Todd Howard is one of the most recognisable names in game development, yet despite this, the Bethesda director's overarching thoughts on game design remain something of an enigma. Howard has admitted that he doesn't like talking about his games. As such, we rarely get much insight into his broader design philosophy.

Yet according to Bruce Nesmith, lead designer of Skyrim, Howard certainly has a specific set of skills when it comes to game design. In a wide-ranging interview with The Examined Game, Nesmith discussed his time working with Bethesda. During the chat, Nesmith was asked what it was like working with Howard, and he credited Howard with a knack for seeing things from the player's point of view:

"Part of what Todd has, historically for Skyrim and Fallout 3 and everything, been very good at is putting himself in the seat of your typical player," Nesmith explained. "As a developer, I sit in an ivory tower. It's inescapable … I think more deeply about games, definitely, than your typical player. And he's able to cut through that and see 'Oh yeah, they're looking for a little bit of joy here. Don't get in the way with your math and your complex decision here'".

When working up close with code and the day-to-day design of things, Nesmith pointed out that developers can overcomplicate things. "I would try to make things a little more complex, and he was more than willing to say 'No, no, that's not what the players are going to want.

Source link