This would take a fair bit of work and be for atmospheric purposes only, but I was thinking it would be cool if instead of the "Nine Years Later" the player got a fade-to-black and kept waking up in various "scenes". A few things could happen, hinting at the player's long and ardous journey to the Mojave and maybe even their employment with Mojave Express or their time in the Divide, then they get another Fade to Black and wake up in the next one. This would simulate the amnesia from their eventual bullet-wound and shallow-burial, explaining why their adventures from the CW to the Mojave never made it into the game. It would also mean no concrete timespan is set on their wanderings, so the player can assume they've been travelling for however long they want to assume.
Some example scenes...
- The player is walking through a metro tunnel, following an old man who drops some Metro 2033 references ; "Listen to the pipes. Some say you can hear the souls of those trapped in the metro". After following him a brief distance, everything fades to black.
- The player is standing in a small grocery shop with no food. Their food bar is set to starving and some stomach-grumbling sounds are played. They can scavenge around a little only to find no food at all. When they open the door in the back they find a human-butchery room. The retching sound is played and everything fades to black.
- The player and some friendly NPC's are stuck in a small shack with only one entrance. The NPC's are loading their guns and making ready for a last stand. Gunfire plays constantly, with somebody speaking constantly in Spanish over a loudspeaker (for a bilingual bonus, make it the Lord Humungus "Just Walk Away" speech in Spanish, on a loop). An NPC near the door makes a Butch Cassidy quote. When the player opens the front door, it's a fade to black again.
etc. etc. etc.
haha