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Bethesda shows off more 'Starfield' in a seven-minute featurette
Take a look at some concept art and footage from the sci-fi RPG.
Elon Musk: 'The Simulation, The Simulation, The Simulation'
A young woman wanted to know how much she needed to beg to take a selfie with him. A young man wanted to know if he could get his CyberPunk 2077 hat autographed. These are the kind of questions people were asking Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, during a panel at E3 2019. Musk, who was joined by legendary video game designer Todd Howard (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4), spent most of the conversation talking about how gaming has influenced his life, his vision for the industry and, of course, "The Simulation." Almost every response from him ignited cheers from the crowd at E3, who were the latest people to witness the Church of Elon Musk at a technology conference.
Watch Elon Musk and Todd Howard's E3 chat at 3PM ET
It's the final day of E3 2019 and for some reason, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is chatting on stage about "games, cars, space and everything in between" with Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard. Musk has a clear interest in games -- he even wrote and sold one when he was 12. He's also put a number of them on Tesla dashboards, including Asteroids, Super Breakout and 2048.
Seen@E3: Todd Howard's hostile takeover
We were so busy covering E3 2012, we barely noticed a smiling Todd Howard commandeering Joystiq.com (see it after the break!). Thankfully, freelancer Tyler Colp spotted the takeover and alerted us to it. We think we've removed all of Howard's hidden messages, commanding all to buy Skyrim, but we can't be BUY SKYRIM BUY SKYRIM BUY SKYRIM.
Bethesda's Todd Howard on Dawnguard, the future of Skyrim, and Steamworks success
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim game director Todd Howard and his team at Bethesda Game Studios are weeks away – if things go according to plan – from releasing the game's first DLC 'Dawnguard.' Speaking with Joystiq, Howard detailed the balance between quality and timing when planning new content for its critically and commercially acclaimed RPG."There's this weird line between – if you do DLC too early everyone's pissed off. We have found, if you wait too long, they're pissed off," Howard laughed. "We have a very smart audience," he continued, noting that Skyrim players deserve content that adds more than just a few extra quests or features. "We do feel the pressure to make sure it fits into the game smoothly."To ensure DLC doesn't remove players from the experience, Dawnguard won't notify players when the additional content has been purchased; players must find it for themselves."One of the potential negatives to like 'Joe Consumer' is they'll buy it, they'll load up Skyrim, they'll be like, 'Where is it?' Well, you gotta go find it," Howard explained. Dawnguard adds a new, detailed quest-line focusing on vampires, new weapons like crossbows, and even a Werewolf perk system.The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 'Dawnguard' is currently scheduled to arrive on June 26 for the Xbox 360.
The Soapbox: Translating Elder Scrolls Online dev speak
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Language is a pretty fascinating thing, and studying a second one is something I've long intended to do. Aside from entertaining thoughts of learning Korean to play ArcheAge, though (seriously, I looked into it), I haven't gotten around to much beyond college-level Deutsch. But as I watched last week's interview with The Elder Scrolls Online creative director Paul Sage, I realized that I already have some pretty good second-language skills. I'm fluent in both English and MMO dev-speak, so as a public service, I'm going to translate some of what Sage said into the former.
Bethesda's Todd Howard on Skyrim's biggest development hurdle, fan-made mods, and what happens next
Todd Howard and his clan of designers from Bethesda Game Studios walked off the stage with top honors for 'Game of the Year' at the 2012 Game Developers Coice Awards last week, for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. As the large group shuffled off to party, Howard, the company's boss, took a few moments to speak with the media.Topics of discussion quickly merged into one frame of thought: what happens next? Everyone wants to know when the first piece of downloadable content will launch, how will it change the award-winning experience, and more.Howard, being as used to sidestepping media inquires about unannounced items as he is working with a talented team, quickly shot those questions down.Our focus, however, was slightly different. With a game as large as Skyrim, we wondered what complications arose during development. What is the hardest part about crafting a world meant to live on its own, away from the player's eyes?%Gallery-139026%
Watch Bethesda's 'Skyrim Game Jam' sizzle reel right here
Skeleton butlers? Seasonal foliage? Skyrim knows not these things, but it maybe perhaps we sure hope could according to a seriously noncommittal Todd Howard speaking at the beginning of the video above, shot at his DICE 2012 keynote last evening in Las Vegas.
Internal Bethesda 'Skyrim Game Jam' sizzle reel features dragon mounts, giant mudcrabs
Let's pretend you work at Bethesda Game Studios. Congratulations! You've just shipped The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game that would go on to win multiple 'Game of the Year' awards. You're tired, probably haven't seen your family in months, and you have a week off. What do you do? Work on Skyrim, of course!During his DICE 2012 keynote, Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard discussed an annual tradition at the company: a game jam, where staff are allowed to create anything they want on company time for one week. This year, the only stipulation was creating something within the recently released Skyrim.In a sizzle reel presented to attendees, the public was shown what the minds at Bethesda could create. On the list? Mountable dragons, epic mounts (like flaming horses), giant mudcrab bosses that rival any other games, a new skill tree focused on lycanthropy, Kinect-enabled shouts (like this!), the ability to build homes, adopt children, use spears, and much more.Howard was quick to note that the features shown in the video -- which were all running within the game -- were experiments. "How much of this stuff sees the light of day? To be determined. Could it be in a future DLC? We don't know. Could various parts of it just be released for free? We don't know."And what was id Software's John Carmack doing that week? "[He] shot a rocket into f***ing space!" Howard said, showing actual footage of a rocket Carmack sent out of the earth's orbit. We'd still rather have dragon mounts. Check out the list of 'Game Jam' features after the break.
Todd Howard: Over 10 million Skyrim players, average PC playtime 75 hours
During his DICE 2012 keynote speech, Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard revealed that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been played by "over ten million people." In December, Bethesda revealed it had shipped ten million units worldwide.Of the "over ten million" players, Howard says that "many million" are playing the game on PC. Based on Steam statistics Bethesda has seen, "the average playtime is 75 hours," something Howard called "amazing." Our assumption is that there are a number of players worldwide who have yet to power down their machines since the game's November 11, 2011 launch.The PC version of Skyrim continues to evolve, with the recent release of the Skyrim Creation Kit and its partnership with Valve to become the second featured title -- behind Team Fortress 2 -- in the Steam Workshop, which highlights user-generated content and streams it into games."It's something we'd like to see come to consoles one day," Howard said, adding that giving players the ability to "take and change" the game helps to make the experience unique. To Howard, games are the "ultimate combination of art [and] technology" and allowing the players to become their own "director."
Bethesda's Todd Howard on how games can make players 'proud'
Set aside your favorite movie, music, or traditional piece of art, because there's only one medium that has the ability to make the one experiencing it proud: video games. This was the message Bethesda Games Studios game director and executive producer Todd Howard had for attendees during his DICE 2012 keynote.Using the level end music from Peggle and the level-up sound from Modern Warfare, Howard explained that video games have the ability to reach people in ways others are unable because they can convey a sense of accomplishment. Helping to give players that feeling with intelligent game design "makes it the greatest," he said. Howard noted jokingly that he used the Modern Warfare sound for his email, to give him a sense of pride when he sends something off.Much of Howard's introduction focused on Bethesda's three rules of development, which he discussed during his 2009 DICE keynote. Howard said the difficult balance of design is finding a harmony in creating a challenge for players that isn't so easy that it leaves them bored and isn't so difficult that they give up.The gameplay loop (Learn, Play, Challenge, Surprise), as he explains, is presenting a game mechanic to the player in steps that entice them to continue. Howard discussed how Half-Life 2's introduction to the Gravity Gun is a perfect example of using the loop effectively -- players learn how to use the gun by playing with it, they are challenged to use it in new ways, and are surprised by what they can accomplish. This accomplishment helps to build the level of pride the players experience throughout the adventure. Howard urged game makers in the audience to be proud of their work and to make gamers proud in the process."Do something great. Make yourself proud," he said. "Make the player proud they played it. Make them proud they bought it."
Skyrim to have multiple DLC releases, powerful buckets
Game Director Todd Howard was at the Spike Video Game Awards yesterday to accept a well-deserved Game of the Year award for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and he said to Joystiq that the game's popularity has surprised even the development team. "We thought it would do well," he said, "but it has gone above and beyond." One of the surprising effects of that popularity is the many YouTube videos (and "arrow in the knee" references) out there, but Howard says one in particular stood out to Bethesda. "I think our favorite really is putting the buckets on the heads," he laughed. "It was like day two, and we went, what? Do we fix that? Our lead programmer is pissed and wants to fix it, and I said I'm not sure we should. That's one of those where maybe we leave it in." Howard couldn't yet share plans for DLC, but he says it will be focused on "ways to make the game better, not just have more, because the game is so big. So we're going through ideas right now, and processing everything people are doing in the game, and trying to think of ways that we can improve it." There will be multiple releases (as with Bethesda's past games), but Howard says they "don't have a timetable. They won't be quick, and they'll have a lot of meat on them." For all of its successes, the one thing Skyrim doesn't have is other players. Is there a chance we'll ever see a multiplayer title, or even an MMO, from Howard and his company? "You can never say never to anything like that," he admitted, "but it's not what our focus is. This type of game is where our hearts are, what we get excited about, and that's what we want to focus on. We don't want to lose that focus and we never want to sacrifice anything in the singleplayer game just to have it be multiplayer."
Howard: Skyrim offers infinite procedurally generated quests
You've already been assured that you'll never run out of slayable dragons in Skyrim. In an interview with Wired, director Todd Howard revealed that the game features an inexhaustible supply of quest content, as well. Using the "Radiant" quest system, the game randomly generates missions for each of the in-game guilds, as well as tasks offered by other NPCs. Examples cited by Wired include collecting flowers for an alchemist or hunting for bandits. This likely comes as bittersweet news for people who have experienced Bethesda games in the past. Sure, you'll never run out of content, but how long before you have to defeat a monster who's embedded in a tree, or go on a quest for the dagger of ^^^^^^ARTIFACTNAME?
Come, watch 20 minutes of Skyrim gameplay
So much Skyrim-ing! Lap up part one above and circle around past the break for the rest of the 20-minute experience with Game Director/Executive Producer Todd Howard. What's that? Dragons? Hmm, not sure if it has those. Guess you'll have to watch. (P.S.: Don't be stupid. It's got all the dragons.)
Bethesda's Todd Howard not interested in an Elder Scrolls MMO
Whenever the subject of untapped RPG franchises that could make the jump to MMOs comes up, Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series is almost always mentioned. After all, if Blizzard and BioWare made the jump, why not the folks behind Oblivion? In talking with our sister site Joystiq at PAX, Bethesda's Todd Howard fields the question with blunt honesty. "I like this kind of game better," he said. "You know, it's what most of us are into. I'm not really an MMO guy. I respect them, I look at them, but I don't play them. It feels more real to me when I'm the hero and it's crafted for that. A community aspect to it, I recognize a lot of people would want that in a game like this, but it changes the flavor for me. Of course, one man's feelings toward the genre aren't always enough to stave off corporate demands, but Howard says that isn't the case: "We can just do our thing, and it's kind of grown with each game. So there was no pressure from anybody above me to say 'Hey, you need to change this.'" That doesn't mean Bethesda will forever abstain from MMOs, however. Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, built an MMO customer support facility in Ireland earlier this year, an indication that online gaming may very well be in the company's future.
Todd Howard on Skyrim's worthwhile glitches, MMOs and when big is big enough
November 11 is fast approaching and that means that Bethesda Game Director/Executive Producer Todd Howard and company are putting the finishing touches on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. But with a game this massive, is there really such a thing as "finished"? How do you know? "I guess we just kind of know," Howard told us at PAX. "Content wise, we want to have a lot, and we want it to work well together. Mainly we're looking for a saturation of activity -- is there always something to do, without being overwhelmed. As the project goes on, we're finding areas where there isn't enough to do, and we keep adding. So the game always ends up a lot bigger than we anticipated.%Gallery-120207%
Skyrim DLC to have more of an 'expansion pack feel'
They say you can't have too much of a good thing, but Bethesda certainly put that to the test with its seemingly unending releases of downloadable content for Fallout 3. Project lead Todd Howard said that the developer has learned its lesson, and those who play the studio's next game, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, should expect heartier, less frequent updates. "Right now I can say that we'd like to do less DLC but bigger ones -- you know, more substantial," he told AusGamers. "The Fallout 3 pace that we did was very chaotic. We did a lot of them -- we had two overlapping groups -- and we don't know what we're going to make yet, but we'd like them to be closer to an expansion pack feel." In short, expect huge horse armor collections this time around, in every size, shape and hue imaginable.
Well, at least we won't run out of dragons in Skyrim
As if the concept of defeating just several dragons in Bethesda's forthcoming Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim wasn't enough to get your dragon-murdering blood going, maybe this little bit of info from producer Todd Howard will: "There is an unlimited number of dragons" in the forthcoming game, he told Norwegian magazine Gamer.no (according to a fan translation on Bethesda's forums). Not only will dragons appear in scripted encounters, but they'll also be randomly generated in the gameworld. The translation also notes that "all dragons speak" in the game, with Howard fu rther explaining "it's actually what they do when they are spouting fire." He hinted that some dragons will be able to communicate with the player in "the common tongue," though we're distinctly worried about what happens when a dragon can't remember the "common" word for something. Does he try to pronounce it in dragon, and accidentally set ablaze whoever he's speaking with? Either way, it sounds dangerous.
Developers celebrate Super Mario Bros.' 25th anniversary
In case the red consoles didn't sufficiently alert you, 2010 is the 25th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros. for Famicom and NES. To commemorate the occasion, Famitsu spoke to a group of prominent developers about the impact Shigeru Miyamoto's masterpiece had on them and the industry. "The reason I entered the industry," Capcom's Keiji Inafune said, "was because I encountered Mario and learned how interesting games can be. Thank you, Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto." Super Monkey Ball and Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi expressed a similar sentiment, saying "It's the game that made me enter the game industry." Bethesda's Todd Howard said that Super Mario Bros. was the beginning of "the genre where the hero always follows the correct path." Our favorite quote is from Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii. "Also, I can't say much," he said, "but there was also 'Kintamario.'" Yes, yes there was.
Bethesda's new game is for current platforms, 'pretty far along'
After two years of silence, Bethesda is very used to deflecting questions about its next, still unannounced game. But executive producer Todd Howard finally shared some info about the forthcoming project at this year's QuakeCon, telling Eurogamer that it's "pretty far along." Around 90 people are working on the game, and Howard predicts that the stretch between the project's announcement and launch will be the "the shortest it's been for us" (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was announced in September 2004 and released in March 2006, and Fallout 3 was announced in July 2004 but not released until October 2008). Additionally, he pointed out that the upcoming project will run on existing consoles and is built on the same engine that powered Oblivion and Fallout 3. "That's our starting point -- the Fallout 3 tech. It started with Morrowind, we went to Oblivion, we did a lot between Oblivion and Fallout 3 because now we had final hardware -- with Oblivion we had six months on final hardware, so Fallout 3 technically does a lot more than Oblivion. The new stuff is an even bigger jump from that," he said. He wouldn't get too specific on when we'd hear more, saying he didn't want to disappoint people by announcing an ... announcement that might shift later on. Hopefully, Mr. Howard knows that disappointment will be harder to avoid if that announcement turns out to be anything but Elder Scrolls V.
