Name: Todd Howard
Date of Birth: 1971, Lower Macungie Township, PA
Education: Enmaus High School (1993), College of William and Mary (Major in Finance and Engineering)
Nominations: BAFTA Games award for Best Game, BAFTA Games Award for Story and Character, BAFTA Games Award for Technical Achievement, BAFTA Games Award for Artisitc Achievement, BAFTA Games Award for Action & Adventure, BAFTA Games Award for Best Game (Public Vote), BAFTA Games Award for Story, BAFTA Games Award for Gameplay
Games: SkyNET, The Terminator: Future Shock, Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls: Arena The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrorwind, The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon, The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey, Pirates of the Caribbean, Sea Dogs
“We’re fans; we’re passionate about what we do. We go on a crusade to make the best game we can. We make the game we would run to the store and buy, we argue, we debate, we scream, we stay up all night, we clap and cheer the highs and curse the lows.”
As the popularity of western rpgs, so has the popularity of one of the genres greatest developers. He has worked for Bethesda Softworks for almost 20 years, and has made some of the most engrossing games in the industry. Many have grown to call the Elder Scrolls franchise their favorite in the industry, and Fallout 3 quickly became many people’s favorite game of all time. Todd Howard has created some of the best western rpgs and successfully brought the genre to a larger audience.
Todd Howard has been a fan of video games since he a child. Having convince his parents to buy him an Apple II computer, his biggest inspirations were the Ultima and Wizardry series. He loved these games because they gave players a realistic experience in a fantasy setting. This love was present in other hobbies of his as he regularly played Dungeon & Dragons when he was younger. Eventually, Todd would implement that design into his own projects.
Attending the College of William and Mary, Todd Howard pursued a Degree in Finances in order to finish College as quickly as possible. He was focus on achieving his dream of becoming a video game designer. One day, while checking out Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3, he figured out that the developers where on his commute to college: This studio was no other than Bethesda Softworks. Although he was rejected multiple times, he eventually got a job at Bethesda Softworks after graduating college. He began working on The Terminator: Future Shock which was the first game to use “mouse-look” controls (Quake would pick up on this in later months.) While this innovation is surely one of the biggest in the industry, it wasn’t what Todd would become known for. After the sequel SkyNET, Todd began working on The Elder Scroll franchise. Todd put some amount of work in the entire franchise, but his first lead designing role in the series was with The Elder Scroll III: Morrowind. Morrowind would become a large critical success for Bethesda, and one the games that brought the genre to a wider audience. He proceeded to lead the design on The Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion and The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim. In addition, Todd Howard manage to successfully reboot the the Fallout franchise with Fallout 3. I could rant about how all of these game brought the industry to a higher standard, but I believe the most important thing is what they did for the genre. In a genre that generally only had an audience on the PC, Todd Howard manage to create to broaden the availability and appeal of western rpgs.
“Don’t define the game by the list of the features. Define it by the experience you want to have.”
Todd Howard has created some of the best western rpgs that manage to find a perfect blend between fantasy and reality. The Elder Scrolls series has become one of the most beloved in the industry, and the Fallout series has grew equally as popular. However, I believe the main reason that Todd has become one of the most successful developers in the industry is because he is remains a fan of video games. Whether it’s NCAA, Gran Turismo, or Ultima Todd Howard is a fan of nearly every genre. The rpg genre is by far is favorite,and he seems to be happy that the genre has become implemented in many other. Todd Howard has become a staple in the video game industry, and is one of many great creative minds at Bethesda Softworks. Todd, and the rest of Bethesda, have successfully brought video games to a higher cultural status.
