Meet Kris Takahashi, Designer at Bethesda Game Studios. 

Meet Bethesda Game Studio’s developer Kris Takahashi!

If you’ve ever modded Fallout 3, played through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Anniversary Edition, or combed the galaxy in Starfield, you’ve probably interacted with something Kris has made. From his start as a passionate modder to official Bethesda Game Studios Designer, Kris explores his journey through the industry:

How did you get started in modding?

The first Bethesda Game Studios game I ever played was Oblivion, and it absolutely blew me away. Open worlds weren’t really a thing back then, and so the experience was akin to being a caveman and seeing your buddy Grog paint something in three dimensions for the first time. It was pure witchcraft.

I invested what feels like a dozen lifetimes into that game, to the point I was googling ways to cool down my console as a result of playing it night and day. Suffice to say, I was hooked.

After playing Oblivion I wanted to explore the older titles, but I had some difficulty adjusting to the graphics and mechanics, and of course the cliff racers. So I spent a lot of time looking into mods, started making my own, and eventually got a little too ambitious trying to redesign all of Morrowind. And while nothing came out of it, I learned a ton about the Construction Kit.

I know the common advice for new modders is to “start small.” It’s advice I myself have given many times, even in past interviews. And it’s definitely great if you want to actually release something. But there’s also no harm in trying something big and failing, because you’ll still learn a lot in the process. I think the most important thing is being okay with failing and learning from your mistakes, and to not let your work define you. So I think even the flops are in a way a form of success. It's a teaching moment.

What did you enjoy most about creating mods for Fallout? What were you favorite mods to create?

I've made a lot of mods for Fallout 3 and New Vegas. One of my favorites is a horror quest called Dot's Diner, because I don't usually do that genre, so it forced me to go out of my comfort zone. The hook was a haunted phone - one of those public payphones - that rang every night at midnight, and if you pick it up, somebody dies. For Fallout 4, I made an assortment of quest mods and a radio mod, which focused on talk radio rather than music. My main goal was to complement the base game with smaller vignettes you could come across while traveling.

I've made a lot of weird stuff too. In Fallout 4, I had a quest with two former presidential candidates who are now robobrains living in a retirement home. The election was interrupted by the war, and so to settle their feud, you'd have to get the other residents of the home to vote. They had attack ads you'd hear on the radio, campaign signs and everything (made by the Road to Liberty team). They'd make outlandish promises like guaranteeing "Zero taxes, free ice cream and 4 Super Bowls" during their term. You could also get your custom companion to enter as a third party candidate, and help his campaign instead.

Hope Lies is another one that is kind of buried but is probably the best companion I’ve ever made. She’s a god-fearing woman who was struggling with her faith and trying to find redemption in the wake of making an immoral choice. Her name is a pun that plays on the concept that “hope is a lie,” but also the idea that “hope lies within.”

The community has generally reacted positively to most of the mods I've made, but over time I'm sure they've gotten dated. I'd venture the stuff that's being put out today by mod authors is light years ahead. There's entire dev teams now that put out DLC like content, which is mind-boggling. My mind is fully boggled.

What about the world of Fallout drew you to it for modding?

Overall, I think it's just how Bethesda games are built. It's a canvas that is seemingly endless and allows you to shift tone without interfering with the base game. But to answer the question, I'd say Fallout a such a unique atmosphere and perspective that it's fun to develop for. It's the future, but It's the past. It's absurd, but serious. There's really nothing else like it.

When did the possibility of becoming a video game developer become a solidified career path in your mind?

I’d been modding for about six years as a hobby, but it wasn’t until Bethesda started the Creation Club that I started to consider making this a career. Even then, as someone with very poor marketing skills, I didn’t know if I was on anyone’s radar. But many of my fellow mod authors recommended me to Bethesda Game Studios, and so I’m forever grateful to them for putting my name forward.

The Creation Club made me a better developer in a lot of ways. It forced me to clean up my code to a professional standard, and learn about systems beyond dialogue and quests. I had to learn weapon balancing, level design, workshop crafting, and even submitted some concept art doodles that fellow creator and friend, Rob Vogel, used to make the Riekling art.

I also met developers at Bethesda Game Studios who vouched for my work and were advocates for me, and that’s the only reason I was even considered.

What made you stick with Bethesda Game Studios?

I think I’m much more comfortable here than I would be at any other studio, because I have a lot of experience with the tools, and more importantly, a good relationship with the people. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about, people! If tomorrow we all decided to sell baked goods instead of video games, it would still be a great place to work. Yeah, I’d have to learn how to make a sweet roll, but how hard could it be? I’ve done it in game countless times.

On that note, my respect for the developers was already high, but being on this side of it it’s increased tenfold. Modding for Starfield will likely be seamless for most authors, but a lot of that will be thanks to all the hard work everyone here has put in these past five years, refining the new tools and systems for public use. Overall, it’s given me a greater appreciation for what it takes to ship a AAA game.

What type of projects are you working on now as a professional developer? Is there any overlap on the skills you developed as a modder and the skills that you use in your day to day as a dev?

I started professionally with Creation Club then made a few Lite Allies for 76. Sam Nguyen was my favorite, an Asian-American musician who feels a bit out of place in 1950s Americana. I also helped polish a lot of different things for Starfield (everything from companions to faction quests to settlements and boarding encounters) and wrote a few dozen NPCs. The Adoring Fan is probably the most popular, and working with Craig Sechler was a delight given Oblivion was my first Bethesda Game Studios game.

Even some of the smaller content I did like Muria Siarkiewicz and Paisley Hopkins (the vendor with the alien pet Grumble) have gotten a lot of attention. In fact, the voice actor for Muria has a Twitch show “Mondays with Muria” where they do a Q&A in character, which is amazing. I also did the sequence on SY-920 where you can talk a guard down with the Extrovert perk. I never expected that one to blow up the way it did. I don’t think it’s original but it was fun sequence to put in. I also did the generic crowd conversations you hear all over the game.

Yaş Gerekli

There’s also a few smaller quests that I designed myself that I’m pretty proud of, notably “My North Star” and “About Face.” The former is based on the fact that our North Star changes over time – it’s Polaris now, but it’s going to be Vega in about 12,000 years. And if you think about what a north star means metaphorically, it made for a great quest concept. Often times we think our paths in life are static, but hearts and circumstances change over time. And in the quest, the character themselves is wrestling with a decision and trying to determine what they want out of life, and who they want to be. It’s a pretty short, simple encounter where you take them up to see the stars, but I thought it was perfect for Starfield’s tone and theme of exploration – not just of the stars, but ourselves.

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

I think it depends on your discipline, but I feel it’s mostly about who you know. Networking and marketing yourself is much more important than having a strong portfolio. Don’t do what I did and spend a decade making content hoping someone will pay attention to the mountain of work. It’s way easier to make something small and get it in front of the right eyes.

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

Chrono Trigger is my favorite game, and I have a feeling it always will be, just because of the place and time I played it.

There’s a line at the end of “Stand By Me” that says: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”

I think the same is true for games. When you’re older things tend to impress you in different ways, from the technical side to the artful design. But it’s different than the wonder and novelty that you experienced as a child playing for the first time, when all things seemed possible.

Do you have any fun development stories while working on Bethesda Game Studios games?

I mentioned it before but meeting Craig Sechler, the voice of the Adoring Fan, was pretty cool. The guy’s a true pro. Meeting all the developers who worked on the older titles was also pretty neat. Often times I’d ask them what content they worked on and I felt like I knew them better based on the things they designed.

Are you approaching the game you’re currently working on any different than in past games you’ve worked on? And have you had any special opportunities to try something new?

For Starfield I came in very late in the project, and often times served as a utility infielder as opposed to someone with a specific position. So I'm excited to work with the team through a full production cycle.

My hope is to make content that is challenging, fun, and innovative. And yeah,
maybe there will be some interesting NPCs too

Thank you so much to Kris 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 Kris or anyone else at Bethesda Game Studios, visit our careers page and apply today!