Doodling: to draw pictures or patterns while thinking about something else or when you are bored. – Cambridge Dictionary.

I often get really invested in the games I play, but few in-game universes have captivated me as much as the one presented in Fallout: New Vegas. There are multiple other games in the same series, but I’d argue New Vegas is the greatest installation with regards to both gameplay and story.

Despite being a rushed development, the team at Obsidian Entertainment flawlessly crafted an immersive and evolving environment, the four DLCs seamlessly expanding on the world, creating an indepth, tragic, and morally gray environment for you, the Courier, to shape.

I wanted to create a piece to try and show the complexity and diversity in the political landscape in the Mojave wasteland, and try to include each of the major players in the story. A lot of my art is very reference based, this piece included. I used in-game images and and promotional media to create a chaotic yet intricate artwork.

The centerpiece of the game is the remains of the Las Vegas strip, now called the New Vegas strip, rebuilt by Robert Edwin House, shown in the center top. Around him surrounds the building he resides in (right), and the three families of the strip, operating their own casinos under House.

Due to the theme being centered around Vegas and its culture, I included some casino chips and a playing card. The two primary warring factions are on the right, with the Roman inspired, tribal-like Caesar’s Legion on the top, along with two of their major players, and the bull representing them.

Below is the expansive New California Republic, with a Ranger in the front, and a bomber which can ally with them. The dead center has a representation of the Courier walking solemnly, with a quote spoken at the end of the game to his left. Below him is the Hoover Dam, the massive hydroelectric dam which the Legion, House and Republic all vying to possess. Beside it is a mysterious major character you meet with, and a Securitron, which House uses in fleets to rule the Strip.

The middle to bottom left side has bullet casings raining down beside a bloody hand, representing the constant murder and war. Lastly, below it is the imagery of the Great Khan’s tribe, surrounded by the drugs they create and supply to everyone in the wasteland.

Editor’s note: This was produced in class as a freehand doodle. Perhaps doodling should be a contested art form?