It’s been a sad weekend for Fallout fans. Our favorite canine companion Dogmeat has passed away in real life.
I said goodbye today to River, who most of you know as Fallout 4’s Dogmeat.
Heartbroken doesn't cover it, but I won’t eulogize her here. For twitter, I thought it'd be appropriate to look back at her impact on that game.
(plus, writing about game dev hurts less than grieving) pic.twitter.com/ayN1Vd6oqQ
— Joel Burgess (@JoelBurgess) June 27, 2021
The real-life German Shepard named River, the pet dog of Bethesda developers Joel and Michelle Burgess, modeled and voiced Dogmeat. Joel tweeted about the death of his beloved companion on Saturday, clearly grieving the loss of his best bud. You could feel the pain and sadness that he was going through in his tweets, and Fallout fans around the world offered their condolences in their replies.
Initially, Joel didn’t think River will become the direct inspiration to Dogmeat. After seeing one of his team members’ desk filled with photos of maniacal German Shepards, he changed his mind. Burgess decided to tag River along to the studio. She seemed like the perfect fit to become a part of the team. Eventually, the devs warmed up with the idea of modeling Dogmeat after River for Fallout 4.
What others might not know is that River actually voiced Dogmeat. Getting simple barks was easy, but making River bark in distress was the real challenge. Joel literally had to lock himself up in another room, staying out of sight of River in order to trigger these emotions.
Burgess and the rest of the team wanted to have heartwarming elements into Fallout 4 amidst all the violence of the game. They went for a more sweet and loving dog that would love his master no matter what decision players in the game. Dogmeat is the type of companion that would run ahead of you then look back and wait for you to get to his side. What we got is a loyal companion who'd protect you no matter what.
Rest in peace, River.
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