Category Archives: Happy Birthday

Happy 15th, QUAKE II!

Today marks the 15th anniversary of QUAKE II’s release on PC. Celebrating the affair, id Software’s Tim Willits shared some fun facts about the game:

  • Only three artists made all the 2D and 3D art for the entire game.
  • One of the original suggested names for QUAKE II was WOR, but the game’s fast-paced, tactile feel felt closer to a QUAKE game than a new franchise.
  • ‘The Edge’ (Tim’s favorite deathmatch level in QUAKE II or any other game), has over 50 trick jumps possible in the map. Tim only designed two of them, and the rest were discovered by the QUAKE II community.

Later today, Tim plans to celebrate by taking these QUAKE action figures out of the display case and reenacting his favorite moments from the game. Let us know how you’ll be celebrating the game’s anniversary in the comment section below.

Happy 10th Anniversary, Morrowind!

Time sure flies.

10 years ago this week, we released the PC version of the The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. While I was still a senior in college at the time, I remember it being a monumental release, and I was envious of PC gamers playing it before it released on Xbox. In the five years I’ve been working at Bethesda, I’ve learned to appreciate the game even more. The game was vital our company, and allowed us to continue the series with Oblivion and Skyrim.

It never ceases to amaze me how strong Morrowind’s community remains. The modding community continues to push the game to its limits and Morrowind will always be the sentimental favorite for longtime fans.

Want to go back and play the game? Grab it on sale on Steam and GameFly.

Feel free to share your favorite memories in the comments section.

Happy 5th Anniversary, Oblivion!

While many of you (and us) are looking ahead to Skyrim’s release (t-minus 236 days), today marks an opportunity to look back at its predecessor, Oblivion, which released five years ago today.

Have a favorite Oblivion memory? Whether it’s from pre-launch, launch day, or the countless hours you played and modded the game, share them with us in the comments section.

Happy Birthday id Software

birthday2.jpg

On behalf of everyone here at Bethesda, I’d like to wish a very happy birthday to id Software. Here’s to another 19 years of frags.

My first memory of an id game was watching my neighborhood friend play DOOM, peeking over his shoulder for a quick glimpse at the future of gaming. I wouldn’t actually get to play an id shooter until much later, when I finally put together my first PC — a Voodoo 2-equipped, triangle-crunching monster. I vividly remember playing through those opening minutes of Quake 2, and the intense headache that followed my first taste of real-time 3D graphics. Avatar had nothing on that experience.

So let’s get this party started. Feel free to share your first, or favorite, id-related memories in the comments below.

Happy Birthday Fallout 3!

fallout3birthday.jpg

This morning Todd reminded me we released Fallout 3 one year ago today.

Much like the weeks and months prior to release — when I was traveling around the world for the game — the game’s launch felt like a blur. The night before, we held a midnight party for the game at Best Buy, so I ended up getting to bed sometime around 2 a.m. Then on the day of release, after a busy day, we had an office party to celebrate the game’s release in Adams Morgan. I’m not even sure I went to sleep that night.

So that’s what I remember. If you purchased Fallout 3 a year ago today, feel free to share your launch day memories.

Around the Web: OMG Moments!

oblivion_dark_brotherhood.jpg

Yesterday Edge Online put up a new feature celebrating 50 moments in videogames that left your jaw dropping to the floor. Amongst the list were moments from the original Fallout (The Glow), as well as the Dark Brotherhood quest from Oblivion. Here’s what they had to say about the latter:

They come soon after you commit murder against the innocent. Then you have a choice: walk with the virtuous, or stray to the side of The Dark Brotherhood. Those who chose dark over light were rewarded with one of the best storylines in an RPG.

Pretty good list if you ask me…had me reminiscing about some of my favorite gaming moments. Feel free to share some of your favorites in the comments section.

More nuggets from around the web after the break…

Continue reading full article ›

One year and counting…

1994439286_68aca096f5.jpg

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of our first post here on Bethesda Blog (or BethBlog…whichever you prefer). Speaking for Pete, Ashley, and everyone else who has contributed to the blog, we’ve really enjoyed working on the blog and hope you’ve had as much fun reading it.

If you ever have any suggestions for how we could make the blog even better, feel free to shoot us an email. Thanks again for reading!