Fallout: Nuka Break

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
"By Menen, Nice Shooting."

Fallout: Nuka Break is a Fan Film series set in the Fallout Universe. It's made by Wayside Creations, created and written by Zack Frinfrock and co-written by Brian Clevinger of Eight Bit Theater and Atomic Robo fame. Originally just a short film, positive reaction lead to it being revived as a continuing series. And the Fandom Rejoiced.

The series stars three protagonists: Twig, a dim-witted, overweight Vault Dweller; Scar, a Laser-Rifle-toting former Legion slave; and Ben, an amoral ghoul. Together, they try to survive the Mojave Wasteland, and, in Twig's case, search for the perfect "Nuka Break."

Complicating matters is a bounty put on the trio by Caesar's Legion for freeing Scar and Ben's unscrupulous item-obtaining measures have put them in a tight spot where finding work is difficult.

A season 2, which according to Zack will be much wider in scope and ambition, is now in pre-production and is gathering up crowdfunding through Kickstarter.


Tropes used in Fallout: Nuka Break include:
  • Artifact Title: Or rather it's importance and direct relevance to the plot. Twig's desired "Nuka Break" is achieved halfway through the first season, but the trio are still actively trying to find peace and stability while surviving in the Mojave Wasteland.
  • Action Girl: Scar. In episode 4, she beat the crap out of a slaver merc who tried to disarm her. Even Twig was impressed. Too bad another one shot her in the arm.
  • Badass: The NCR Veteran Ranger the group runs into is the straightest example so far.
  • Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad / Bigger Is Better: Vault 10 holds a similar attitude towards fatness. Being fat is considered normal and (comparatively) skinny people such as Twig are bullied and made fun of for their size (or lack thereof).
  • Big Damn Heroes: By none other than the Mysterious Stranger to Twig in episode 6.
  • Bolivian Army Ending: At the end of episode 4, Larry ambushes the crew for Leon Swallow, Scar's owner. In the last moments of the episode, one of his men seemingly shoots her in the back (it's actually her arm, so she's okay.
  • Bounty Hunter: They've run into a few, due to the Legion putting a price on their heads. Luckily for them, the only ones they've encountered so far have been completely incompetent.
    • It's now pretty clear that the idiot raiders and mercs that came after Scar and company were misinformed. Leon's bounty on Scar was supposed to be 2000 caps, which is more than what The Courier gets paid for the Platinum Chip. Episode 4 ends with Ben's old friend betraying them and getting a team of competent and numerous mercs to capture Scar.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: When the NCR Ranger drops the name of an important person from Ben's past, he immediately begins throwing punches. The Ranger deflects them easily and disables Ben in Bullet Time. Then Twig attacks with his Shishkebab, which fares as well as you'd expect, while Scar's smart enough to not jump in. Really, the only reason the group is still alive is because the NCR Ranger wanted to talk.
  • Exposed to the Elements: Let's just say Scar must go through a lot of sunblock.
  • Fat and Proud: The people of Vault 10.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Red, in the movie. She shoots one of her teammates in the face. She later shoots Trader Vic when he finds her unconscious at the end of the film.
    • Scar, too, if Twig's frequent fights with Scar are any indication.
      • Confirmed in Episode 2 where she slugs Ben for being a Jerkass.
  • Idiot Hero: Played with, Zack Frinfrock said at PAX the only reason why Twig is still alive is a 10 for Luck stat.
  • I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Red does this to Joey. Tanner implies it's not the first time...
  • Kleptomaniac Hero: Ben. Besides looting every corpse he finds, Ben thought their Courier job was a scam, stole all the objects and replaced them with "useless crap" which lead to them getting kicked out of Goodsprings.

"Woo! Free shit! Woo!"

  • Let's Get Dangerous: Episode 5 features the trio deciding to get this, with Twig robbing a merchant for a Shishkebab, Scar beating the crap out of the mercs who captured them and Ben deciding the only way the situation their in is going to end is if they go after Big Bad Leon Swallow, or else the mercs will keep coming.
  • Mythology Gag: Just about every gun, outfit, and item in the series is a replica of something from Fallout, including Vault Jumpsuits, Laser Rifles, Bottlecap Mines, That Gun, and of course, Nuka Cola.
    • Of particular note is Scar's Tri-Beam Laser Rifle, which does fire 3 laser beams as in game each time it's fired.
    • Episode 3 reveals that Ben worked in the Stables of New Reno with Myron.
    • Larry has the Eyebot from the movie on the shelf behind his Jet stall.
    • At the end of Episode 2 and the beginning of episode 3 there are several NCR Civilian Rangers and one NCR Veteran Desert Ranger.
    • Episode 4 features a very faithful recreation of a Legion Slave camp.
    • Episode 5 features the Shiskebab and a Nuka Cola Quantum. It also has an internal mythology gag with the return of Red.
    • The Eastwood shopkeeper remarks that Twig must "have a lead belly" to drink so much irradiated Nuka Cola without getting sick (which happened in the fan film). "Lead Belly" is the name of a gameplay perk that cuts down on the poisoning incurred from eating foods and drinking irradiated liquids (though ironically not Nuka Cola).
  • Narrator: Played by Vic Mignogna in both the movie and series!
  • Nice Hat: Mayor Conners of Eastwood has a foot tall top hat.
  • Non-Indicative Name: Twig.
  • Odd Friendship: A chubby Vault-Dweller, a kleptomaniac ghoul, and a badass former slave. We know how Ben and Twig met Scar, but how Ben and Twig ever hooked up as traveling companions is completely unimaginable.

Scar: "Don't look at me, he's your friend."
Ben: "*My friend? I don't even like the guy."

Twig: "You have any more Nuka Cola?"
Old Man: "I got Sunset Sarsaparilla."
Twig: "That's not Nuka Cola."

  • Trash the Set: Not a straight example, but the set Eastwood was filmed in burned down in a recent wildfire[1] [dead link]. Aaron Giles blamed the fiends.
    • Throw It In: In Episode 6, Leon Swallow blows the town to smithereens with a Fat Man.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Ben and Twig, and Ben and Scar. Ben openly admits he's not too crazy about Twig and openly tries to get him killed, yet is completely willing to give him back-up. Scar is routinely offended by Ben's behavior, often calling him out on such things, to which he does apologize for.

Scar: "You're an ass, you know?"
Ben: "I know, sorry."

  • Weapon of Choice: Twig uses his .223/5.56 Pistol, you know, That Gun. Ben uses a Hunting Shotgun and Scar has her Tri-Beam Laser Rifle.
  • Webcomic Time: A justified example. Episode 5 was delayed a week because the VFX guys couldn't finish the big fight scene in the episode fast enough. When it turned out extremely well, they openly admitted on Twitter that they rushed to released the first four episodes and currently Nuka Break now airs once every three weeks instead of every two, giving the effects people more time and the actors the ability to do pick up scenes.
  • What Could Have Been: The last half of season 1 was filmed and then needed to be refilmed when a wildfire destroyed the Eastwood set. Many characters who were give names (like Raz) were intended to have much larger roles in the series... which can't happen now. As a result they trunkated their last half of the season to end at episode 6 (the original intent was 9 for a decent length season) with the above mentioned Throw It In as their cliff-hanger for season 2, which will be nothing like the original intention.
  • Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Twig's reaction to being complimented on a steal by Scar and Ben.

"…That doesn't make me feel good."