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| Todd Howard (born 1970) is an ] ], ], and ]. He has created some of the industry’s most successful games by pioneering open world gameplay. He is currently ] and ] for ], where he has lead the creation of '']'' and '']'' video game series. ] magazine named him to the Top 20 Most Influential People in Gaming over the last 20 years<ref>http://bethblog.com/index.php/2009/05/07/around-the-web-interviews-edition-2/</ref>. He is also one of ]’s Top Game Creators of All Time <ref>http://games.ign.com/top-100-game-creators/index.html</ref>. | |||
| ==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
| Howard was born in ]. He is a 1989 graduate of ] in |
Howard was born in ], ]. He is a 1989 graduate of ] in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. In 1993, he graduated from ] in ], ], where he majored in finance. | ||
| ==Bethesda Softworks== | ==Bethesda Softworks== | ||
| Todd Howard joined Bethesda in 1994. Most recently he was Game Director and Executive Producer of '']'', the 2008 winner of E3’s Best of Show<ref>http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/2008winners.html</ref>, and Game of the Year from the Game Developers Choice Awards<ref>http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=22920</ref>, The Associated Press, Yahoo, Gamespy, IGN, PC Gamer, and more,<ref><ref>http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/links/fallout3-awards.php</ref></ref>. Prior to that he lead the creation of '']'', the 2006 Game of the Year winner from the VGAs, The Associated Press, G4, Computer Gaming World, AIAS, and more <ref>http://elderscrolls.com/news/news_06.htm</ref>. | |||
| Howard joined Bethesda Softworks in 1994. Over the years, he continued to contribute to various titles, and is currently executive producer/game director for | |||
| ''The Elder Scrolls'' series<ref>http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/theelderscrollsivoblivion/preview_6111720.html</ref> and for ''Fallout 3''.<ref></ref> His major credits include project lead and additional writing and quest design on '']'', additional design on '']'', ] and additional designer of '']'' and '']'' and Game Director for '']''. He was also the project leader and designer of '']''.<ref>http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/by_genre/developerId,16249/</ref> Howard has stated that Bethesda's philosophy for the ''Elder Scrolls'' games is to allow people to "live another life, in another world."<ref>http://www.elderscrolls.com/codex/team_rpgnextgen.htm</ref> | |||
| His other major credits include Project Leader and Designer of ] (2002), Producer and Designer of '']'' (1995) and '']'' (1996), and Project Leader and Designer of ] (1998). | |||
| Todd is a frequent speaker at industry events and his games have been featured in everything from ],], ], and ], to magazine covers worldwide. Howard has stated that Bethesda's philosophy for the ''Elder Scrolls'' games is to allow people to "live another life, in another world.". | |||
| Howard spoke before developers at the 2009 DICE Summit, sharing his three rules of game development: | |||
| *Great games are played not made. – "You can have the greatest design document ever made, and you're going to change 90 percent of it as soon as you play the game." | |||
| *Keep it simple. – Doing something really well takes time, more time than you think it will. Simple systems acting together create complexity that players can appreciate. | |||
| *Define the experience - "Don't define your game by a list of bullet points... define it by the experience you want people to have." <ref>http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/02/20/dice-2009-the-following-wisdom-is-from-todd-howard/</ref> | |||
| He also quipped that developers should ignore demographics and install bases, and follow their passions, saying “if install base really mattered, we'd all make board games, because there are a lot of tables.”<ref>http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=22418</ref> | |||
| Currently Todd Howard and Bethesda Game Studios are working on their next project, which has yet to be announced. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 21:33, 28 April 2010
Todd Howard (born 1970) is an American designer, director, and producer. He has created some of the industry’s most successful games by pioneering open world gameplay. He is currently Game Director and Executive Producer for Bethesda Game Studios, where he has lead the creation of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls video game series. GamePro magazine named him to the Top 20 Most Influential People in Gaming over the last 20 years. He is also one of IGN’s Top Game Creators of All Time .
Early life
Howard was born in Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania. He is a 1989 graduate of Emmaus High School in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. In 1993, he graduated from The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he majored in finance.
Bethesda Softworks
Todd Howard joined Bethesda in 1994. Most recently he was Game Director and Executive Producer of Fallout 3, the 2008 winner of E3’s Best of Show, and Game of the Year from the Game Developers Choice Awards, The Associated Press, Yahoo, Gamespy, IGN, PC Gamer, and more,Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).</ref>. Prior to that he lead the creation of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the 2006 Game of the Year winner from the VGAs, The Associated Press, G4, Computer Gaming World, AIAS, and more .
His other major credits include Project Leader and Designer of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002), Producer and Designer of The Terminator: Future Shock (1995) and SkyNET (1996), and Project Leader and Designer of The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard (1998).
Todd is a frequent speaker at industry events and his games have been featured in everything from Newsweek,CNN, USA Today, and The Today Show, to magazine covers worldwide. Howard has stated that Bethesda's philosophy for the Elder Scrolls games is to allow people to "live another life, in another world.".
Howard spoke before developers at the 2009 DICE Summit, sharing his three rules of game development:
- Great games are played not made. – "You can have the greatest design document ever made, and you're going to change 90 percent of it as soon as you play the game."
- Keep it simple. – Doing something really well takes time, more time than you think it will. Simple systems acting together create complexity that players can appreciate.
- Define the experience - "Don't define your game by a list of bullet points... define it by the experience you want people to have."
He also quipped that developers should ignore demographics and install bases, and follow their passions, saying “if install base really mattered, we'd all make board games, because there are a lot of tables.”
Currently Todd Howard and Bethesda Game Studios are working on their next project, which has yet to be announced.
External links
- Todd Howard at MobyGames
- "The Brothers Howard," The Morning Call, October 28, 2008.
- "Fallout 3 Q&A," with Todd Howard, Gamespot, August 2, 2007.
References
- http://bethblog.com/index.php/2009/05/07/around-the-web-interviews-edition-2/
- http://games.ign.com/top-100-game-creators/index.html
- http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/2008winners.html
- http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=22920
- http://elderscrolls.com/news/news_06.htm
- http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/02/20/dice-2009-the-following-wisdom-is-from-todd-howard/
- http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=22418
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