Through the years, it’s become no secret that we’ve got devs that take Team Fortress 2 pretty seriously. Later this Spring, producer Phil Nelson (above left) and world artist Nate Purkeypile (right), will participate in the fourth TF 2 Mixup.
The mixup includes a selection of developers from around the industry… and you could participate, too! A donation to Child’s Play from the Mixup homepage enters you for a chance to participate and win some cool prizes.
In addition to our 1.5 update on Steam, here’s some notable Skyrim news from around the web.
The Christian Science Monitor recently visited Bethesda Game Studios to learn more about why people play videogames. The feature is worth a read for any gamer, and perfect to share with that family member that doesn’t understand your favorite past time. Here’s a quick excerpt:
“I was a latchkey kid,” remembers production director Ashley Cheng, 38. “When my grandmother came home, she’d feel the TV. If it was warm, that meant I was playing games – instead of practicing piano.”
In addition to Ashley, the article includes insights from Todd Howard, Matt Carafano, and Bruce Nesmith. Read the entire eight page feature here.
Update: At tonight’s award show, Bethesda Game Studios won the night’s final award, Game of the Year! Congrats to the whole team!
To watch an Encore presentation of the awards, visit Gamespot. And for pictures from the event, visit the GDCA Flickr page.
Original Post: This year’s Game Developers Conference is underway in San Francisco. Last night BGS level designer Joel Burgess discussed Skyrim in a panel titled Pursuing Elegance, and tonight, the 12th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards will be announced.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is nominated for five awards in tonight’s ceremony, including Game of the Year, Best Game Design, Best Technology, Best Visual Arts, and Best Audio. If you’re interested in cheering the game along, you can watch Gamespot’s livestream beginning at 6:30 PM PST.
On the subject of awards, you can still vote for Skyrim in the BAFTA GAME GOTY award category. BAFTA winners will be announce next Friday.
While Bethesda Game Studios continues to work on Skyrim, the team is ramping up for their next major release. Visit our job website to find career opportunities for animators, artists, designers, and programmers — including our new programming position focusing on future generation consoles and PCs.
For more on BGS, be sure to follow the team on our newly-created Twitter and Facebook pages.
NCAA March Madness is still a few weeks away, but The Escapist is already kicking off their annual March Mayhem Developers’ Showdown. We’re excited to hear that we’ve got two studios representing — both Bethesda Game Studios (South Division) and id Software (East Division).
In Round 1, BGS faces off against Level-5 Inc (best known for the addictive Professor Layton Games), while id Software matches up against MMO studio Sony Online Entertainment. To support our developers, be sure to register an account on The Escapist and start voting on March 8th. You’ll also be able to cast an additional vote by tweeting your choice with the hashtag #MM12.
March Mayhem also gives you an opportunity to win some cool prizes, including a top-of-the-line Origin gaming computer or an iPad 2. Visit the instructions page for details, and be sure to fill out a bracket before March 7th to get 25 entries into the random prize giveaways.
Last week our dear friend and colleague, Adam Adamowicz, passed away. Adam touched the lives of everyone that knew him, and his spirit will live on in the games we create.
This week we put up a page so that everyone — family, friends and fans alike — can visit and remember him. The page includes memories and reflections from the team, plus a comprehensive collection of his work on Oblivion DLC, Fallout 3, and Skyrim. And as the introduction notes, you haven’t seen the last of his work.
With Adam’s passing, I’ve spent some time going back and looking at some of the stuff we’ve done with him — here on the blog, on The Bethesda Podcast, and elsewhere.
G4TV — Not long after Fallout 3′s release, G4TV learned about Adam’s work as a concept art. Watch the video above.
Fallout Official Site — Before Fallout 3 launched, we did several developer diaries. In Adam’s diary, he shared details on how his inspirations for the game’s vault suit, creatures, weapons, and more.
The Bethesda Podcast – A few weeks before Skyrim’s launch, Nick and I did a podcast interview with Adam and his longtime friend, concept artist Ray Lederer. No one at the office knew Adam better than Ray, and you can read his reflections on his personal blog.
Bethesda Blog – Adam did an early Inside the Vault interviews for Fallout 3. Even today, it’s a hilarious read. After I posted it, he emailed me and asked me to add this picture. I thought he was nuts, but I’m happy to add it again.
Watch the sixth episode of our Creation Kit tutorial series as level designer Daryl Brigner demonstrates how to place enemy actors in the world and design their patrols.
Today on Gamespot, the nominees for this year’s Interactive Achievement Awards were announced. We’re excited to share news that Skyrim was nominated in six categories (including Game of the Year), while id Software’s RAGE is up for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering.
Below is the full rundown of nominations…
Skyrim – Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Story, Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering, and Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction.
RAGE – Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
Join us in congratulating the teams at Bethesda Game Studios and id Software on their well-deserved nominations.
What a night! At last night’s Spike VGA Awards, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was honored with Game of the Year and RPG of the Year. Additionally, Bethesda Game Studios was named Studio of the Year.
Congrats to to the BGS team and everyone else involved with the project. And a big thanks to all our fans for your continued support!
