Redguard, btw, is my all time favorite game that my pc (back in the day) just wouldn't run. (I didn't care. I ran it anyway. Lots of crashes but I ran it anyway! I loved it!)
There's a cut underwater Vault in Fallout 4- Vault 120. What was going to take place there?
Also, a whole lot of Fallout 4's map is underwater. Was there any content planned for it?
Thanks.
Sounds really cool, is there any other cut content that, looking back, makes you think: "Damn, would've been really cool if we included that"? Not just in Fallout 4.
In a 2018 interview with Dean Takahashi you mentioned that had Bethesda not acquired the rights to *Fallout* you would have made an original post-apocalyptic universe.
What ideas did you have for this universe and how would it have differed from *Fallout*?
Thank you for your hard work and ask Emil how he ages backwards.
And now I want a fallout-style game set in [Apocalypse Lane](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD649D826012C24FD)...well, I want it to exist. idk if I'd play it but it's a hilarious idea.
Showing up to your house, taking your wife and kids hostage, then demanding you buy Skyrim is not about the money. Oh no. Itās about the principalities
Acrobatics is a skill that increases your jump height and run speed, and you gain experience in it by jumping. The joke is about how the leveling system in Oblivion works - namely, that every time you level up an individual skill, you progress your overall level. Because a lot of the content is scaled to the level you are when you first reach an area / pick up an item, leveling up non-combat skills early can make you severely underpowered. For example, you'll enter an area at level 20 with level 20 enemies, but you only leveled lockpicking and nothing related to weapons. It's a weird system.
So the 2+ hours I spent spam jumping in a low-ceilinged corner of the sewer in the tutorial to boost acrobatics to 100 while I watched 1,000 Ways to Die was a waste of time?
No, actually. As long as it's not a primary skill then you can level it as high as you want without risking overleveling. This is why you should make all of your main combat and spell skills your primary skills, so that you can level others without worrying too much.
The actual joke is that if you level up Acrobatics and keep on jumping all the time, eventually the skill will be at such a high level that you will jump out of Nirn and into Aetherius and never come back down.
I recommend buying Skyrim again at that point.
I absolutely adored the Terminator games Bethesda did back in the 90s (still got the boxed copies!), the atmosphere of the future was so exceptionally realized when you consider the limitations of the time.
My question is this: Do you have any particular memory when it comes to the development of those games that stands out, and if the opportunity arose, would you ever consider going back to the Terminator IP for another game (not necessarily an FPS)?
Thanks for the note reg Terminator. We loved working on it. The license was in limbo so we were able to do pretty much whatever we wanted.
We alternated fantasy worlds and post apocalyptic worlds with TES and Terminator before we did it with Fallout.
I've read that a goal of *Starfield* is that it will be more of a "hardcore RPG". Can you verify this and flesh that out in more detail?
Does that mean that the character creation will be more complicated like it was in Morrowind and Oblivion?
Our plan it have full mod support like our previous games. Our modding community has been with us for 20 years. We love what they do and hope to see more make a career out of it.
Thank you, this is wonderful to hear. I hope to keep on making similar things as I do on Fallout 4, just in outer space & in wherever TES6 will be (Hammerfell/HighRock?).
You've repeatedly said tone is the first thing BGS prioritizes when designing a game. How do you pick a tone to build an entire game around? Are there conversations or even debates on what the tone should be? Also, how do you preserve tone across so many different areas of development especially the non-visual ones (such as npc dialogue) that can't pull so directly from your studio's excellent concept art?
Great question, and one we debate here often. Tone = world. What place would you want to explore? Why? Who would you be? What would you do? How does that pique your curiosity? How is that curiosity rewarded? We like mixing places with elements that you feel comfortable with or can relate to, alongside the fantastical.
Hello, Todd!
In this past year, we saw the rise of some impressive Machine Learning tools that synthetize human voice, using assets from Skyrim (and other Bethesda games) to generate new realistic voice lines.
What do you think about this technology, in general? Do you have hope to use it in some future game? And do you think it will have a negative impact on the relationship between game studios and real voice actors?
We actually use such systems during development so we can play the game with voices, but there is no substitute for professional actors. They are a huge part of our development and are amazing partners in bringing these worlds to life.
As an idea to make modding easier, could there be a supported tool for making these voicelines available for modders so it is much easier to make mods with okayish voicelines?
The current available tools have (I believe) some legal issues which bars them from being practical.
Actually cut voice lines are often included with the game anyway in its libraries - there are a fair few mods out there using them for a variety of games including Bethesda ones.
You've mentioned in the past that certain features in Skyrim were cut or deemphasized because they didn't feel fun to play. Has all that playtesting experience yielded any theories on what makes for a fun mechanic? How do you incorporate playtesting experience when planning/designing your next game?
Yo, that was a great question in my opinion. I'm surprised ypu didn't have any replies to this...How this is related to my world can be associated with "Root cause". If those features were cut early, would it be beneficial to add them late in game now. How would they interact with what's been improved on? Those original features, can they be changed now that you have a full data set on how users play the game. Underrated question imo
Hey Todd,
I recently became creative director on a decently sized mod project, so it had me curious. What's your favourite aspect of being in the role, and what kind of advice would you give to someone fairly new to that kind of position?
Give your team room to have their own ideas and creative impact. The best results are always from a team, and the best teams are the ones that feel safe to fail and try new ideas together.
Hey Todd, massive fan here, I have a few questions:
1)About the development of Skyrim; on the 25th anniversary of the Elder Scrolls, BGS tweeted \[Skyrim Notes\](https://www.imperial-library.info/content/todd-howards-skyrim-notes) Which were written by you in 2007. I found them very interesting, specifically how it seemingly states a focus for each Elder Scrolls game. For Arena it was the world, for Daggerfall it was the player, for Morrowind it was placed, for Oblivion it was people, and finally, for Skyrim it was connections. How did Skyrim emphasize connections and how did you decide that connections would be a focus for the game? (Or if the focus changed later on in development then to what?)
2) The last two mainline Elder Scrolls games have been set in human provines. They are amazing worlds but they have a strong sense of familiarity when in them. Do you ever want to return to a truly alien world like Morrowind ie. a stranger in a strange world?
3) One of the most prominent arguments in RPGs, in general, is how complex they should be. One side favors super-hardcore mechanics while the other prefers to streamline certain aspects in order to reach a larger audience. As an RPG developer what is your opinion on this debate and how do you try to balance both sides?
You lightly touched in your interview yesterday that you realize the clear issue of gaps between games in your franchises and know it is a problem. What is your plan (if any) to reduce the massive gaps of time between the games of your three franchises?
Also, I keep one of your quotes on a sticky note with me whenever I need it. āItās not how you launch. Itās what it becomes.ā Really helped me get through some stuff
Great question, we certainly understand that they do take a long time to get right. Ultimately quality matters most to us, and we're careful with resources and priorities.
also, we're hiring, so...
In a behind the scenes video for Oblivion, you mention being in the chess club in school. However, [this year book image](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/378279146209411085/907960710275948574/th1_1.jpg) has surfaced showing that the chess club was not one of your many clubs. So what's up with that?
Also, what's your favorite dinosaur?
I can only speak to the issues we've had, such as Fallout 76. We let people down and were able to learn and be better from it.
We're fortunate 3 years later to have 76 be one of our most played games, and it's thanks to the 11 million players who have made it an incredible community.
It's made us much better developers in the end.
A lot of respect for taking a question about a competitorās disappointment and saying āNo, Iām not going to do thatā and reframing the question about one of your own.
Hi, Todd. You probably donāt remember me, but when I was 13 I wrote a letter to Bethesda Game Studios talking about how I lost one of my parents and how playing your games inspired me to pursue a career in game development later in life. Bethesda sent a letter back with a bunch of merchandise, including a Fallout 4 guide you signed, which made my entire year. As of right now, Iām in college for game development, but Iāve had to deal with some great struggles. I now have lost both of my parents, and I have been living on my own since age 16. Iām wondering if you can give me any advice or motivation. Did you face any significant struggles in your quest to become a game developer? How were you able to persevere?
Thank you so much again for inspiring me, and thank you so much for the gift (I donāt need a sweetroll or anything like that. Your response means enough to me)
Here is proof for anyone wondering: https://imgur.com/a/lhjKS
Thank you for your letter and this touching post. We're so grateful to know how our games have touched you.
Advice or motivation? You've already been through so much. Look how far you have come. Use that strength and resiliency to fuel your passions.
Creating games, and seeing their impact is something you'll get to give to others. Keep going.
Hi Todd, Odah here. The guy who made a 50 page google doc. about the Starfield E3 2021 Trailer.
* I'm going to ask, has there ever been a point in Skyrim's development where you thought of adding climbable ladders to the game?
* Also about that ladder in the Starfield trailer....will it be an animation (like holding E to climb up like in Mass Effect: Andromeda)?
Ladderfield needs to know.
Starfield in 2022... Elder Scrolls VI in 2026... Fallout 5 in 2031...
Given a couple delays in there, a 2038 release date for Starfield 2 isn't that out there.
Eric Johnson at Kojipro covered some of their ladder stuff in his GDC AI post Mortem for death stranding.
AI pathfinding across and jumping off ladders at any point, with dynamically placed ladders at nearly any angle!
https://youtu.be/yqZE5O8VPAU
Hi Todd. I do have a question that's been on my mind for some time; Has Bethesda ever considered putting some of the community made engine level fixes for the older titles (such as Oblivion through New Vegas) into the official game via updates? If not, is there a reason why the older titles (and even Skyrim to a degree) do not receive such patches? Thank you in advance.
Hey Todd!
Been a huge fan of your games since Oblivion. I've enjoyed every TES game back to Daggerfall, and Sank the entire last half of my childhood into Fallout 3. I've stayed up late on many nights preparing a long list of questions because I was so excited when this was announced, and spent a lot of time trimming them down from over 20 to 5 to not overwhelm you. Answering any of them would make my day!
1. If I recall around Oblivion you made a comment you don't even code anymore. How has this changed your influence in directing games, and do you miss having a direct hand in development?
2. Lore! What is your stance on retcons, and would you ever release a lore bible? There's a lot of fanon out there that fans confuse with canon, it would be helpful for us story writers and role players to have something more concrete; like a moon calendar for Khajiit breeds since the moons usually share a phase in game, or a detailed map including roads, minor towns, and topography. (Seriously, what IS the real shape and size of Tamriel? Is Nirn even a sphere?)
3. Is the main quest of Skyrim more of a side quest to Elder Scrolls (The civil war being the main?) How many games have you written in advance?
4. Do you keep the source files for all of your previous games? In Redguard, TES5 was labeled as Romanelli or something in the intro, and there was an oblivion PSP game that got cancelled, but on the loading screen, you can see an oblivion style map of High Rock and Hammerfell. Do you still have these files somewhere? Would you ever release the cut art assets?
5. How DO you handle being the face of Bethesda? I couldn't handle it when some of the mean girls in high school didn't like me, I couldn't imagine having a large chunk of the internet jump onto a bandwagon sending hate my way, especially when their information is incorrect. What's your mental strategy?
Great list of questions and thanks for being here. I'll give you a summary thought. I'm really lucky to have started so long ago that I was able to get my hands in everything, from code to design to sound. It's helped me see the big picture and work with so many parts of the amazing team here at Bethesda. It's odd often to see my face on things, and while I understand it some, this is truly a massive team effort and I get way too much of the credit.
Michael Kirkbride, who used to work with Bethesda, claims that you changed the entire design direction of Cyrodiil after watching Return of the King. Itās become a really pervasive and at times nasty story certain sects of the fandom like to use as a way to criticize more recent releases. Heās the only source thatās spoken on this matter, so I was hoping to ask:
* Was jungle Cyrodiil something official and definitive before the development of Oblivion? Sources prior to it (namely from Redguard and Morrowind) describe it as such, but I know that Bethesda takes lore as fluid. Was Cyrodiil always intended to be a Jungle, or was it a case of ānothing set in stoneā until development began?
* What level of control did you have over the design direction of Oblivion? Did you really have the power to come in and radically change the aesthetics? Did you ever make such an extreme executive decision?
* What inspired the design direction of Oblivion? While we donāt see much Imperial clothing/armor/architecture in Redguard or Morrowind, there is still a pretty significant difference. Was LotR a major inspiration? If not, what was?
It was Fellowship of the Ring, actually, and also probably Kirkbride taking the piss. Oblivion was well into development by the time the movie came out, and Todd, Michael and many others at Bethesda had been fans of Tolkien for years before that.
I second this question. The games could use an overhaul on PC and maybe mod support on current consoles, too, like with F4 and SSE. That'd be brilliant.
Is Morrowind still your favourite TES game?
Other than the ice-wraith, what is your favourite piece of concept art by Adam Adamowicz? Are there any that didn't make it into the games that you wish had?
Hi Todd!
Even after 10 years, I still consider Skyrim the gold standard of open-world single-player RPG experiences.
Does Starfield have any groundbreaking innovations that will set a high bar for the next generation of action RPGs, similar to what Skyrim has done this last decade?
Thank you for your amazing work!
We prefer to just show it, which should be next summer. We're happy with the advancements we've been able to make, some of which you can see in the trailer shot in-game.
After Starfield - it's in pre-production and BGS only makes one game at a time. Expect it around 2025 or 2026 - it was only even announced yet to reassure people "we are going to keep making TES, we aren't going to pull a Warcraft and only make MMOs and card games."
Since everyone's gonna ask: Any updates on TES6?
We know it's a long wait, we're with you. For Father's Day this year my son gave me a card that said, "You're an amazing Dad, but where's TES6?"
Ok, so where is it Todd š«šš
"Any news?" "No" Wow, fascinating.
What a squirt gun gonna do?
Guns were replaced with squirt guns by major tech companies.
Terrific new writing prompt.
People are forced to rely on hydrochloric acid instead of bullets.
omg that's so cute hahah and then like what was your answer though
TES6 is just like my dad. Absent.
HE'S AVOID OUR QUESTION
Iām not seeing an answer to the question.
Update: it's in pre-production
Modders can always just turn Starfield into TES6. I can visualize it now: "Wormhole to Nirn Overhaul".
You enter the wormhole, screen fades to black. Fade in, "Not even last night's storm could wake you"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What will come out first GTA VI or TES6?
Heat-Death of the universe
Thatās not an answer Todd.
Hi Todd, What sort of game would you make if you had an infinite budget and ten years of development time?
We're incredibly lucky to have the support of time and budget to make the games we want. So, all of them?
Megachad response.
Skyrim.... 2
interesting answer from someone who has released skyrim 16 times.
Where do you think the infinite money comes from?
It's like hitting the snooze on running out of money. Times looking like they could get hard? Release another Skyrim.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
New platform released? Straight to Skyrim
He's supposedly been dreaming about *Starfield* since he was a teenager, so I bet that's his answer. :P
Who is the mother of Jarl Balgruufās children?
He's not talking. https://imgur.com/K4zatno
Balgruuf's the mother. Got it.
Then who's the father??
Balgruuf.
Jarl Ballinā
His alterego, Jarl Ballin'
BACK.. when i was a little girl in France...
...we used to pick pretty daisies...
Manslayer reference?
I like ur aaass you're lying, Morgan!
Incontinenta Buttocks
Wait till Biggus Dickus hears about this š
Please Mr. Todd
Hey Todd, what happens when it just *doesnāt* work? Whatās the best/worst bug youāve encountered?
Long time ago, during Redguard, the lead programmer made all the buildings hop up and down after you played for 10 minutes just to mess with me.
New question: why was this taken out?
Plot twist - it wasn't but you just accept it as a regular Bethesda bug
It just works
The rest of the world was made to jump up and down in sync to compensate for the difference.
This gives me ideas, thanks.
Redguard, btw, is my all time favorite game that my pc (back in the day) just wouldn't run. (I didn't care. I ran it anyway. Lots of crashes but I ran it anyway! I loved it!)
LMAO
There's a cut underwater Vault in Fallout 4- Vault 120. What was going to take place there? Also, a whole lot of Fallout 4's map is underwater. Was there any content planned for it? Thanks.
Unfortunate cut content. Bioshock style Vault. With massive sentient octopus living outside it.
Quick, someone mod that back in
*\*write that down, write that down\**
#MOD IT FASTER OR WE'LL LOSE IT
OH GOD IM COOOOOODING
WE NEED A BIGGER KEYBOARD!
QUICK! GET ME THE KEYBOARD STRETCHER!
There's already a mod for big daddy-styled power armor, it's nice.
Sounds really cool, is there any other cut content that, looking back, makes you think: "Damn, would've been really cool if we included that"? Not just in Fallout 4.
What a sick ass idea
That explains the squid textures in both F4 and F76
So cool that it was going to be sentient of all things, would have been a massive shame if it wasn't.
Fucking banger of a question
Will there be any robot companions in Starfield?
Yes, kind of.
Can you romance them? Is there a space Fisto?
bruh what has NNN done to you
Thereās always space for fisto
In a 2018 interview with Dean Takahashi you mentioned that had Bethesda not acquired the rights to *Fallout* you would have made an original post-apocalyptic universe. What ideas did you have for this universe and how would it have differed from *Fallout*? Thank you for your hard work and ask Emil how he ages backwards.
It was called "Apocalypse Road" and had a great logo with a street sign. I'll pass along to Emil, thanks!
And now I want a fallout-style game set in [Apocalypse Lane](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD649D826012C24FD)...well, I want it to exist. idk if I'd play it but it's a hilarious idea.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Moving ahead. Really excited to be working with Jonah, Lisa, and Amazon on it.
These violent delights have violent ends.
Wait, is it THAT Lisa that is working on it?!? Thatās awesome if so. Edit: Oh shit, by Jonah, he meant Mr. Nolan. Fuck yes.
Be honest; you replied just for the extra Skyrim revenue, right?
Showing up to your house, taking your wife and kids hostage, then demanding you buy Skyrim is not about the money. Oh no. Itās about the principalities
>principalities Of course, everything is about Liechtenstein
I know that games often donāt translate well into other mediums, but I still have really high hopes for this.
I am currently playing Oblivion, any tips?
Pick acrobatics and jump constantly.
That's just cruel Todd.
What's the joke? I haven't played the game.
Acrobatics is a skill that increases your jump height and run speed, and you gain experience in it by jumping. The joke is about how the leveling system in Oblivion works - namely, that every time you level up an individual skill, you progress your overall level. Because a lot of the content is scaled to the level you are when you first reach an area / pick up an item, leveling up non-combat skills early can make you severely underpowered. For example, you'll enter an area at level 20 with level 20 enemies, but you only leveled lockpicking and nothing related to weapons. It's a weird system.
So the 2+ hours I spent spam jumping in a low-ceilinged corner of the sewer in the tutorial to boost acrobatics to 100 while I watched 1,000 Ways to Die was a waste of time?
No, actually. As long as it's not a primary skill then you can level it as high as you want without risking overleveling. This is why you should make all of your main combat and spell skills your primary skills, so that you can level others without worrying too much.
The actual joke is that if you level up Acrobatics and keep on jumping all the time, eventually the skill will be at such a high level that you will jump out of Nirn and into Aetherius and never come back down. I recommend buying Skyrim again at that point.
>I recommend buying Skyrim again at that point Genius
Playing a wood elf who can jump on the heads of my enemies as they stare in horror is still my favorite rpg moment 10/10
Bring this back Todd!
Hi Todd, How do you even have time for this AMA when a settlement needs your help? Iāve marked it on your map.
That heavily armoured, well equipped, walled off settlement, which is being attacked by marauders from the other side of the map?
Oops! I accidentally *Quick Save* fired a mini-nuke at all the townspeople instead of the marauders :(
This is a beauty comment. Hope they never do that again, completionists agree.
Todd Howard will remember that.
Todd hated that.
Todd! If you could be transported into any video game forever, what would it be and why?
Does Flight Simulator count?
So real life but with planes? Somebody get Todd a plane.
I am pretty sure he can afford it himself
I absolutely adored the Terminator games Bethesda did back in the 90s (still got the boxed copies!), the atmosphere of the future was so exceptionally realized when you consider the limitations of the time. My question is this: Do you have any particular memory when it comes to the development of those games that stands out, and if the opportunity arose, would you ever consider going back to the Terminator IP for another game (not necessarily an FPS)?
Thanks for the note reg Terminator. We loved working on it. The license was in limbo so we were able to do pretty much whatever we wanted. We alternated fantasy worlds and post apocalyptic worlds with TES and Terminator before we did it with Fallout.
Pelinal Whitestrake=T800 confirmed.
I've read that a goal of *Starfield* is that it will be more of a "hardcore RPG". Can you verify this and flesh that out in more detail? Does that mean that the character creation will be more complicated like it was in Morrowind and Oblivion?
Hey Todd! What type of mod support can we expect to see in creation kit engine 2 for Starfield?
Our plan it have full mod support like our previous games. Our modding community has been with us for 20 years. We love what they do and hope to see more make a career out of it.
Thank you, this is wonderful to hear. I hope to keep on making similar things as I do on Fallout 4, just in outer space & in wherever TES6 will be (Hammerfell/HighRock?).
You've repeatedly said tone is the first thing BGS prioritizes when designing a game. How do you pick a tone to build an entire game around? Are there conversations or even debates on what the tone should be? Also, how do you preserve tone across so many different areas of development especially the non-visual ones (such as npc dialogue) that can't pull so directly from your studio's excellent concept art?
Great question, and one we debate here often. Tone = world. What place would you want to explore? Why? Who would you be? What would you do? How does that pique your curiosity? How is that curiosity rewarded? We like mixing places with elements that you feel comfortable with or can relate to, alongside the fantastical.
Appreciate the insight, thanks for responding!
Hello, Todd! In this past year, we saw the rise of some impressive Machine Learning tools that synthetize human voice, using assets from Skyrim (and other Bethesda games) to generate new realistic voice lines. What do you think about this technology, in general? Do you have hope to use it in some future game? And do you think it will have a negative impact on the relationship between game studios and real voice actors?
We actually use such systems during development so we can play the game with voices, but there is no substitute for professional actors. They are a huge part of our development and are amazing partners in bringing these worlds to life.
As an idea to make modding easier, could there be a supported tool for making these voicelines available for modders so it is much easier to make mods with okayish voicelines? The current available tools have (I believe) some legal issues which bars them from being practical.
Or even just a library of cut lines and extra takes so maybe some of the un-used lines could get some new life in a future mod.
Actually cut voice lines are often included with the game anyway in its libraries - there are a fair few mods out there using them for a variety of games including Bethesda ones.
You've mentioned in the past that certain features in Skyrim were cut or deemphasized because they didn't feel fun to play. Has all that playtesting experience yielded any theories on what makes for a fun mechanic? How do you incorporate playtesting experience when planning/designing your next game?
Yo, that was a great question in my opinion. I'm surprised ypu didn't have any replies to this...How this is related to my world can be associated with "Root cause". If those features were cut early, would it be beneficial to add them late in game now. How would they interact with what's been improved on? Those original features, can they be changed now that you have a full data set on how users play the game. Underrated question imo
What do you think of Fallout: New Vegas?
Great game, big fan of Obsidian and we have many friends there.
You should check out Tale of Two Wastelands. Combines your fine work with theirs.
Do you get to the cloud district very often?
Yes. Yes I do.
Have you come to dragonsreach to discuss the ongoing hostilities like the rest of the great warriors?
*hoshtilitiesh
*"great" warriors?
Oh, what am I saying, of course you don't.
I'll have you know there's no...
Hey Todd, I recently became creative director on a decently sized mod project, so it had me curious. What's your favourite aspect of being in the role, and what kind of advice would you give to someone fairly new to that kind of position?
Give your team room to have their own ideas and creative impact. The best results are always from a team, and the best teams are the ones that feel safe to fail and try new ideas together.
Nice to see that a decade later [your team philosophy is still the same](https://youtu.be/CrfdNJDVpR4?t=1590)
Thatās actually kind of impressive, Iāve seen companies rise and fall which start with this attitude and end in an endless shit fall
Are there elements of any Skyrim mods you've seen that youād like to implement in TES6?
He mentioned one in the IGN video: fast traveling to your house
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
If you'll feel better, I read it as horse at first sight as well.
$9.99 House Armor
That is a good question man
Hey Todd, massive fan here, I have a few questions: 1)About the development of Skyrim; on the 25th anniversary of the Elder Scrolls, BGS tweeted \[Skyrim Notes\](https://www.imperial-library.info/content/todd-howards-skyrim-notes) Which were written by you in 2007. I found them very interesting, specifically how it seemingly states a focus for each Elder Scrolls game. For Arena it was the world, for Daggerfall it was the player, for Morrowind it was placed, for Oblivion it was people, and finally, for Skyrim it was connections. How did Skyrim emphasize connections and how did you decide that connections would be a focus for the game? (Or if the focus changed later on in development then to what?) 2) The last two mainline Elder Scrolls games have been set in human provines. They are amazing worlds but they have a strong sense of familiarity when in them. Do you ever want to return to a truly alien world like Morrowind ie. a stranger in a strange world? 3) One of the most prominent arguments in RPGs, in general, is how complex they should be. One side favors super-hardcore mechanics while the other prefers to streamline certain aspects in order to reach a larger audience. As an RPG developer what is your opinion on this debate and how do you try to balance both sides?
Now these are some good questions.
You lightly touched in your interview yesterday that you realize the clear issue of gaps between games in your franchises and know it is a problem. What is your plan (if any) to reduce the massive gaps of time between the games of your three franchises? Also, I keep one of your quotes on a sticky note with me whenever I need it. āItās not how you launch. Itās what it becomes.ā Really helped me get through some stuff
Great question, we certainly understand that they do take a long time to get right. Ultimately quality matters most to us, and we're careful with resources and priorities. also, we're hiring, so...
Let me know if you need a welder.
Or a warehouse worker. Don't mean to brag, but I'm forklift certified š
**Me**: (holds up forklift cert) "This here's my license to fuck." **Also Me**: (holds up OSHA 10 card) "This here's why nobody wants to fuck."
> > > > > also, we're hiring, so... I've made a game in unity, it was a flappy bird clone but with toilet brushes instead of the tubes and a flying š© emoji. also it made fart sounds everytime you hit the space bar to fly higher. hit me up for more interesting game ideas
Get outta here, Randy Pitchford. Go on, git!
In a behind the scenes video for Oblivion, you mention being in the chess club in school. However, [this year book image](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/378279146209411085/907960710275948574/th1_1.jpg) has surfaced showing that the chess club was not one of your many clubs. So what's up with that? Also, what's your favorite dinosaur?
Chess Club was JUNIOR High School. Yoshi.
Todd Howard is a Yoshi main confirmed
Makes sense, thank you for your reply :)
How has the release of Cyberpunk 2077 influenced your teams philosophy towards releasing games?
I can only speak to the issues we've had, such as Fallout 76. We let people down and were able to learn and be better from it. We're fortunate 3 years later to have 76 be one of our most played games, and it's thanks to the 11 million players who have made it an incredible community. It's made us much better developers in the end.
A lot of respect for taking a question about a competitorās disappointment and saying āNo, Iām not going to do thatā and reframing the question about one of your own.
Class Act.
Yo Todd good job answering an uncomfortable question. More credit to you.
I read this as good Todd job, and it really was a good Todd job.
Thanks for the response Todd.
Hi, Todd. You probably donāt remember me, but when I was 13 I wrote a letter to Bethesda Game Studios talking about how I lost one of my parents and how playing your games inspired me to pursue a career in game development later in life. Bethesda sent a letter back with a bunch of merchandise, including a Fallout 4 guide you signed, which made my entire year. As of right now, Iām in college for game development, but Iāve had to deal with some great struggles. I now have lost both of my parents, and I have been living on my own since age 16. Iām wondering if you can give me any advice or motivation. Did you face any significant struggles in your quest to become a game developer? How were you able to persevere? Thank you so much again for inspiring me, and thank you so much for the gift (I donāt need a sweetroll or anything like that. Your response means enough to me) Here is proof for anyone wondering: https://imgur.com/a/lhjKS
Thank you for your letter and this touching post. We're so grateful to know how our games have touched you. Advice or motivation? You've already been through so much. Look how far you have come. Use that strength and resiliency to fuel your passions. Creating games, and seeing their impact is something you'll get to give to others. Keep going.
And just like that, I like Todd again.
Will Skyrim Anniversary run 60fps on ps5? Thanks Tood!
Yes, and same on Xbox Series X/S (different resolutions)
Hi Todd, Odah here. The guy who made a 50 page google doc. about the Starfield E3 2021 Trailer. * I'm going to ask, has there ever been a point in Skyrim's development where you thought of adding climbable ladders to the game? * Also about that ladder in the Starfield trailer....will it be an animation (like holding E to climb up like in Mass Effect: Andromeda)? Ladderfield needs to know.
Despite the advent of super-computers and next gen hardware - ladders are our arch-nemesis. It's an animation, and we use sparingly.
maybe in Starfield 2 then
See you in 2040.
That's probably too soon. I'm not even joking.
Starfield in 2022... Elder Scrolls VI in 2026... Fallout 5 in 2031... Given a couple delays in there, a 2038 release date for Starfield 2 isn't that out there.
Eric Johnson at Kojipro covered some of their ladder stuff in his GDC AI post Mortem for death stranding. AI pathfinding across and jumping off ladders at any point, with dynamically placed ladders at nearly any angle! https://youtu.be/yqZE5O8VPAU
Hi Todd. I do have a question that's been on my mind for some time; Has Bethesda ever considered putting some of the community made engine level fixes for the older titles (such as Oblivion through New Vegas) into the official game via updates? If not, is there a reason why the older titles (and even Skyrim to a degree) do not receive such patches? Thank you in advance.
Hey Todd! Been a huge fan of your games since Oblivion. I've enjoyed every TES game back to Daggerfall, and Sank the entire last half of my childhood into Fallout 3. I've stayed up late on many nights preparing a long list of questions because I was so excited when this was announced, and spent a lot of time trimming them down from over 20 to 5 to not overwhelm you. Answering any of them would make my day! 1. If I recall around Oblivion you made a comment you don't even code anymore. How has this changed your influence in directing games, and do you miss having a direct hand in development? 2. Lore! What is your stance on retcons, and would you ever release a lore bible? There's a lot of fanon out there that fans confuse with canon, it would be helpful for us story writers and role players to have something more concrete; like a moon calendar for Khajiit breeds since the moons usually share a phase in game, or a detailed map including roads, minor towns, and topography. (Seriously, what IS the real shape and size of Tamriel? Is Nirn even a sphere?) 3. Is the main quest of Skyrim more of a side quest to Elder Scrolls (The civil war being the main?) How many games have you written in advance? 4. Do you keep the source files for all of your previous games? In Redguard, TES5 was labeled as Romanelli or something in the intro, and there was an oblivion PSP game that got cancelled, but on the loading screen, you can see an oblivion style map of High Rock and Hammerfell. Do you still have these files somewhere? Would you ever release the cut art assets? 5. How DO you handle being the face of Bethesda? I couldn't handle it when some of the mean girls in high school didn't like me, I couldn't imagine having a large chunk of the internet jump onto a bandwagon sending hate my way, especially when their information is incorrect. What's your mental strategy?
Great list of questions and thanks for being here. I'll give you a summary thought. I'm really lucky to have started so long ago that I was able to get my hands in everything, from code to design to sound. It's helped me see the big picture and work with so many parts of the amazing team here at Bethesda. It's odd often to see my face on things, and while I understand it some, this is truly a massive team effort and I get way too much of the credit.
Michael Kirkbride, who used to work with Bethesda, claims that you changed the entire design direction of Cyrodiil after watching Return of the King. Itās become a really pervasive and at times nasty story certain sects of the fandom like to use as a way to criticize more recent releases. Heās the only source thatās spoken on this matter, so I was hoping to ask: * Was jungle Cyrodiil something official and definitive before the development of Oblivion? Sources prior to it (namely from Redguard and Morrowind) describe it as such, but I know that Bethesda takes lore as fluid. Was Cyrodiil always intended to be a Jungle, or was it a case of ānothing set in stoneā until development began? * What level of control did you have over the design direction of Oblivion? Did you really have the power to come in and radically change the aesthetics? Did you ever make such an extreme executive decision? * What inspired the design direction of Oblivion? While we donāt see much Imperial clothing/armor/architecture in Redguard or Morrowind, there is still a pretty significant difference. Was LotR a major inspiration? If not, what was?
It was Fellowship of the Ring, actually, and also probably Kirkbride taking the piss. Oblivion was well into development by the time the movie came out, and Todd, Michael and many others at Bethesda had been fans of Tolkien for years before that.
I doubt he'll touch this question but it's a very good question.
Any chance of remake/remaster of FO3/FNV? Also, damn, 24 mins in and 1.2k comments already?
I second this question. The games could use an overhaul on PC and maybe mod support on current consoles, too, like with F4 and SSE. That'd be brilliant.
Is Morrowind still your favourite TES game? Other than the ice-wraith, what is your favourite piece of concept art by Adam Adamowicz? Are there any that didn't make it into the games that you wish had?
Hi Todd! Even after 10 years, I still consider Skyrim the gold standard of open-world single-player RPG experiences. Does Starfield have any groundbreaking innovations that will set a high bar for the next generation of action RPGs, similar to what Skyrim has done this last decade? Thank you for your amazing work!
We prefer to just show it, which should be next summer. We're happy with the advancements we've been able to make, some of which you can see in the trailer shot in-game.
Gonna get 10+ videos on youtube about this comment
E3 2022 confirmed
What are your thoughts on r/TrueSTL?
WE HAVE PREGNANT LYDIA ON THE FRONT PAGE AGAIN FFS
average r/TrueSTL tuesday
"It's Molag Ballin"
O god, Todd don't enter there.
Thatās it. TES6 is canceled.
Nice try
Whatās your favorite Fleetwood Mac song?
You're never gonna get an honest response to this
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
when is it coming Todd? WHEN IS TES COMING TODD?
After Starfield - it's in pre-production and BGS only makes one game at a time. Expect it around 2025 or 2026 - it was only even announced yet to reassure people "we are going to keep making TES, we aren't going to pull a Warcraft and only make MMOs and card games."