Todd Howard did an AMA on Nov 10, 2021. Plenty of Todd Howard fans and Bethesda game enthusiasts chimed in to eagerly ask him questions. We compiled the questions and answers for you to read.

This week has been full of Skyrim content. It feels good to have Todd Howard chime in on the Anniversary Edition release of Skyrim and drop some info about Starfield at the same time.

Todd Howard AMA Reddit Nov 10, 2021 Questions and Answers

Q: Since everone’s gonna ask: any updates on TES6? – u/thenumber6ix

TH: We know it’s a long wait, we’re with you. For Father’s Day this year my son gave me a card that said, “You’re an amazing Dad, but where’s TES6?

Q: Hi Todd, What sort of game would you make if you had an infinite budget and ten years of development time? – u/TellurianInspector

TH: We’re incredibly lucky to have the support of time and budget to make the games we want. So, all of them?

Top comment to Todd’s response – “Megachad response,” and “Skyrim…2”

Q: Who is the mother of Jarl Balgruuf’s children? – u/STuitt

TH: He’s not talking.

Q: Will there be any robot companions in Starfield? – u/Tenkay33

TH: Yes, kind of.

Perhaps Todd is hinting at robot companions working on your ship as seen in the Starfield Trailer. Maybe these robot companions are not the same as companions that would follow you into towns and do quests with you.

Q: Hey Todd, what happens when it just doesn’t work? What’s the best/worst bug you’ve encountered? –u/YourCreepyRoomate

TH: Long time ago, during Redguard, the lead programmer made all the buildings hop up and down after you played for 10 minutes just to mess with me.

Q: I am currently playing Oblivion, any tips? – u/Common-Barber3054 

TH: Pick acrobatics and jump constantly.

Upside – You will have a higher vertical than the most athletic volleyball player on the planet while wearing 180 plus pounds of armor. Downside – you’ll level up your character in something completely useless and will likely get wrecked by enemies. The fact this question made it into the Todd Howard AMA makes us happy.

Q: In a 2018 interview with Dean Takahashi you mentioned that had Bethesda not acquired the rights to Fallout you would have made an original post-apocalyptic universe. What ideas did you have for this universe and how would it have differed from Fallout? Thank you for your hard work and ask Emil how he ages backward. -u/IndvsRiverFolly

TH: It was called “Apocalypse Road” and had a great logo with a street sign.

I’ll pass along to Emil, thanks!

Q: Hi Todd! Is the Amazon’s Fallout TV Series still in the work? Is there any chance you can give us some details? I’ll buy an extra copy of Skyrim 🥺

TH: Moving ahead. Really excited to be working with Jonah, Lisa, and Amazon on it.

The Fallout TV series is slated to come out sometime in the next few years.

Q: Todd! If you could be transported into any video game forever, what would it be and why? u/Smagby

TH: Does Flight Simulator count?

Q: I’ve read that a goal of Starfield is that it will be more of a “hardcore RPG”. Can you verify this and flesh that out in more detail? Does that mean that the character creation will be more complicated like it was in Morrowind and Oblivion? – u/elderscrollsweetroll

TH: Really excited about what the team has done with character creation here. Including choosing background, skills, etc. You also can pick your pronoun (he, she, they) and we’ve recorded all the relevant dialogue to support that choice.

More character creation choices are always a good thing.

Q: I absolutely adored the Terminator games Bethesda did back in the 90s (still got the boxed copies!), the atmosphere of the future was so exceptionally realized when you consider the limitations of the time. My question is this: Do you have any particular memory when it comes to the development of those games that stands out, and if the opportunity arose, would you ever consider going back to the Terminator IP for another game (not necessarily an FPS)? -u/drazgul

TH: Thanks for the note reg Terminator. We loved working on it. The license was in limbo so we were able to do pretty much whatever we wanted.

We alternated fantasy worlds and post-apocalyptic worlds with TES and Terminator before we did it with Fallout.

Q: Hey Todd! What type of mod support can we expect to see in creation kit engine 2 for Starfield? -u/Wayyzzz

TH: Our plan it have full mod support like our previous games. Our modding community has been with us for 20 years. We love what they do and hope to see more make a career out of it.

Bethesda games and the modding community go way back. This is a good thing because bugs will be addressed in full and game content will be abundant post launch.

Q: You’ve repeatedly said tone is the first thing BGS prioritizes when designing a game. How do you pick a tone to build an entire game around? Are there conversations or even debates on what the tone should be? Also, how do you preserve tone across so many different areas of development especially the non-visual ones (such as npc dialogue) that can’t pull so directly from your studio’s excellent concept art? -u/Ok_Tone4633

TH: Great question, and one we debate here often. Tone = world. What place would you want to explore? Why? Who would you be? What would you do? How does that pique your curiosity? How is that curiosity rewarded? We like mixing places with elements that you feel comfortable with or can relate to, alongside the fantastical.

Todd has a great vision and it is cool that they start and focus so much on tone at the beginning of pre-production.

Q: Hello, Todd!
In this past year, we saw the rise of some impressive Machine Learning tools that synthetize human voice, using assets from Skyrim (and other Bethesda games) to generate new realistic voice lines.
What do you think about this technology, in general? Do you have hope to use it in some future game? And do you think it will have a negative impact on the relationship between game studios and real voice actors? -u/laser_velociraptor

TH: We actually use such systems during development so we can play the game with voices, but there is no substitute for professional actors. They are a huge part of our development and are amazing partners in bringing these worlds to life.

Q: What do you think of Fallout: New Vegas? – u/TheSkyGamezz

TH: Great game, big fan of Obsidian and we have many friends there.

Q: Hey Todd, I recently became a creative director on a decently sized mod project, so it had me curious. What’s your favourite aspect of being in the role, and what kind of advice would you give to someone fairly new to that kind of position? -u/boingydoo

TH: Give your team room to have their own ideas and creative impact. The best results are always from a team, and the best teams are the ones that feel safe to fail and try new ideas together.

Q: Do you get to the cloud district very often? -u/Hybrid_Spaniel

TH: Yes. Yes I do.

Shoutouts to Nazeem.

Todd Howard’s AMA is up on Reddit. There may be a few lingering Q&A there. Check them out.

In sum, there is a lot to be excited about. Todd Howard had an interview with IGN and talked a little more about development strategies, favorite Skyrim mods, and Starfield to be revealed next year likely at E3.

Todd Howard, thanks for all of the memes and the hard work you do to tell incredible, interactive stories that last decades.

Check out What’s Included in the Skyrim Anniversary Edition dropping 11/11/2021.

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