"He doesn't believe it's true, but unfortunately it is true"
  • bogdugg@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    56·
    1 year ago

    I’ve read similar things about the development of Morrowind, about creative decisions needing to get past Todd, in this excellent article about its development.

    Here are some quotes from Michael Kirkbride:

    The game was originally set in the Summerset Isles. And then we got bored and decided, “Man, this is really boring. How about we put it in a volcano with like giant bugs everywhere?” And people were like, “What?” So Todd Howard — the easiest way to get anything past Todd, at that time, was you basically just had to say “Star Wars.” Which was true for me and anybody then. So I was like, “The game should be like Dark Crystal meets Star Wars.” And he was immediately hooked. I got all the bug creatures I ever needed, we moved it from Summerset Isles to this weird dark-elf place on the map, and we just went from there.

    I used to have this thing with Todd, because he was one of the ones that’s like, “Let’s not make it too weird.” So I’d bamboozle him. There was a period where I would actually draw two different versions of a monster — the one that was weird and that I wanted to be in the game, and then one that was fucking crazy. And so I’d go to Todd, and I’m like, “OK, I think I’ve got the mid-level creature set.” And I’d show him a picture. He’d be like, “Nah, dude, that’s crazy.” Then I’d go back to my office and I would act like I was drawing something new, and I’d just come back with the original drawing of what I really wanted to be in there. Like, “Hey, is this what you were thinking?” And he’d be all, “Oh, yeah, that’s much better. That’s great.”

    I can definitely believe his influence has become immense following the studio’s success - though it definitely feels like he needs to hand the reins over to somebody else.

    • LadyLikesSpiders@lemmy.mlEnglish
      241·
      1 year ago

      That tactic for his crazy monster designs is a classic psychological trick, but I can’t remember what it’s called. It’s a thing where you’re more likely to get someone’s help by first asking for more help than you want/need, and then when rejected, you can scale it back, and they’ll more likely concede

      • OctopusKurwa @lemm.eeEnglish
        14·
        1 year ago

        The loss of Ken Rolston and Kirkbride and the rise of Emil Pagliarulo is what fucked the elder scrolls writing.

        You shouldn’t hand your big epic fantasy world to a guy who couldn’t give a fuck about the lore or stepping on the toes of other writers.

    • fosforus@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      12·
      1 year ago

      It’s almost as if people get old and become less efficient at everything, regardless of where they started from.

      • MudMan@kbin.social
        2·
        1 year ago

        The quote above is from Morrowind, so I’m curious to know when you think he lost his mojo. Like, Daggerfall? I mean, I could agree with that, but it seems like a hot take.

          • MudMan@kbin.social
            2·
            1 year ago

            Fair enough. Seems like the micromanagement was there both before and after that point, though, so it’s probably not a symptom of that. Although it could be a contributing factor that having more games in developement doesn’t fit that personality type as well, but it’s probably impossible to say without actually working with him directly.

  • dan1101@lemm.eeEnglish
    404·
    1 year ago

    Yes that’s probably what allowed games like Skyrim to be so good instead of feeling like they were designed by a corporate committee.