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Today I'm talking with Nate Purkeypile, the former Bethesda artist behind some of the studio's most iconic environments.

Nate is a 22 year game industry veteran who worked on Fallout 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and Starfield during his time at Bethesda Game Studios. He was Lead Artist on Fallout 76, as well as Lead Lighting Artist and Senior World Artist during the early development of Starfield.

Across those games, Nate helped create some of Bethesda's most memorable locations, including Little Lamplight in Fallout 3, Blackreach in Skyrim and Diamond City in Fallout 4.

In recent years, he has moved into indie development, releasing his first solo project, The Axis Unseen, and is currently working on the upcoming multiplayer game Gone Feral.

We dive deep into his early days at Bethesda, the lightning in a bottle moment of Fallout 3, his ambition to make Skyrim's caves genuinely interesting, and what it was like stepping into the Lead Artist role on Fallout 76. We also discuss how Bethesda evolved over the years, why recreating the magic of games like Fallout 3 became increasingly difficult, and what those changes mean for the studio today.

#fallout #fallout3 #fallout4 #bethesda #skyrim #starfield #gaming #gamingpodcast

The Examined Game

Each week, host Steven Lake asks the creators behind some of the world’s most influential video games about the meaning of life (in video games), leading to conversations about the personal and creative impact games have had on their lives.