“Her markings happened to work really well for pose read + facial expression,” Burgess explained. River was the model for Dogmeat, visually as well as behaviorally. “The more they bonded with, the more they saw Dogmeat as a character - a friend,” Burgess said of his colleagues.
(plus, writing about game dev hurts less than grieving) /ayN1Vd6oqQ- Joel Burgess June 27, 2021īurgess wrote that by bonding with the developers, River helped them build an in-world companion who would be a friend more than “a canine weapon.” Burgess had been concerned that, without considerate development, that’s all Fallout 4’s signature companion would be. For twitter, I thought it'd be appropriate to look back at her impact on that game. Heartbroken doesn't cover it, but I won’t eulogize her here. I said goodbye today to River, who most of you know as Fallout 4’s Dogmeat.