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Todd Howard Biography
Todd Howard is an American video game director, producer, and designer. He serves as executive producer and director at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series. In 2009, GamePro magazine named him one of the “Top 20 Most Influential People in Gaming” over the last 20 years. He was also called one of IGN‘s “Top 100 Game Creators of All Time”
In 1989, he graduated from Emmaus High School in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Then he graduated from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1993, where he double majored in engineering and finance despite his desire to create video games, later saying that “it seemed like the easiest path to get through college”.
In 1994, he teamed up with Bethesda Softworks and his first game development credit for Bethesda Softworks was as producer and designer of Skynet and The Terminator: Future Shock, followed with design on The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, which was released in 1996. He was the project leader and designer of The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard released in 1998 and he was also the project leader and designer of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and for the expansions that followed.
He directed the creation of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and all of its downloadable content. After that, he was the game director and executive producer of Fallout 3. He declared Bethesda’s philosophy for The Elder Scrolls games was to allow people to “live another life, in another world”.
In November 2011, he returned to The Elder Scrolls series to lead the development of its fifth installment, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which was released. He directed Fallout 4, which was announced with the release of its first official trailer on June 3, 2015. He worked as the executive producer in Fallout Shelter, Bethesda Game Studios’ first mobile game, which was announced and released at the 2015 E3 Showcase.
Speaker
He is a frequent speaker at conferences, industry events, and in magazine interviews. His games have been featured in USA Today, CNN, Newsweek, and The Today Show.
He spoke to developers at the 2009 D.I.C.E. Summit, sharing his three rules of game development:
• Define the experience. “You shouldn’t define your game by a list of bullet points… define it by the experience you want people to have.”
• Great games are played, not made. “You can have the greatest design document ever made, and you’re going to change 90 percent of it as soon as you play the game.”
• Keep it simple. “Doing something really well takes time, more time than you think it will. Simple systems acting together create complexity that players can appreciate.”
He returned as a keynote speaker at the 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit. He declared developers should ignore demographics and installed base, and follow their passions, saying that “if install base really mattered, we’d all make board games, because there are a lot of tables”.
Todd Howard Age/Early Life
He was born on April 25, 1971, in Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania. His birth sign is Taurus and as of 2019, he is 48 years old. He built an interest in computers, particularly video games, at a very young age.
Later playing Wayne Gretzky Hockey, he requested a job from a Bethesda Softworks office he encountered each day on his commute to and from school. He was rejected and told to re-apply once he graduated. After completing school, he went back to Bethesda for a job but was rejected again. Finally, he landed a job there in 1994.
Todd Howard Nationality
He is an American citizen.
Todd Howard Family
His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Howard. He also has a brother that goes by the name Jeffrey.
Todd Howard Marriage
In July 1995, he married Kimberly Lynn Yaissle. Their wedding took place at St. Thomas More Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. They have a son named Jake. Kimberly also attended Emmaus High School and she’s a Universit of Richmond graduate turned school teacher.
Todd Howard Height and Weight
• Height – 5ft 6in (168 cm)
• Weight – 65 kilo
• Hair color – Regular brown
• Hairstyle – Casual
• Eye color – Green
Todd Howard Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $15 million dollars.
Todd Howard Works
• 1995 – The Terminator: Future Shock
• 1996 – Skynet, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
• 1998 – The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
• 2002 – The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
• 2003 – The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon
• 2004 – The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey
• 2006 – The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• 2007 – The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles
• 2008 – Fallout 3
• 2011 – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• 2015 – Fallout Shelter, Fallout 4
• 2018 – Fallout 76
Todd Howard Awards and recognition
In 2012, he was named “Best Game Director” by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Then he received the Lara of Honor, Germany’s lifetime achievement award for gaming, in 2014. He is one of a few developers to have created five consecutive Game of the Year award winners, with Fallout 4, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.