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[-] Crismus@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

I think I figured out why Todd Howard seems to have tried to make Fallout die; he never wanted to buy Fallout, but was pressured by Zenimax into purchasing a second IPin case The Elder Scrolls ever fails.

Fallout has always been a backup to The main Elder Scrolls games in case he makes a mistake. If Fallout succeeds in a massive way, there is a chance he will have to start giving it more resources than his own pride and joy.

It's classic step-parent mentality. The suits made him into a step parent, so he managed a quick skin over oblivion and just copied bits and pieces of the first games stories like a high school student copying a book report from a book he never read. He didn't really care about the substance from the previous games, but there was a lot of old concept art they could mash up and the 50's aesthetic meant they could save a lot of money on licensing fees for music.

Then is sold big and ruined his chances for quietly making the story go away. But Skyrim was a huge success which should have made the idea of a second IP unnecessary. So, they decided to focus on their new game and let a company known for doing cheap sequels for other game companies IP.

Personally I wonder if Todd Howard was actually paying attention to who Obsidian had on staff, or if he just wanted a company who was willing to take the millstone from his neck so he could focus on the game he really wanted to make. The reason I think that Todd didn't know who Obsidian were is because of how he treated the next company who he let play with the Fallout IP.

Fallout 76 was the only other title made by a mostly outside developer. I say mostly, because they were a newly acquired studio who had no real experience. Which led to a failure in Fallout 76 from launch. Compare that to how ESO was put together. It was built by Zenimax Online a core studio designed just for an online MMO Elder Scrolls game. They weren't forced to use the single-player Gamebryo/Creation Engine. It was designed as it's own online game.

Fallout has been consistently designed to fail, which is why Microsoft should just remove it from Bethesda and get someone who understands the story and is willing to follow the real story Canon make new games. We're in this issue because Todd Howard has been forced to work on Fallout, which is amazing how even with him trying the screw it up, we still enjoy the Fallout world.

[-] therealjcdenton@lemmy.zip 32 points 7 months ago

You say this as if Todd Howard solely developed Fallout and had absolute control over everything

[-] shani66@ani.social 9 points 7 months ago

And he implied that TES is Todd's baby, it super wasn't. The real creators of TES left before Morrowind.

[-] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

The lead designer for Morrowind was also involved in Battlespire and Redguard, so it's not quite that simple.

[-] shani66@ani.social 2 points 7 months ago

Red guard and battlespire were worthless side projects that no one cared about, the actual TES guys left before MW.

[-] Crismus@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

I was just thinking aloud is all. Fallout has always seemed as a left behind second class property compared to anything from the Elder Scrolls.

Also, I do understand that it's all not a one person deal, but it's a lot easier to put a single person as the face of the developer who has acted as the face of the entire studio. He acts as the arbiter of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout in the Media, I shouldn't have to look up the org chart for each game.

The same reading between the lines everyone else does when they're h8alf asleep too.

Like everyone else, I don't work for them or have any inside information, but I do know that Zenimax was part of the Koch Industry funded machine and having a backup brand makes good business sense.

[-] chloyster@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 7 months ago

Trying to make fallout die? He helped make a show that has done insanely well and brought the fallout series player counts to record highs. You can not like Todd but to claim he's trying to kill the series is hilarious

this post was submitted on 01 May 2024
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