They aren’t unique to Bethesda or to the types of games we make. This is important to topic for gameplay, because kits are the primary building blocks of level design at Bethesda Game Studios. Examples of architectural kits would include the Nord Crypts in Skyrim, or the Vaults from Fallout 3. While the pipe kit is a good example of a simple art kit, our primary topic here is architectural kit creation. This artist hasn't just given us four pieces, but a system with which we can create infinite configurations of pipes, all on the editor side. The most important attribute of a kit is that it adds up to far more than the sum of its parts. This kit, as most, snaps together using a grid system. A basic pipe kit, like the one from Fallout 3, may only be four simple pieces of art which can be used together. The modular approach to level design we’re analyzing here is just one manifestation of the BGS studio culture.īefore getting too far into things, let's me define what a “kit” is. With that in mind, consider this a case study. Even if your team or your game isn’t driven by the same forces as ours, chances are you could take a lesson from us, just as we could probably take a lesson from you. These core values, along with the circumstances of team size, and our collective experience making games together all adds up to what you’d commonly refer to as studio culture. With a game that big, missteps aren’t measured in hours or days, but scale to weeks and months. Games like Skyrim take a few years to make, even moving as efficiently as possible. We need high bang-for-buck on everything we do. Production methodologies, tech and tools, workflow, pipeline - it’s all informed by a need for efficiency. The games are big! This influences everything we do at the studio. When you play a Bethesda game (or when you work on one) you know this going in. Scope isn't a random attribute of our games it’s a major feature. You couldn't boil Skyrim down to a six-hour game and expect to provide the same experience. It’s an integral part of our games and our DNA as a studio. If you've played or read about Skyrim, Fallout 3 or any of our other open-world games, scope is a big part of them. Let's begin with a pretty simple observation: our games are big. To understand our approach, it’s useful to know where we’re coming from as developers, and where Bethesda Game Studios is coming from as a whole. This talk was a way for us to explore and articulate this accumulated knowledge. We've struggled to explain ourselves in detail for new artists and designers who had joined our team. We recently realized that there are many unspoken understandings we and our colleagues share expectations and assumptions taken for granted as part of our process.