In a narrative-focused presentation at GDC Online, Obsidian Entertainment creative director Chris Avellone outlined the considerations that went into the development a the four Fallout: New Vegas DLC packs. For one thing, "We had the rare opportunity t' know we be actually going t' do four a these," unlike most game projects where sequels be not guaranteed, he said.

However, they couldn't carry storylines over. "Each one be a very self-contained short experience" by design; each storyline 'n setting had t' exist in isolation from one another, because the team could not assume that any player would own all four packs. That "short experience" adds up t' just 10,000 lines a dialogue across all four, Avellone said - a hard maximum. As a result, Avellone 'n Obsidian had t' pad out the dialogue with "trickery" including mute characters who spoke in hand gestures. "We be only able t' pillage away with that for so long," he added.