Under certain circumstances, the game might have become a first-person shooter much earlier.
The team behind the original Fallout didn’t immediately opt for an isometric perspective. In the early stages they explored a first-person viewpoint and polygonal graphics.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, developer Leonard Boyarsky shared his memories:
When we first worked on Fallout, Tim [Cain] and I talked about whether to use a first-person perspective, since 3D was only just emerging and the original Tomb Raider was already out.
At the time Boyarsky, serving as art director, vetoed the idea — he demanded a higher degree of detail, and the technology available then couldn’t realize the team’s vision.
However, Bethesda accomplished that with Fallout 3 (2008): the developers were able to convey the moment when the character first steps into the sunlight.
Still, Leonard admires that the early titles relied more on dialogue and writing than on elaborate visuals or animations.
Source: iXBT.games