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Fallout Dogmeat inspiration, River the German Shepherd, goes OTRB

By Wesley Coburn

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 10: Executive Producer, Bethesda Game Studios Todd Howard presents 'Fallout 76' onstage as Bethesda Softworks shows off new video game experiences at its E3 Showcase and at The Event Deck at LA LIVE on June 10 ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) happening at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 12-14 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Bethesda Softworks)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 10: Executive Producer, Bethesda Game Studios Todd Howard presents 'Fallout 76' onstage as Bethesda Softworks shows off new video game experiences at its E3 Showcase and at The Event Deck at LA LIVE on June 10 ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) happening at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 12-14 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Bethesda Softworks) /
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The inspiration for the Fallout Dogmeat character, a real-life female German Shepherd named River, has passed Over the Rainbow Bridge.

This news was earlier reported by the video game news site Polygon.

River belonged to game developer Joel Burgess, who announced the news on his Twitter account on Sunday, June 27.

“I said goodbye today to River, who most of you know as Fallout 4’s Dogmeat,” Burgess wrote, noting that it seemed more appropriate for the medium, in addition to being easier, to talk about her impact on the game’s development rather that grieve the loss by delivering a eulogy.

“What we wanted was a companion first, and a combat ally second.”

This meant that Burgess quickly realized that River had to visit the studio fairly regularly, so that the members of his team would realize the good qualities that German Shepherds had. (They were solely thinking of the Dogmeat character as a weapon, inspired by police dogs.)

As he had hoped, River’s physical presence led to designers incorporating her personality into the game as they came to see her as a friend, in addition to the obvious help she gave them as a model.

Fallout Dogmeat inspiration River has crossed Over the Rainbow Bridge.

River also provided Dogmeat’s voice, with the distress calls being triggered by Burgess hiding on the other side of a locked soundbooth door.

Dogmeat was named as the Best Video Game Dog of 2015 by The CW’s World Dog Awards for his contribution to the gameplay of Fallout 4, which allows the dogs to be petted.

Set in a post-apocalyptic Boston in the year 2287, both Dogmeat and the player are from another time. The game released in November 2015 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

“Dogmeat is a tether,” Burgess concluded.. “He grounds you in the world, will always stand by you, lead you to your family, and anticipate your needs. He wants you to be safe and happy. In other words, he loves you. And if love is River’s legacy, I am contented.”

While we have not played Fallout 4 before, it sounds like a very interesting game, and we appreciate all the hard work River and the rest of the development team put into it.

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