Meet Jae Espinosa, Lead Systems Designer at Bethesda Game Studios.

Meet Jae Espinosa!

The Lead Systems Designer on Fallout 76. Joining the team around the launch of Wastelanders, Jae’s time at Bethesda has been spent working on the systems that touch everything the player experiences.

What is your role? What does a normal day look like for you?

Hello! I’m Jae, and I oversee and guide many of the game’s major systems. This includes the in-game economy, inventory, player progression, combat, C.A.M.P. building, perks, abilities, & much more.

My day begins with responding to a plethora of emails and messages that help coordinate the team at large and get them what they need from a System’s perspective. Systems touches nearly everything in the game, so there’s a lot to respond to! From there, I’ll check in with my immediate team of Systems Designers to check how they’re doing and ensure they’re properly equipped to succeed in whatever they’re tackling at that time. From there, I move into a bunch of meetings, reviewing my teams designs whenever there is time in between. I’ll then close my day by finishing any reviews or approvals left over and/or tackling some of my own hands-on work!

What was your path into the role? Any specific acknowledgments or inspirations?

I’ve been in the industry for about a decade now and spent a large chunk of that time here at Bethesda Game Studios. I started as a mid-level Systems Designer shortly after 76’s launch and just continued to do my best to bring out the very best of my colleagues and the game. Eventually, I became the go-to person for Systems and now, well, here I am. As for inspirations… a special callout to my predecessor here. He never held me back and really gave me the room to let other’s see what I was made of.

What advice do you give someone who wants to be in this industry? How long have you been with Bethesda?

I’ve been here a little over 4 years now. My advice to anyone who wants to be in the industry is... don’t give up and don’t wait for someone to give you permission to create.

What was your favorite project you’ve worked?

Fallout 76, duh!

Specifically on 76…it’s hard to choose…maybe Daily Ops? I did the mutations & combatants for the initial release. It was a ton of fun pushing our magic/abilities system to it’s limit and finding clever ways to implement the different effects. I learned the most on that one and worked with engineering to find some tool improvements that not only made our dev lives better but also gave us some more knobs to tune in future effects. Bunch of fun!

What was the first project at Bethesda?

When I first joined, I was doing a bunch of fixes for Wastelanders. However, my first project was probably on item descriptions. I took the initiative to fix up all the mod descriptions and set up a standard for writing up the descriptions so players could reliably tell what the mod would do. Thousands of files! The dynamic mod descriptions we have now completely blows that out the water, though! Ha!

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What do you love most about your job? What makes you happiest?

I’m making video games for a living at Bethesda Game Studios. One of my favorite games of all time is Skyrim. It’s a match made in heaven!

On a more serious note, though, it’s knowing I’m making something that someone will (hopefully!) love. I know what video games have done for me and I know that the entertainment I produce helps our players in so many ways. Fun is so important for our well-being; there’s a bar for it in The Sims for a reason!

What’s your favorite game or game(s) that inspire?

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. What's not to be inspired by? For me, it's the best of all worlds. The world and stylization are so interesting. They also do a lot with a little with the sea map. Exploration and challenges are rewarded well. Plus, the movement and combat are smooth, consistent (in a good way), and fun. I could go on for days, but the point is I find Wind Waker to be a masterpiece. I always strive to reach that excellence!

What your favorite thing about Bethesda Games Studios?

The team! I care a lot about my team. Being able to not only witness when they succeed but also be a supporting factor in their success brings me immeasurable joy.

What are you working on next that you’re excited for everyone to see?

Oh, you know I can’t say! But I’m excited for next year. That’s all 😊

Do you have any fun (dev related or otherwise) stories while working on BGS games?

During my first week, HR called me while I was at lunch to come back immediately. Naturally, I’m terrified. So, I rush back, and all the studio heads and IT are standing around my desk. So, I’m like “this is it. This is where they shove me in a locker and say ‘SIKE, you’re fired nerd!’” As I start sucking in my stomach to make sure I can fit in the locker nicely, I see a little bit of smoke above the IT director’s head. Turns out my computer was catching FIRE and they wanted to make sure I didn’t have anything I’d miss on the computer. To which I responded, “THE COMPUTER IS ON FIRE”.
Anyway, turns out the computer was just smoking up and no one was hurt. I got a new computer the next day followed by weeks of “THAT NEW DESIGNER’S ON FIRE!” jokes. No one remembers the fire these days. But I do. I remember.

Are you approaching the game you’re currently working on any different than in past games you’ve worked on?

Well, I take a much more “people focused” approach than I used to in the past. I have my own direction and vision, sure, but ultimately, I am making this for people to play. If anything jeopardizes the amount of fun players will have with our game, then we must revisit.

It’s a delicate balance and a bunch of work to keep that balance. However, we luck out with this being a live game & constantly get to see what players are doing.

What types of stories grab YOU when you play games?

I like really sad and solemn stories where the player or protagonist must persevere. Bonus points if we get to see the characters age over time! Yoko Taro’s stories, specifically in NIER, are some of my favorites.

Was there something specific you as a creative wanted to include in your current project?

This doesn’t sound very creative but—cohesiveness and intuitive structure. This often narrows down to quality-of-life improvements. This was actually a big factor in the most recent update that brought the QoL improvements along with the new character load-outs. Ideally, players will use their time enjoying the game and not figuring out it’s systems. This way, they can truly immerse themselves. We’ve made huge strides in this and I hope to continue.

And more pink. Everything needs more pink.

Have you had any special opportunities to try something new with your current project?

Oh, sure. We got to add support behavior to our enemy’s AI packages. Combat AI, of course, can be finicky so it is always amazing to get some new behavior in there and try something that can be used and expanded on in the years to come. We’re also getting to explore the world of mini-games a bit! Well, I guess more “re-explore” if you consider the entire Fallout franchise but it’s fairly new for 76. We had a lot of success with the Nuka World on Tour arcade games and we hope you’ll love the Atlantic City games as well!

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Thank you so much to Jae for taking the time to answer our questions. Check out more from our team here at Bethesda Game Studios. If you want to work alongside Jae or anyone else at Bethesda Game Studios, visit our careers page and apply today!