General:Todd Howard

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Todd Howard
GEN-developer-Todd Howard 02.jpg
Role(s) Game Director, Producer, Designer
Bethesda Softworks tenure 1994–Present[1]

Todd Howard is the executive producer of Bethesda Softworks, a position he has been credited with since the release of Bloodmoon in 2003. His work on The Elder Scrolls series started with the CD-ROM release of Arena, testing this version of the game was his first assignment at the company.[2][3] Since then, he has worked his way up the ladder at Bethesda from designer to Project Leader, and finally to Executive Producer. Howard is also the executive producer of the Fallout series and Starfield.

Howard plays a key role in Bethesda's public presence, including former E3 presentations, behind-the-scenes videos, and interviews for upcoming games. His impact on development is further confirmed if one looks below the surface. Howard was heavily involved in preliminary game testing, as is apparent in the cells named after him (e.g. "ToddTest") in both Morrowind and Oblivion. He also voiced Clavicus Vile in Redguard and Oblivion, and provided additional voice acting for testing purposes in Oblivion.

The Elder Scrolls

1994–1996: Early Years

While studying Finance at the College of William & Mary in the early 1990s, Todd and a few members of his fraternity would spend their off-time playing PC games, introducing him to Bethesda Softworks.[1] As he got closer to graduation, Todd would get the Bethesda game Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3 as a gift from his then-girlfriend, now-wife. Having a new Bethesda game release, he discovered that the company whose games he enjoyed had recently relocated to Rockville, Maryland, not far from his home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Knowing that he wanted to become a game developer after graduation, Howard would introduce himself to the company on January 18, 1993, being told to return for a job after he graduated.[4] Graduating with a BBA in the Spring of 1993,[5] and after a brief stint at the now-defunct software company AbleSoft,[4][5] he would ultimately join Bethesda in 1994, and worked on the Deluxe Edition and CD-ROM release of The Elder Scrolls: Arena as a tester.[2] In addition to testing these releases, he and other members of Bethesda would press the CDs for Arena in the basement of the game studio's offices themselves to ship the game to market.[4]

Between 1995 and 1996, Howard would be mostly involved with developing two Bethesda Softworks Terminator games, Future Shock and SkyNET, but he would still find enough time in between to assist with the development in The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, earning himself the credit of "Additional Designer" for the title.[6]Examples of his DF work?

Influences and Style

Todd has been a longtime fan of video games since he was a child, and in 1998 he named Ultima VII: The Black Gate as his favorite game.[7][8] Further, the Ultima series itself and its creator, Richard Garriott, were a major influence in Todd's decision to pursue a career creating video games.[9] Todd described that the inclusion of physical maps for The Elder Scrolls titles, now including Redguard, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and the Anthology are a direct homage to the maps and "feelies" that came within many PC games in the 1990s, citing both Ultima IV and Red Baron as examples.[10]

Todd has described his approach to game development on The Elder Scrolls as rooted in the idea of allowing the player to "live another life in another world."[11][12] This mantra would guide both the development of Morrowind and Oblivion.[13]

Elder Scrolls Game Credits

Video Games

Books

Known Contributions

This list is non-exhaustive and includes only contributions which have been confirmed to be implemented, fully or partially, by Howard.

  • Morrowind — In addition to being the project leader for the game, Todd was also involved in multiple other aspects of development. Howard was instrumental in the creation and design work for the Construction Set before handing off development to Mike Lipari sometime in 2001.[29][30] He notably finished the development of the Imperial Legion faction after taking it over from Douglas Goodall.[31] Todd also implemented the Boots of Blinding Speed.[32] A cell he used to debug content named toddtest is still accessible via the console in the final game, and his eponymous NPC Todd's Super Tester Guy was used by Howard for debugging and press demonstration.[33] Todd saved the Colovian Fur Helm from being cut out of the game by Christiane Meister due to its humorous potential.[34]

Relevant Interviews

See Also

Gallery

  • Todd Howard (right) meeting Richard Garriott, or Lord British, at E3 2001

  • Todd Howard in 2002, working on the Xbox release of Morrowind

  • Todd Howard in 2008, in the lead-up to Fallout 3's release

  • Todd Howard in 2021

External Links

References

  1. ^ a b [Paligap]. (28 September 2001). The Todd Howard Interview. X-Treme Gaming Radio (XGR). Archived from the original on 18 October 2001.
  2. ^ a b c "Celebrate 25 Years of The Elder Scrolls". March 29, 2019. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved 2025-04-5.
  3. ^ a b Bethesda: The Right Direction — Joe Blancato, The Escapist
  4. ^ a b c Todd Howard: Skyrim, Elder Scrolls 6, Fallout, and Starfield | Lex Fridman Podcast #342. Youtube.
  5. ^ a b King of a Virtual Fantasy World: Todd Howard '93
  6. ^ a b Daggerfall: Credits
  7. ^ Howard, T. (ca. 1998). Redguard Behind the Scenes Interview
  8. ^ Howard, T. (ca. 1998). Redguard Todd Howard Interview
  9. ^ Hines, P. (29 May 2001). Pete Hines: E3 Wrapup
  10. ^ Howard, T. (3 June 2003). Todd Howard: Map Making. elderscrolls.com.
  11. ^ Howard, T. (18 July 2002). Morrowind Special Report. RPG Vault. Archived from the original on 2 August 2002.
  12. ^ Howard, T. (16 November 2001). Morrowind - Explore Another World
  13. ^ Howard, T. (22 October 2004). The RPG for the Next Generation. elderscrolls.com.
  14. ^ Most Memorable Elder Scrolls Moments — elderscrolls.com
  15. ^ Battlespire: Credits
  16. ^ Redguard: Credits
  17. ^ Morrowind: Credits
  18. ^ Tribunal: Credits
  19. ^ Bloodmoon: Credits
  20. ^ Shadowkey: Credits
  21. ^ Oblivion: Credits
  22. ^ Shivering: Credits
  23. ^ Oblivion Mobile: Credits
  24. ^ Oblivion (PSP)
  25. ^ Skyrim: Credits
  26. ^ MobyGames — Todd Howard
  27. ^ Blades: Credits
  28. ^ The Redguard Companion: Credits
  29. ^ Ubi Soft Morrowind Press Kit
  30. ^ Howard, T. (3 January 2002). Morrowind Developer Q&A; #15 TES Construction Set. RPGVault. Archived from the original on 6 February 2002.
  31. ^ (July 2005). Douglas Goodall Interview. The Imperial Library.
  32. ^ Morrowind Developer Q&A; #5 Magic. IGN Vault. (23 August 2001). Archived from the original on 5 December 2001.
  33. ^ Pre-release screenshot of Todd's Super Tester Guy
  34. ^ Meister, C. [Maverique]. November 01 Developer Posts - Part 1. Morrowind Summit. Archived from the original on 9 December 2004.
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