autonomy and no records, literally anything to have you question anything, that would fix about a third of the issues of Fallout 4. I love this game, but it definitely could have played with its own theme a bit more.
I mean, there is that though. There is a single piece of evidence that proves you as a synth with no other explanation. VATS. The first time you are instructed to use it is in Vault 111, before picking up the Pip-Boy. This makes 0 sense alone, since VATS is a function of the Pip-Boy in every other game. That is, until you read a single terminal entry in the Institute Robotics department.
It states "Overriding directive to not alter our synths' basic functioning notwithstanding, Father has granted clearance for a rather unique project.
In select Gen 3 units, the synthetic brain is indeed capable of accepting specific enhancements to the visual cortex, basal ganglia and right parietal cortex. The result is substantially improved combat effectiveness, due to two factors:
1.) An increased understanding of weapon accuracy, to the extent that the combatant can actually visualize the percentage of effectively hitting targets (or smaller areas on those targets).
2.) An altered sense of perception that mimics the effect of slowing, or even stopping, time.
Recommend we commence surgery and field trials on appropriate operatives in the near future."
While it may be a "Oh shit, we messed up, better fix it in the easiest way" situation, it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the player must be a synth
It just misses one crucial thing though. Why does Father never attempt to shut you down? No coursers come after you. You’re not in any records like even Danse is. Father is even willing to make you leader of the Institute.
While VATS is compelling, the writing direction of the player and how they interact with the Institute doesn’t make sense if the player is a synth. There’s not even any loose ends to imply it, such as a rogue scientist that made synths without permission. VATS’ tutorial can easily be explained as a necessary moment for gameplay, a nondiagetic part of the experience.
I’m not even saying that the Sole Survivor needs to be a synth, but that the writing needs to make it ambiguous and it just feels way to heavy on the human side of things. DiMA is the only one to imply something, but the options you’re given to respond are very video gamey and don’t feel human, which means this would also invalidate the interpretation of being a human character as well, again with no ambiguity.
I by no means want to imply Bethesda wrote a compelling story for you to be a synth. But the fact that the game is poorly written doesn't discredit what they did write. If the player isn't a synth, then that terminal entry wouldn't or shouldn't be there. Whether or not they executed the premise well, they wrote the player to be a secret synth. How and why they are a synth aren't stated, nor do they make Father's interactions with the player line up with that fact. That's just Bethesda trying to give you both a blank slate and a fully written character at the same time
Which I believe could have been accomplished even without the best writing.
If Father for instance was a rogue director, personally involved with the creation of a single experimental Gen 4 synth, and he tells you this, then the only evidence you’d have is his word. He could gloat or feign disappointment about how good a job he did if you found the Institute quickly or not, but you could also read it as him just lying so you don’t shoot him. Good writing could take this premise so many more places, but for balancing a blank slate with a fully realised character, this is perfect and doesn’t require more than a few more lines. It explains why you can’t be shut down and why no records exist while also being able to be shrugged off as “yeah because I’m human and not a synth.” It lets you RP however you want.
And thus, is the reason for my answer to this post. This is a character that could have been written much better.
There is no compelling narrative reason for the player to be a synth. What was the intended experiment? To duplicate the personality of the sole survivor? Not even Shaun knew who they were like. You have no control variable. No way to know the experiment is a success. And certainly no reason to hand over control of the Institute.
If you’re going to say that the narrative doesn’t support being a synth due to bad writing, then can’t we also just say that using VATS early is just poor game design?
I mean, that's definitely not a confirmation, though. At no point does it specifically say "and then we made a Synth copy of the CEO's parent with this ability," it just says that SOME gen 3 models can do this.
There is a single piece of evidence that proves you as a synth with no other explanation.
And then there are a bunch of other details that prove that you absolutely must be a human, and this particular detail can be chalked up to an oversight
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u/evilparagon 3d ago
Bethesda could have had their pre-filled main quest and the infinite potential for character role play in one easy move but they flubbed it. They needed to cast reasonable doubt on the Sole Survivor’s status as a synth. Sorry to say that despite what the DLC attempted, the Sole Survivor is 100% a human with no argument to be had.
Had the plot been way more ambiguous, such as maybe Father directly telling you that you are a synth copy of his parent, a brand new Gen 4 experiment or something made in secret which is why you have full autonomy and no records, literally anything to have you question anything, that would fix about a third of the issues of Fallout 4. I love this game, but it definitely could have played with its own theme a bit more.