Todd Howard 'Knows What it's Like to be a Casual Gamer,' So He Decides on All Aspects of Bethesda Games
A recent interview with a former Bethesda veteran brought us information that Todd Howard was the decision-maker in every aspect of the games his studio developed.
Interesting information is coming to us about the work organization at Bethesda. Their source is a former employee of the studio, Bruce Nesmith, who was recently a guest on the MinnMax channel on YouTube (via GamesRadar ).
Nesmith, who has been associated with the US corporation since the days of Daggerfall, talked about the realities of working at the company and his departure, which was due to the many changes that have taken place at the studio in recent years.
Most interestingly, however, Nesmith revealed a bit of information about the game development proces at Bethesda and the great importance of Todd Howard for the final shape of the studio' games.
According to the former employee, Howard was to have the final say in discussions over the implementation of even the smallest elements into the studio's major games.
"All decisions went through Todd. He would hate me for saying this, because he doesn't believe it, but unfortunately it's true."
Nesmith added that when developers wanted to create something different from the things Bethesda is famous for, or approach certain things in a different way, they had to pitch their idea to their boss..
Todd Howard is the one who understands the needs of typical gamers the best
According to the co-creator of Skyrim Bethesda's CEO was a decision-maker even in minor matters not only because of his tenure, but because "he was able to put himself in the place of a typical gamer to a much better degree than the rest of the team".
Interestingly, such an organizational structure was not the result of rigid rules, but of a work culture developed in the company over the years. There was supposed to be a belief among developers that Todd Howard's opinions were very valuable, and that he had an educated opinion on every topic related to the games that were being made.
Ironically, Bruce Nesmith admitted that the director was rather not fond of such a system and tried to be a person who does not decide everything.
Apparently, however, the tremendous respect Howard enjoyed, as well as his willingness to voice his opinion on any issue meant that his words were treated as sacred in the studio.
By the way, it is worth mentioning that quite recently Bethesda parted ways - after 24 years of work - with Pete Hines, the other face of the company next to Todd Howard.
