![]() That said, there was something satisfying about hip-checking these retro household goods into a bathtub and letting the game’s natural gravity take over. Instead, you have to place them on the edge of a tub and then strategically bump them in with your character. Unfortunately, the way the workshop controls function means that you can’t really deposit items into the tubs. Then, in workshop mode, I would painstakingly sort through the mass of trash, putting each item into its requisite bathtub. I dropped all of my junk onto a cement staging area. I built a large wooden shack and filled it with about 20 old rusted bathtubs, perfect for holding my preciously mundane treasures. This was where I really perfected my system. There were far more interesting assets to collect than I had cabins at Sunshine Co-Op, so I packed up my inventory and moved to the other side of the map, cutting the ribbon on the Spectacle Island Recycling Centre. My strange dragon’s hoard grew at a slow but steady rate. I collected more of each with subsequent trips out into the Commonwealth, and deposited them in their respective cabins. ![]() I thought it might make an amusing photo op if I filled each one with a different type of junk that you tend to naturally collect while adventuring through post-apocalyptic Boston: one cabin for balls and associated spheres, one cabin for the near-useless stacks of cash called Pre-War Money and one cabin in which to deposit all my human bones. As I worked within the game’s workshop mode to make it a livable settlement, I struggled with how to make use of the little green cabins that circled the site. I had set up camp at Sunshine Tidings Co-Op, a quaint robotics-friendly commune on the map’s western edge. It started out as a joke, as all good coping mechanisms do. The more time I spent in the wasteland, the more it transformed from a space for play into a useful tool for reflecting on and mediating my own mental health. My actions in the game also gave me the opportunity to feel useful, like I was making visible progress on a project when my depression prevented me from leaving the house or pursuing my regular hobbies and goals. I began to find that my actions in Fallout 4 were serving as an almost meditative practice that promoted thoughtful interactions with my environment and helped to calm racing thoughts. I’ve lived with an anxiety disorder and chronic depression for longer than I’ve known what to call them, and I’ve consistently struggled with finding healthy ways to deal with both. The Commonwealth transformed from a terrifying possible future filled with radioactive ghouls and bloodthirsty raiders to a place of calm once I made this realization, evoking and encouraging thoughtful order. My actions in Fallout 4 were serving as an almost meditative practice
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