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[  Quick Links  ]MemoriesThe FutureGalleryTake a look through 40 years of Bethesda Game Studios through the lens of the developers and get an update on the studio's future from Todd Howard.
Tim
LambProject DirectorMorrowindFirst PlayedOblivionFirst WorkDogmeatFav CharacterA stiltstrider walks through the haze of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind's Vvardenfell regionAn Ordinator guard patrols Vivec City in The Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindRoadside Encounter The first Bethesda Game Studios game I ever played was Morrowind. I had recently gotten a job as a game tester at a different company, and I was experiencing the culture shock of playing unfinished games and sort of doing the same things over and over all day long looking for bugs. I was an avid gamer, and I used to go home at night and play something, but with that job I sort of lost the desire to do that. But then one of the guys I worked with suggested that I pick up Morrowind and give it a try. I remember working my way out of the first town and meeting someone on the side of the road who was asking for my help. I killed them and took everything they had, and it was like a "this is the greatest game I’ve ever played" kind of moment. I just never experienced something so freeform at the time. Chris
RodriguezStudio Technical Director OblivionFirst PlayedFallout 3First WorkCicerio (Skyrim)Fav CharacterThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion player character sits on a horse, looking out at a forest and distant mountainsThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion player character weilding a sword and shieldFull Circle The first Bethesda Game Studios game I remember playing was Oblivion.  I used to work for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics lab in Columbia.  I'd left that missile defense job to switch careers to the entertainment industry and ended up going to grad school in Australia in 2006 - right when Oblivion came out.  The university had purchased Oblivion and had it playable on the shared lounge Xbox.  I played it there and saw it was made by Bethesda Game Studios.  I looked them up - they were less than 30 miles from my old job!  I'd traveled halfway around the world to find out the company I wanted to work for was just down the road.  Obviously, it all worked out in the end. Dan
LeeAssociate Art DirectorMorrowindFirst PlayedOblivionFirst WorkNeloth (Morrowind)Fav CharacterThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion key art featuring an Imperial Guard holding a sword in front of a burning fortressThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion dialogue screen featuring a conversation with a Fighters Guild PorterPoisoned Captain I joined Bethesda Game studios during the development of the original Oblivion and was intrigued by the Radiant AI system. While playtesting a Dark Brotherhood quest, I found the perfect opportunity to take advantage of some newfound knowledge regarding the eating behaviors of our NPCs. In the quest ‘A Watery Grave,’ you’re tasked with killing the captain of a ship. Shortly upon completing the act, two of his compatriots were supposed to come investigate and a fight ensues. Instead, I snuck in while the captain was sleeping, stole all the food in the room, and left a single poisoned apple in his pocket. I left the ship, waited a few hours, and received a quest update that the captain had died. Thoroughly impressed, I raced to see Emil Pagliarulo, the designer of the quest, to praise him for taking such an unorthodox approach into account. To my surprise, he was just as shocked as I. He informed me he did not, in fact, take that into account and it was simply the systems interacting. Jeff
BrowneGameplay DirectorMorrowindFirst PlayedOblivionFirst WorkLiberty PrimeFav CharacterA quaint cottage surrounded by trees in The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimThe House During my time studying Level Design at the Guildhall at SMU, a friend showed me the October 2004 issue of Game Informer magazine that featured Oblivion on the cover. Reading the content and looking at the screenshots, I became fixated on one screenshot in particular. It was a simple screenshot of a small, thatched roof house. There was something about it that drew me in and sparked my imagination. I wanted to know what was inside, what was in the forest behind it, whether it was near a city or in the middle of the woods, etc. Fast forward to 2005 and I found myself sitting at a desk at my first industry job at Bethesda Game Studios. I was asked to playtest Oblivion and provide feedback. At one point as I was playing the game, and something caught my eye. As I got closer, I stopped and had to take my hands off the keyboard. I was staring at the same thatched roof house that I saw a year before in that Game Informer magazine. A flood of emotions came pouring in, and I had to take a moment and really appreciate the journey that I had been on over the years that led me to this studio and the opportunity I had before me to work with amazing people on games we like to play. Twenty-one years later, and I still think about that moment and still have the same excitement and passion for the people here and the types of games we make. Rick
VicensArt DirectorOblivionFirst PlayedSkyrimFirst WorkNick ValentineFav CharacterRoyal Guard stands in front of the high gates of Mournhold in The Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindAn Imperial wearing heavy Steel Armor stands in a dungeon corridorThe Skeptic I’ve been a huge RPG fan for as long as I can remember, but my love for Bethesda didn’t start as you would expect. I was originally a skeptic, but let me explain. Growing up, most of my experience was playing JRPGs. During my senior year in art school, I had a classmate who did this huge presentation gushing about how amazing Morrowind was. You could feel his deep love for it as he spoke about how it had affected him. Even with his massive endorsement, I still missed the boat on Morrowind. A few years later, Oblivion dropped. I was working as an animator on cinematics. My former Art Director and friend said, “Rick, you HAVE to play this game.” He went as far as gifting me a copy of the game for Xbox! Just like my former classmate, he also couldn’t stop praising it. He described that it was first-person and it looked amazing. A game full of depth and different systems. The skeptic in me immediately asked, “First-person? Why would you do that? It’s not a shooter?” So that night I went home and fired it up. Minutes turned to hours. I couldn’t put it down. People at work started playing it, and we would tell stories of our adventures. Soon, multiple people were hooked. Oblivion completely changed the way I saw RPGs, and I knew that someday I needed to be a part of making that magic come to life for others. Alan
NanesDesign DirectorArenaFirst PlayedOblivionFirst WorkPaarthurnaxFav CharacterThe Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind's in-game menu background image featuring a Dunmer warrior holding a swordQA Days, pt 1 One of my fondest memories of working at Bethesda is the story of how my career began. My first exposure to the studio was during the tail end of development on Morrowind. The game was in early beta, and I was good friends with a few folks who worked in various departments. Things were a bit “Wild West” back then, and my friends allowed me to hang out (yes, before I was an employee) there, playing multiplayer games with them and just getting to know everyone. Eventually, Todd Howard noticed my presence in the studio and asked me if I wanted to test out their new game. So, they plunked me down in the studio’s lounge in front of a big old CRT television, put a chunky original Xbox controller in my hand, and let me explore Vvardenfell. I started writing down my thoughts on a yellow legal pad of paper and played, took notes, played some more, took notes and so forth and so on. Mike
MerriamSenior Content Producer OblivionFirst PlayedSkyrimFirst WorkDogmeatFav CharacterAn The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion player holding a sword and a torch is ambushed by two goblins in a caveStreet view in the city of Chorrol in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The Chapel of Stendarr looms in the background. School Days The first time I played a Bethesda Game Studios game was when I was in middle school. My friend had told me about a game he was playing called Morrowind and he was obsessed. Once I got home, I asked my Dad if we could go to Blockbuster to rent it so I could give it a shot as well. Turns out it was a bit over my head at the time, and I ended up bouncing off of it because it was too open ended with the possibilities and systems in the game. Basically, everything that made the game great was wasted on me at that time. Fast forward a few years and I was in high school and landed on playing Oblivion and I was absolutely hooked. The summer after Oblivion released, I am fairly certain that I didn't see any friends or family...I only spent it playing Oblivion. Katie
Merriam Lead Technical WriterStarfieldFirst PlayedStarfieldFirst WorkDogmeatFav CharacterBethesda Game Studios team photo from the Starfield launchTo What’s Next One of my favorite memories from my time here at Bethesda Game Studios is the day Starfield launched. As a studio, we all gathered to celebrate the early access and launch by watching people's reactions and live streams; we stayed late into the evening to celebrate the product of our work together. Getting to experience Bethesda Game Studios throughout the years, both before my time working here as well as now, from Skyrim to Fallout 4, holiday parties to summer picnics, to Fallout Day and Make-A-Wish, I have been very fortunate to have gained some of my fondest memories and closest friends from this life experience. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Bethesda and the projects to come! Troy
IrvingSenior AnimatorOblivionFirst PlayedThe Elder Scrolls VIFirst WorkReillyFav CharacterA cluttered building interior in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion featuring a table lined with candles, food, and a skull. Because that's a totally normal thing to keep on your kitchen table. Too Many Scrolls Oblivion was my first experience with a Bethesda Game Studios game, and as a kid, I duplicated so many scrolls in the Imperial City that it crashed my Xbox any time I tried to return. Frank
ZeccaSupervising Build ProgrammerThe TerminatorFirst PlayedFallout 4First WorkNick ValentineFav CharacterOriginal The Terminator floppy disksCollector My first Bethesda game was 1991's The Terminator. I got it in 1993, after having seen Terminator 2 for the first time. I was pretty new to PC gaming in general, since my family had only recently gotten our first computer. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. The openness of the game and its graphics were so impressive compared to my previous gaming experiences on consoles. I was instantly hooked, and for as long as I still had that old machine, I would keep going back to play it. It remains one of my favorite games, so I've held on to it this entire time, even though the floppies have long since succumbed to bit rot. Along with a few other copies of games from that time, it's a reminder to me of some of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. Jae
EspinosaPrincipal Systems DesignerFallout 3First PlayedFallout 76First WorkBrelyna MaryonFav CharacterA peaceful wilderness campsite set next to a lake at the foot of the mountains in The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimPaycheck Trip My first Bethesda Game Studios game was technically Fallout 3...but my first real Bethesda game experience was actually Skyrim! My mother, brother and I were big gamers. I remember seeing my brother play it day one. I saw a dragon and a magic spell and I thought "Oh, I gotta get in there." But he wouldn't let me play or keep my file! Maybe a year or two later, I found it on sale during my usual "Paycheck Trip" to a local game store. I grabbed it and couldn't be torn away. Must have been hundreds of hours. Taking the hike to Winterhold...learning spells and potions...taking odd jobs...oh, and "camping" in the forest so I could listen to the world while I did my homework. I eventually made my way backward to Oblivion and Morrowind, but Skyrim was my only game for a very, very long time. I did not realize how many of my design methodologies and philosophies were established from my time with Skyrim until I got here. Life finds a way, I guess! Philip
NelsonLead Gameplay Producer OblivionFirst PlayedFallout 3First WorkMiraakFav CharacterFallout 3's Lone Wanderer walks down a ruined road with Dogmeat at his sideThe post-apocalyptic remains of a street in Washington D.C. at the heart of Fallout 3's Capital WastelandCapital Creation Before joining Bethesda Game Studios, I worked for a game studio in Texas called Terminal Reality. My parents were proud because I was happy, but the scale of what I was doing never seemed as big or exciting to others in the way it did to me. My time at Terminal was great, and a few folks even came to Bethesda where I still work with them 20 years later, but it was a small studio tucked into an office building with a Samurai Showdown machine in the lobby. I joined Bethesda Game Studios in 2007 as a Level Designer on Fallout 3. The dev team size wasn’t much larger than Terminal, but we had an enormous building with a cafeteria and an amazing atrium showcasing our work. We'd hop on the metro and take regular trips into Washington DC, gathering references and studying the neighborhoods and locations we were recreating in the game. It was a unique experience, building a city while living right next to it. The trips were a fantastic team bonding experience and gave us a deeper appreciation for the area. Maja
JevremovicLead ProducerSkyrimFirst PlayedStarfieldFirst WorkKarliahFav CharacterThe Elder Scrolls: Arena character battles spiders in a dark dungeon chamber in front of a stone altarOriginal overworld map of Tamriel from The Elder Scrolls: ArenaInto the Arena For Bethesda Game Days at PAX East 2019, the Events Team and IT set up playtest areas at a more intimate venue across the street from the convention center. I remember a few of us played through The Elder Scrolls: Arena long enough to escape the dungeon and made a save in the overworld for our fans. For some of us, including me, it was our first time ever playing The Elder Scrolls: Arena. 

A message from Todd Howard