One of Bethesda’s First Full-Time Testers Got His Start After Todd Howard Noticed Him Hanging Out at the Studio

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Todd Howard hired Alan Nanes, now Bethesda’s design director, as the company’s first full-time tester after Nanes spent time visiting friends at the studio.

Bethesda Softworks is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and its developers have been sharing memories of their work on various projects. Nanes’ story drew particular attention from players. He worked on the companions in Starfield and quests in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Nanes first got to know Bethesda Softworks near the end of development on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. The game was in early beta, and he was friends with several people in different departments.

At the time, Nanes said, the studio was like the “Wild West.” His friends let him visit, even though he did not work there, to play multiplayer games with them and meet other developers.

One day, Howard noticed him and asked whether he wanted to test the new game:

They sat me down in front of a big old CRT television, handed me a massive original Xbox controller, and let me explore Vvardenfell. I started writing down my thoughts in a notebook: I played, took notes, played some more, took more notes, and so on.

Первый штатный тестировщик Bethesda был нанят Тоддом Говардом из-за его любви тусоваться в офисе разработчиков — Image source: Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks

Nanes soon noticed that developers had gathered behind him to watch him play:

They asked questions like, “So, is this area too difficult?” or “Did you understand what was happening in this quest?” and things like that. I could hear them talking among themselves, sometimes writing down what I was doing, cheerfully debating whether to make changes, or just having fun. It was an incredible feeling. For the first time, I felt like I was contributing to the creation of a real video game (I think you can find my name in the Morrowind manual credits under “Special Thanks”).

Later, when the testing became a regular practice, “Todd Howard and Ashley Cheng apparently decided that having a full-time QA team right there at the studio would be a useful addition,” Nanes said. He was hired for the role, becoming one of Bethesda’s first full-time testers.

Source: iXBT.games

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