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So basically:

Generative AI? Absolutely not.

Functional AI tools to assist/speed up repetative technical development for devs? Sure.

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Bethesda uses it as a tool to assist on a functional/technical level, not as a replacement for human developers or human artistry.

It has been said time and time again by current and former Bethesda devs that Todd is a great person and an awesome boss. Bethesda is widely reported as a fantastic place to work and there is a good reason they have had so many long term and tenured employees.

Literally the only way that will change is if Bethesda is forced by Xbox into a situation where they are forced to replace people/art with AI generated garbage like some studios have done. I don't see that happening as long as Todd is still leading Bethesda. He'd probably resign if it reached that point.

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This is also a little known fact about Todd Howard, but hes actually an artist. He did some early concept/sketch idea work for Bethesda and he's long had an affinity and love of art. He's not a professional artist, but he clearly loves art and game development itself is an extension of artistic expression. Todd clearly believes that human creativity and ingenuity can never (and should never) be replaced

Anyways here's a cute piece Todd Howard made in Middle School that they now have displayed (along with other student artists' work)

Todd Edit Every Day Until TES VI: Day 518

🙄 What's an oddly specific pet peeve of yours?

🤢 Tell us a few of your "icks".

🥪 What is your least favorite food(s)?

☔ The most irritating kind of weather for you?

👨‍🎤 Name a celebrity you just have no patience for.

🎭 Name an author/filmmaker/artist etc you consider an overrated hack, or just don't fuck with

👸 Is there a historical figure you have personal beef with?

🧥 A clothing item, fashion trend or "aesthetic" you would rather die than put on your body.

📚 Worst book you've read lately!

🎬 Worst film you've seen lately!

🎧 A song that's been driving you up the wall recently (and not in a good way)!

🗨️ A word or expression that makes you want to tear your hair out whenever you hear it used?

🗣️ One sentence that would INSTANTLY make you lose respect for the person who said it.

🗺️ What is the ugliest (or overall least pleasant) place you've been to?

🚫 If you could eliminate one thing from the world — as if it never existed — what would it be?

🤬 Free space for a random NEGATIVE hot take or anecdote about something that pissed you off! STRIFE & HATRED ON PLANET EARTH 😈🔥🔥

I dont know for sure how many of those ~4,800 layoffs were specifically in game development,but I do know Sales/promotion of alot of game releases have been cut back alot.

This would likely signal that Microsoft wants to get rid of a number of "single team leads" and instead switch to a system where multiple teams report to a single person.

This aligns with similar "layoff strategies" at other tech companies which specifically try to eliminate middle management type positions.

These layoffs and restructurings are designed to consolidate teams into a more funneled reporting structure wherein a large number of people report to a single person.

What these restructurings often do is cause that "single lead" (who multiple teams now report to) to struggle as a lead. This is because hey may be an expert in *one* topic/leadership area but aren't an expert in *all* the areas they are now a lead for. Excessive middle management is far from ideal but trying to get rid of it almost entirely wont work either.

Lets just make a hypothetical here and say you are a tenured dev with extensive knowledge of melee combat battle systems. Suddenly you are "promoted" to also lead for teams which do shooter and magic based combat systems.

Could you learn those other systems to function as a somewhat competent lead for those other teams? Sure. Will that be easy or efficient? No. Will teams under your original area of expertise potentially suffer since you have to now also focus on different unrelated teams? Yes.

I won't pretend like the old system of "have a bunch of small teams with single leads" is perfect, efficient, or even financially reasonable in a broad sense. I also wont pretend that the new system one is 100% impossible to make work.

*But* these sorts of restructurings rarely work out well. These changed are usually rushed and the people (who don't get laid off) have mere months, weeks, or even *days* to prepare for their new added responsibilities. This sort of restructuring would have to be slooowly rolled out by specifically training one person to handle multiple lead roles. This would take time, even years, to properly and specifically prepare for.

When I saw the fox I started walking towards it, then recognized the fox had nine tails. Now that didn't bother me, I've been made aware of nine tailed foxes as a concept, but I don't normally see those about so I started making conversation.

"A powerful fox, huh?" I ask it, or something like that, it was a dream, the words were probably just gibberish.

The fox, on the other hand, was fully speaking comprehensible sentences. "Yes, I have nine tails," the fox said. "But that's nothing, see I have eight legs too."

And looking, sure enough, the fox had eight legs. I responded, again gibberish, and actually was gibberish.

To which the fox responded: "Yes, eight legs, but that's nothing-- I have seven mouths!"

And looking at the fix, mouths started sprouting from their face. Small mouths, large mouths, all over.

To which, my gibberish response was naturally alarm, but I wasn't going anywhere and fox knew it so on the fox went.

"But seven mouths, that's nothing," the Fox continued on, now in seven voices. "I have six spines to hold up all these tails."

And you'd think that it would be less horrible to consider six spines given spines tend to be inside animals and covered by their skin/fur at least, but you'd be wrong. The fox moved aside its skin and fur like it was just brushing aside hair for me to see six bloody spines all willy-nilly in there like a root system.

To which I very distinctly remember attempting to say to the fox: "That's enough of that." The dream logic stepped in to let me know I couldn't actually say that, no matter how hard I tried.

"But six spines is nothing," the Fox continued, putting his skin back in place. "I have five eyes!"

And the fox blinked, only to open them again and to have two eyes where one was previously and was looking at me with one great eye in the middle of it's face while the other four looked at anything else.

That wasn't as bad as the spine, but I wasn't particularly jazzed about it either.

"But five eyes is nothing," and this part was more gross than the spines. "I have four ears!" And inside the foxes ears, a bubbly, tumorous sort of mass formed, it reminded me of an over-fed tick before it blossomed into an elf-like, waaaaaaaay more humanoid ear inside the normal fox ear it already had.

And then we sat there for a long while just looking at each other. Eventually, I got a little antsy to get this dream over with so I asked the fox, "what do you have three of?"

And the fox said "guess," and I woke up.

I don't want to guess, but I drew what the fox ended up looking like in this dream for you so enjoy.

Aye! Josh!

XD This exactly @viss-and-pinegar

Aye! Josh!

>panik