Before he rose to become an Executive Producer at Bethesda, Todd Howard had very humble beginnings. It all started with a love of video games and wanting to make a game that couldn't get past the title screen.
In an interview published almost a year ago, Todd Howard spoke at length about how he got into the games industry and the first project he worked on.
Todd Howard's first game wasn't a real game
In an interview Esquire In September 2023, Howard spoke about his love of video games, which he said inspired him to start a career in the industry, eventually leading him to make games like: Starfield and Skyrim.
Growing up in the 80s, his first attempt at making a game was on an Apple II computer. He wrote that the game was “Really sick” title screen, but unfortunately the project was abandoned midway due to the technological limitations of the time.
The title screen took up so much computer memory that the rest of the game couldn't run, but it was a valiant effort nonetheless, and it inspired Howard to get better at making games.
When I was applying to Bethesda in the mid-90s, Wayne Gretzky HockeyHowever, his application was rejected because he was still a student. Howard was a dedicated person. He never gave up and finally joined the company as an entry level employee one year after his graduation.
Technology has advanced so rapidly since Howard's first game was made that the memory limit on the title screen is hardly an issue anymore.Really sick” There is a title screen of some kind.
Time Starfield When the start screen was leaked, some people were not too convinced. Diablo 2claimed that the Start screen was the product of overworked and overworked teams.
Bethesda's head of publishing Pete Hines denied these allegations, saying the start screen was one of the first things decided upon. However, the title screen The least of people's worries Starfield.
Howard's influence on Bethesda's game development
In the early stages Todd HowardDuring his career at Bethesda, he made a bold proposal.
…We will focus on developing bigger games over a longer period of time rather than releasing a new title every year.
At the time, companies just wanted to release sequels quickly and make a buck, so Howard went in a different direction, pitching the game for the next generation of consoles.
It would have been foolhardy to propose something like this at a time like that, but it's become commonplace now and has become a signature way of making games at Bethesda.
Game development times are only getting longer, but it also means the risks are much higher for the companies that depend on these games being a hit and worth the long development time.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on Todd Howard's methods for making games, so let us know in the comments below.
