Hello, dear readers! If you’re a gamer, there’s no doubt you’ve at least heard of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This immensely popular game was released in 2011 and was developed by Bethesda Game Studios. In the past few years, the director and executive producer of the game, Todd Howard of Bethesda, has opened up about how the production of Skyrim was affected by the various diversions
Source: YouTube/GameRiot
The Allure and Challenge of Skyrim
First of all, it is important to recognize how revolutionary Skyrim was and still is. The concept of an open world that is fully immersed in lore, offering never-ending quests, and constantly changing environments created a new type of game. Yet, it appears that this kind of complexity has its own problems. During the last interview, Todd Howard admitted that the development team was overwhelmed with the number of ideas and possible features that had to be implemented into the game.
Distractions in Game Development
One of the biggest distractions noted by Howard was the numerous new ideas that he received. The team at Bethesda works in a creative manner and ideas are actively discussed and new features are proposed all the time. Although this encouraged innovation, it also put the team in a position of having to constantly evaluate which ideas to execute and which ones to let go. This balance proved to be very important but not very easy to maintain, as any idea could potentially put the project on hold or make the game mechanics too complicated.
Balancing Innovation and Focus
Howard’s admission highlights a common struggle in game development: the challenge of bringing new perspectives to the table while also ensuring the organization’s focus. As for the one part of the team wanted to try to experiment with what can an open-world RPG be.
In the same regard, they could not make it too fragmented in order to be cohesive and at the same time, it has to be in the realms of a game. This is impressive as it is a clear testimony to the hard work and dedication of the developers who were in some way able to create a game that is still loved to this date, imagine if these were done while wielding some of these factors.
Lessons Learned
All the tips that Howard gave in the interview are as useful to anyone who wants to do any form of creation project. Prioritization and learning when to stop starting new tasks and projects are other major aspects of time management. It is about the concept and its realization, the work of art and utility, the dream and the action that will transform the vision.
The Ongoing Legacy of Skyrim
Nevertheless, the result proves the success of Skyrim The interaction of graphics and design is as follows: It has been released on several platforms more and can still be found in Virtual Reality with a steadily supporting fan base that produces mods and expansions.
One must agree with the fact that Howard and his team have had to do some work through many interferences while conducting the firm’s engagement, but one thing that is quite evident here is that the foundation has been done properly.
So, what do you make of what Todd Howard has to say on this? What are some scenes from Skyrim that you like most or ideas that were never considered for the game? Please feel free to share your opinion on the topic in the comment section below.
As always, until next time – happy gaming!
