Howard Todd is a game designer who has worked on games such as Fallout 3, 4 and The Elder Scrolls. As the chief producer and executive director of these projects, he initiated a large number of innovations. The testing team led by Todd includes a large number of gamers of different ages.
General information
Todd Howard is a famous game designer, producer and executive director. According to GamePro magazine, he is one of the 20 most influential people in the world of the gaming industry over the past 2 decades. Known for the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series of games. Has been with Bethesda Softworks for over 20 years.
He has light eyes and brown hair. Most of all, Howard is interested in video games, which is not surprising. The main goal of the projects that Todd has worked on is to develop a special world in which players will feel comfortable.
Howard Todd: biography
Now let's talk a little about the life of this amazing man. Todd Howard was born April 25, 1970 in Lower MakungiTownship, which is located in the state of Pennsylvania. After graduating from high school, he enters the economics department of the College of William and Mary in Virginia to major in finance. Since 1994, his life has been associated with Bethesda Softworks.
Since childhood, Howard loved to draw. He was also into video games. He was inspired by the Ultima 3 and Wizardry projects. At school, he had to persuade his parents to buy a computer. Then his pretext was study. However, the main goal of the future game designer, of course, was games.
Todd Howard tried several times to get a job at Bethesda, but was turned down each time. He became an employee of the game development team only in 1994.
Work at Bethesda Softworks
After graduating, Todd turned back to the game development company. He was accepted into the job he had dreamed of all his adult life. After several years of dedicated work, his achievements were noticed.
Fallout 3, which was directed by Todd, received a lot of awards. In 2008, she was recognized as the game of the year. Prior to this, Howard worked on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Many players say that Fallout 3 is an addition to it. Until 2011, Todd worked on the Skyrim project.
He also oversaw the development of the following games:
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Designer and Project Lead;
- The Terminator: Future Shock - producer and designer;
- The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard.
The games Todd has worked on are constantly covered by the press. Many of them are placed on the covers of magazines. Also, the famous game designer Todd Howard often appears at gaming industry events. According to him, games should immerse a person in a completely different world, help him live a different life.
An interesting project of Howard is the game The Terminator: Future Shock (1995). It was his first shooter. A feature of the game was a fully three-dimensional environment and the ability to rotate the camera with the mouse. SkyNET (1996) is an action game also inspired by the acclaimed Rise of the Machines movie. The player must help people defend the right to live on their planet.
Seeks to simplify immersion in another reality Howard Todd. Games from Bethesda are generally gaining popularity in part due to the fact that they have simple gameplay, correspond to the time and the needs of the target audience.
Game Features
A feature of game projects created under the supervision of Howard Todd is several stages that the player must go through:
- Training - at the beginning of the game you need to get comfortable with weapons, physics and controls.
- Game - mastered the principles of mechanics allow you to feel comfortable in the process of plot development.
- Challenge is the first and rather strong test of the player's abilities.
- Reward - given for winning.
This cycle is constantly repeated. The gameplay allows the playercreate your own story. The storyline is the background, stimulating the activity of the character.
Todd Howard Awards
In his 20 years at Bethesda, Todd has received many awards. One of the first he was awarded for the game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002). It was named the best PC RPG of the year by GameSpy. It was also highly appreciated by visitors to the IGN resource, giving it the victory in the nomination "Best Story".
In 2007, the renowned game designer was awarded the Game of E3 2007 (IGN) nomination for Fallout 3, and GameSpot named his work the best role-playing game of the show. Igromania magazine also honored her with the RPG of the Year title. And in 2009 it became the best game of the decade. At the Smithsonian Museum in America, she won the Adventure category.
The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion also earned the Game of the Year award from IGN readers. Also, Todd Howard received a Golden Joystick for the game. The event was hosted by the British media organization Emap. RPG Fans also voted Oblivion as the best large-scale game.
In the spring of 2016, Todd will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Game Industry at the Game Developers Conference. Everyone will be able to watch the ceremony live. The award is given in 4 categories. It has already been awarded to many game developers.
Todd's innovative ideas deserve not only awards, but also attention from gamers. Thanks to his ability to understand what the player wants, the company's products are sold out immediately after the appearance on the shelves.
Private life
The game designer has repeatedly talked about his little son, who is one of the first testers who evaluate his projects. On the eve of the release of the new Fallout 4, Howard mentioned him in an interview. For example, his son chose the best perks (certain character abilities) that should have made it into the game.
Many players around the world are waiting for new projects from the chief executive producer and director of Bethesda, bright, interesting and original. Todd himself says he has many more ideas.
