Todd Howard's name is a hard one to avoid in the video game industry. As director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, he has had a significant impact on the world of video games. Iconic franchises such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout would not have existed without his work. On November 11, Todd made an appearance on Reddit where he hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread in the /r/IAmA subreddit.
With Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media costing an astronomical $7.5 billion, gamers naturally had plenty of questions to ask Todd about the future of ZeniMax-owned Bethesda and their favorite franchises. While AMAs have the potential to be colossal disasters, Todd's thread went rather well; in between a few jokey answers, a lot of new and interesting information was revealed. He discussed upcoming games such as Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI, and he also spoke a bit about Bethesda's current state and what the studio has been up to.
Todd Howard Reddit AMA - Starfield
Starfield is a highly anticipated science-fiction RPG by Bethesda. Although details surrounding the game have been sparse, a mere teaser trailer has been enough to spark excitement. It is set to launch on November 11, 2022 on PC and Xbox Series X/S, and the game is the first new IP from Bethesda in 25 years. Todd has described it as "Skyrim in space," raising expectations.
There were a few questions regarding Starfield in Todd's Reddit AMA. One user asked whether gamers can expect robot companions in Starfield, to which Todd replied "Yes, kind of." Gamers who love pouring hours into creating the perfect character will be happy to know that Starfield will feature a robust character creation system. In the AMA, Todd stated that Starfield will allow players to select a background and skills for their character. Players will also be able to pick pronouns, and Starfield will feature different dialogue to support those choices.
With Bethesda games being quite popular in the modding scene, there were expectedly questions regarding Starfield and modding. One Reddit user asked what type of mod support modders can expect to find in Creation Kit 2 for Starfield. According to Todd, the plan is to "have full mod support," as has been the case for previous games. He stressed that the mod community has been there for Bethesda for 20 years and that he would love to see more people make a career out of it. When answering another Redditor, he reiterated this point, stating that his team is passionate about giving "players tools to mod the games."
The release date for Starfield is still a while away, and it may take some time before Bethesda shows more gameplay. When it comes to revealing Starfield, Todd stated that his team prefers to "just show it," and that the next showcase of the game should be "next summer."
Todd Howard Reddit AMA - The Elder Scrolls VI
Another highly anticipated title from Bethesda is The Elder Scrolls VI. Since the game was announced at 2018's E3 showcase, Bethesda has been very quiet about the game. While a release date for The Elder Scrolls VI has not been given, Todd has previously stated that the game will come out after Starfield.
Although many Redditors asked about The Elder Scrolls VI, Todd was rather tight-lipped. The few answers he did give suggest that there is still quite some time to wait before the game sees the light of day. In the AMA, Todd acknowledged the long wait for the game and jokingly added that for Father's Day, his son gave him a card that read "You're an amazing Dad, but where's TES6?"
Todd Howard Reddit AMA - Fallout
Fallout is one of Bethesda's most successful franchises. Since the first Fallout game was released in 1997, the series has been continuing strong. With the franchise branching out into other mediums, gamers had a few questions to ask Todd about the future of Fallout.
A Redditor, noting that there is a cut underwater vault in Fallout 4, asked Todd what Bethesda's plans for the vault had been. According to Todd, the cut content included a BioShock style vault with a "massive sentient octopus living inside it." Todd also opened up about Fallout 76, a game that received a mixed reception from both fans and critics at launch. He admitted that the game "let people down," however he and his team were "able to learn and be better from it." Although the game got off to a rocky launch, Todd boasted that it is now one of Bethesda's most played games.
Todd also gave confirmation that the announced Fallout TV series is still in the works and is "moving ahead." Although he never stated when the public can expect it, he did write that he is excited to be working with Amazon on it. Todd will be serving as an executive producer on the show.
Todd Howard Reddit AMA - All The Other Stuff
There were plenty of additional topics Todd touched on that are worth mentioning. He highlighted the importance of voice actors: Currently, the technology exists to synthesize human voices to use as in-game character voices. Todd explained that this is something the developers at Bethesda make use of to allow them to play games with voices during the development process. However, he was also adamant that there is "no substitute for professional actors" and that they are still a huge part of "development and are amazing partners in bringing these worlds to life."
Bethesda fans will be well aware of the long wait between games in Bethesda franchises. Todd acknowledged this long wait and stated that games take a long time to get right and "quality matters most." While that will not make gamers any more patient, it does shed some light on Bethesda's work philosophy. Todd also went into a bit of detail regarding how Bethesda sets the tone for their games, stating Todd's golden rule is that tone equals world. Questions his team asks themselves when designing game worlds include "What place would you want to explore? Why? Who would you be? What would you do? How does that pique your curiosity? How is that curiosity rewarded?"
Todd's AMA reveals that Bethesda is still very hard at work post-Microsoft acquisition. With The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition recently released on November 11, and Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI set to release in the future, both Bethesda and fans of Bethesda have a busy calendar ahead.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Reddit