Gamer Shares Wholesome Connection to Fallout 2’s Tombstones

Highlights

• One of the many special encounters in Fallout 2 allows the player to visit an eerie graveyard.
• One of the tombstones in this location belongs to Tim Winkle, who is reportedly based on a real person.
• The grave even includes a humorous epitaph that Tim Winkle is said to have coined during his school days.

One Fallout 2 fan has recently shared an interesting story about how the iconic CRPG ended up including a nod to their father in the form of a humorous tombstone. Their anecdote prompted some other Fallout fans to share similar experiences about how themselves or their friends or family ended up being featured in the long-running series.

Developers have long been including real-world people in their games, whether as nods or tributes. With hundreds of NPCs and points of interest spread across its post-apocalyptic version of the United States, Fallout 2 offered Black Isle Studios plenty of opportunities for adding such Easter eggs.

Fallout 2’s Tim Winkle Is Based on a Real Person

One of them was recently detailed by Reddit user Asbestos_Nibbler, who claimed that the game contains a nod to their father in the form of a tombstone. Specifically, one of the many weird special encounters in Fallout 2 can see the player stumble upon a grave belonging to one Tim Winkle, who Asbestos_Nibbler identified as their parent. The memorial even includes a humorous epitaph that states “I abide no hypocrisy but my own.” According to the user, their father came up with this silly quote during his school days.

As for how Tim Winkle ended up in the cult-classic CRPG, Asbestos_Nibbler said his inclusion came down to him being friends with one of the Fallout 2 developers from the game’s writing team. Seeing how the fan described the said developer as a “major writer” on the project, the list of names that could have made this happen is fairly short, including the likes of Mark O’Green, Chris Avellone, John Deiley, Zeb Cooke, and David Hendee.

Asbestos_Nibbler said his father is no longer in contact with the former Black Isle Studios developer who included his tombstone in the game, citing that as the reason why they cannot back up their claim with any concrete proof. But their post prompted several other people to share similar anecdotes, including one from Reddit user bestunicorn, who claimed one of her friends at Obsidian named the Fallout: New Vegas ghoul scientist Keely after her.

Likewise, Reddit user Kaelynath recalled how Bethesda immortalized his friend’s brother Evan in Fallout 4 by including him as a Nuka-World NPC after his untimely passing. As for the Easter egg that prompted this wave of testimonies, Fallout 2 players wanting to see Tim Winkle’s grave for themselves can attempt to do so by repeatedly traveling in the vicinity of Redding, Golgotha, and The Den, where the fictional resting place can be randomly generated. The special graveyard encounter also includes tombstones that serve as nods to some of the game’s developers.