Bethesda Game Studios’ classic RPG features a book with cheeky, adult themes that, according to Todd Howard, would never have made it into the game if he’d noticed it.

Filmdeg Miniatures is a YouTube channel run by Tom Evans, filled with interviews featuring notable figures in the gaming industry. Most recently, Evans uploaded an eight-hour (!) video about Morrowind, in which the creators of the fantasy RPG reminisced and shared how the game came to life. One of the highlights was Mark Nelson, a writer and quest designer responsible for parts of the Tribunal and Bloodmoon expansions, as well as the design of the starting village, Seyda Neen. Nelson also created Tarhiel, the wizard who famously crashes down in front of the player at the very beginning of the game.

Nelson is also behind the infamous The Lusty Argonian Maid – a humorous, risqué text that has since become a central part of The Elder Scrolls identity. In a game packed with serious in-universe books on history, theology, and philosophy, stumbling across a bawdy sex comedy was a refreshing surprise. Yet if Todd Howard, project lead on Morrowind, had spotted it, it almost certainly would not have made the cut.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember why I wrote it. It was probably after happy hour, to be quite honest. Since nobody was paying attention, we could sneak anything into the game. Todd’s rule was always, ‘Humor has no place in games.’ That’s Todd’s rule. So of course, that became, ‘Humor has no place in games if Todd doesn’t notice…’. That’s how things like The Lusty Argonian Maid slipped in. I probably just needed a break from working on boring content and thought, ‘I’ll write a dumb little story,’” Nelson recalled.

He added: “For half the team, this was their first game. It was absolute madness. A passion project through and through. It shouldn’t have been made. It was dumb. It shouldn’t have been successful either. But somehow, the right people came together at the right time, pouring themselves into it, and the result was this game.”

The existence of Morrowind is therefore even more miraculous than fans might think, especially considering how inexperienced the small development team was at the time.

Source: PCGamer