Skyrim Developers Pulled 15-Hour Shifts During Crunch to Perfect Game Balance

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launched in late 2011 and it quickly won over players with its superb mix of action and roleplaying elements. However, it was a work-in-progress up to its release date, and Jeff Gardiner–a former senior producer at Bethesda–wouldn’t let the game go out the door without personally rebalancing the creatures in the last two weeks before launch.

Gardiner told PC Gamer that he and the designers of Skyrim had a disagreement over how to balance the game. According to Gardiner, the designers were basing the game’s balance on an AI predictive model that didn’t take into account the way players would actually play the game. So Gardiner took it upon himself to play through the game and rebalance Skyrim’s creatures in the limited time they had left.

“I came in and I went through and I played the game with all these different archetypes,” recalled Gardiner. “And then would tweak the creatures and the weapons and stuff. Right before it shipped I spent two weeks doing that and was like, ‘Well, I hope this is good.'”

Gardiner added that he was in a unique position to do so because he had a respectful relationship with the designers, as well as a background as a creator and designer prior to becoming a producer. His decision to rebalance the title seems to have worked out for the best, as Skyrim is one of the top-selling video games of all time. He also acknowledged the story in the message below.

Skyrim’s enduring popularity has continued during the long wait for The Elder Scrolls VI. For example, Shirley Curry aka Skyrim Grandma, built her whole streaming career around the game before her recent retirement. Meanwhile, the ambitious fan-made project to bring The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion into Skyrim’s engine is almost complete. As for The Elder Scrolls VI, Bethesda recently announced a Make-A-Wish auction for a chance to create a character that will appear in the game. Unfortunately, Elder Scrolls VI remains without a release date.