Fallout’s Pip-Boy Explained: Why Vault Dwellers Wear Computers On Their Wrists

One of Fallout‘s most useful items is the portable, computer-like gadget known throughout the franchise as the Pip-Boy. Because of its continued appearances throughout the franchise, the Pip-Boy is something that the Fallout series will need to include in order to remain faithful to its source material. As teased in the Fallout TV show adaptation, Amazon is incorporating the Pip-Boy as a key resource for specific characters, showing the mini-computers worn on their wrists.

Like the games, the Fallout show is set in a post-apocalyptic setting of a nuclear-ravished United States. The story at the center of the Fallout adaptation focuses on three core figures: Lucy, Maximus, and “The Ghoul.” Whereas Maximus is connected to the Brotherhood of Steel and “The Ghoul” is a mutant bounty hunter, Lucy is a Vault Dweller equipped with technology not available to much of the Wasteland. Although not given much attention in the trailers, Fallout will no doubt showcase a new iteration of the Pip-Boy to maintain its legacy.

The Vault Dwellers Wear Computers Called Pip-Boys In Fallout

Pip-Boys Are Vital For Survivors In Vaults

Manufactured by RobCo, the Personal Information Processor (Pip-Boy) debuted in 1997’s Fallout as the Pip-Boy 2000, and since its first iteration, it has gone on to develop into an increasingly more sophisticated wearable computer capable of achieving many great feats. Given Fallout‘s post-apocalyptic setting, Pip-Boys were designed with the sole purpose of aiding Vault dwellers in daily tasks, such as learning how to cook and understanding multiple languages. However, the wandering player character can use the Pip-Boy for even more practical reasons, which consists of identifying radiated areas and dangerous creatures throughout the wasteland.

While Pip-Boys are viewed by many characters in the Fallout franchise as essential to surviving the rigors of the Wasteland, other characters, such as various Ghouls and high-ranking military factions view them as crutches that diminish a person’s ability to develop their survival instincts and innate human senses. Regardless of the criticism levied against the tech and those who use them, Pip-Boys are, without a doubt, the most useful tool in the Fallout franchise. Furthermore, with multiple versions having been created throughout the years, it reinforces their usefulness to wanderers and their impact on the franchise.

The Purpose Of Pip-Boys In Fallout Explained

Pip-Boys Have Various Models That Are Each Capable Of Doing Different Things

The Pip-Boy relies on highly sophisticated technology and an impressive resolution finish to display multiple things to wanderers, such as high-frequency sound, the ability to translate multiple languages, and in-depth descriptions of various enemy types. Although the Fallout video games don’t spend a great deal of time on it, Pip-Boys are powered by a state-of-the-art fission battery, and their exterior is designed with enough complex equipment to allow the Pip-Boy to withstand any form of trauma. To sustain the Pip-Boy’s complex needs, engineers developed the proprietary OS called Pip-OS.

Although players gain access to various guns, melee weapons, explosives, and even Power Armor, the Pip-Boy proves time and again to be the wanderer’s most useful and effective tool for survival. Early iterations of the Pip-Boy primarily emphasized its ability to decipher important locations that players would need to investigate. However, more sophisticated models would demonstrate an ability to monitor the wanderer’s health at all times, decipher foreign languages, and even determine how badly radiated an area was. Given its sheer usefulness, Lucy will no doubt rely on the Pip-Boy early in Fallout.

Why The Pip-Boy Will Be Key To Lucy’s Mission In The Fallout Show

Lucy Will Need The Pip-Boy To Better Understand The Wasteland

Even though little is known about Lucy, she’s Fallout‘s Vault Dweller, which makes her oblivious to the horrors of the Wasteland. Having spent her whole life inside Vault 33, Lucy was misled into thinking everything was fine, and that the passage of enough time would lead to her and her fellow Vault Dwellers’ freedom. However, after deciding that she wants to see the world herself and make a positive impact on it, she makes her way out of one of Fallout‘s many Vaults.

With no combat skills, limited social skills, and a child-like naïveté, Lucy has already demonstrated that she won’t be prepared to handle the harshness of the Wasteland without the help of her Pip-Boy. Furthermore, many of the characters that she encounters, such as the Ghoul and Maximus, already have far more experience in the Wasteland than her. Nevertheless, the Pip-Boy should be more than capable of helping Lucy navigate the rough terrain, radiation risks, and various other life-threatening monsters in the Fallout franchise.