In a recent interview, a former Bethesda Game Studios veteran said something relatively damning about Todd Howard. He outright suggested that, with the confines of Bethesda, there are too many people afraid of saying no to the head honcho.
This has resulted in Howard being ‘hurt’ over the years, and perhaps making some decisions that he maybe shouldn’t have, or wouldn’t have if enough people had stood up and said something to challenge him.
Todd Howard Has a Problem with Yes Men
Todd Howard is the face of Bethesda Game Studios and the person most associated with games like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and, most recently, Starfield. He’s the man who takes to the stage at big events, fronts presentations and updates, and participates in many of the company’s consumer-facing interviews.
Over a year ago, YouTuber Kiwi Talkz interviewed Dennis Mejillones, a former Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Starfield character artist who spent many years flying that Bethesda Game Studios banner. The interview resurfaced recently when Kiwi Talkz reshared it on social media with quotations that caught the public eye all over again.
Here’s the full interview:
During the interview, Mejillones explains a fundamental problem with those working close to Todd Howard:
He’s a phenomenal person. Is he perfect? No. Does he call all the shots perfectly? No.
I can’t tell you how many times I like, told Todd, ‘Man, that’s not a good idea.’
Typically, I would communicate if I felt really strongly about it. Me and Todd could at least communicate.
A lot of people were afraid to say no to Todd, and I think that hurt him.
It’s like George Lucas, George Lucas I think is a genius, I think geniuses come up with terrible ideas too, you know? They’re not all going to be it.
(Thanks to GamesRadar for the spot)
Todd Howard, being the poster child for Bethesda Game Studios and the first face you often associate with the company, gets a lot of bad press thrown his way, specifically when things don’t go well at the firm. He has been at the highest echelons of the company for quite some time, and some could argue it’s a ‘heavy is the head’ scenario.
Do you think Todd Howard gets too much flak as a developer? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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