| Douglas Goodall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role(s) | Designer, Writer |
| Bethesda Softworks tenure | Jan 2001–Jun 2002[1] |
| Alias(es) | affamu[2] AFFA[2] Jobasha[3] |
Douglas Goodall is a video game designer and writer who worked on Morrowind,[4] and early design for Tribunal.[2]
The Elder ScrollsEdit
Goodall joined Bethesda Softworks in January 2001[1][5] as a Junior Assistant Designer.[6] He was an emphatic fan of The Elder Scrolls with Arena and Daggerfall being his favorite games,[7] and was a regular of the alt.games.daggerfall newsgroup.[2] Goodall's work on Morrowind initially involved doing interiors in Ald'ruhn with Mark Nelson before moving on to quest design,[1] designing quests for most of the game's playable factions[1] based on outlines by Lead Designer Ken Rolston.[8] Goodall referred to frequent creative disagreements during the development of Morrowind, where he would argue with the design director for an alternative narrative design of the game based more in original creative fantasy rather than the frequent referencing of obvious real world analogues. In retrospect, Goodall reflects that he really ought to have bowed to his design director's vision, rather than arguing for an alternative vision, as the senior staff above him were ultimately charged with authoring the game's overall design direction and it wasn't his place as a junior designer to alter that direction, but to execute on it.[1]
Shortly after Morrowind's release, Project Leader Todd Howard tasked Goodall and Nelson to devise ideas for the game's expansions, with Goodall pitching an idea for Tribunal (though Goodall has noted the final product was different from his concept).[2] Goodall ultimately became a stress casualty of Morrowind's development cycle, resigning from Bethesda Softworks in June 2002.[1][8]
During and after Morrowind's development, Goodall frequently posted to the Elder Scrolls forums, sometimes in-character as the Morrowind character Jobasha.[9] He has written several lore texts which were posted online but not featured in-game.[10] In 2023, Goodall began releasing fan mods for Morrowind and resumed writing unofficially for The Elder Scrolls just for fun, featuring texts in his mods AFFresh[11] and on the publishing platform Substack.[12]
Outside of The Elder ScrollsEdit
Goodall stated that he had played both pen-and-paper RPGs and CRPGs since he was seven years old.[7] Prior to his tenure at Bethesda, he worked as a programmer on a number of video games which were not released,[13] including a "joust-like thing" for the Apple II and a "half-written MUD server",[7] and his experiences in game development soured him on the industry.[1] After leaving video games, he started an IT support business, before a listing for Bethesda Softworks enticed him to return to game development.[1]
After leaving Bethesda Softworks, Goodall returned to IT support.[1] He was subsequently involved in the development of Fallen Earth[14] and had an uncredited role on the indie game Edge of Space.[15] He now works as a fantasy novel writer, and lives in rural North Carolina with his wife, their daughter, and their cat.[16]
CreditsEdit
| Indicates The Elder Scrolls titles |
Video gamesEdit
| Year | Title | Credit(s) | Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | Writing & Quest Design[4] | Bethesda Softworks |
| 2009 | Fallen Earth | Game Scripter Game Designer[14] |
Icarus Studios |
Texts authoredEdit
This list is non-exhaustive and includes only texts of which Goodall is known to be a primary author.
Morrowind
- Arkay the Enemy[2]
- Corpse Preparation[2]
- Hanging Gardens of Wasten Coridale[2]
- Mixed Unit Tactics[2]
- Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi[17]
The Elder Scrolls: Online
Out-of-game
- (see also: Douglas Goodall's Texts)
- AFFA's Chart of Tamrielic Language
- Decorating Guide for the Reach
- The Dreadful Theft of the Sun's Dusk Ale[10]
- Five New Spells to Avoid
- The Fourth Book of Dust[10]
- Head East, Old Man
- Interview with Jobasha[18]
- Interview With Three Booksellers (with additions from Todd Howard and Ken Rolston)[19]
- Minutes of the Lusty Argonian Historical Society[10]
- The Real Argonian Maid
- Sermon Zero of the Thirty-and-Six-and-Nine Sermons of Vivec[10]
- The Soft Doctrines of Magnus Invisible[10]
- Ta'Agra Phrases and Expressions[10]
AFFresh
- Cunning, Contempt, Confusion[11]
- Excerpts from the Books of Sand[11]
- The Eye of Argonia[11]
- The House of Big Walker[11]
- Mixed Unit Tactics (vols. 3-5)[11]
- Letters from Oran Dres[11]
- The Motheater's Song[11]
- Nchulem[11]
- Nemon's Memorystone[11]
- Recipes from Vvardenfell[11]
- Six Views of the Egg of Time[11]
Substack
- Adventures of Carsomus Limus, Mint Surety[12]
- The Curio Folio v. VII[12]
- Encyclopedia of Deadly Creatures
- Games and Pastimes of Tamriel[12]
- Tales of the Cursed Legion
- The Menagerie[12]
- The Soft Doctrines of Magnus Invisible (Full)[12]
- Skyrim In the New Era[12]
- Sweet Shadows of the Moons[12]
- Wulfric and the Snow Elf[12]
- ^ This is an edited excerpt from Goodall's out-of-game text The Dreadful Theft of the Sun's Dusk Ale.
Mods authoredEdit
This list is non-exhaustive and includes only mods of which Goodall is known to be a contributing author.
InterviewsEdit
- Nov 2000: Morrowind Summit: Morrowind Team IRC Interview: November 2000
- Apr 2001: Morrowind Summit: Morrowind Team IRC Interview: April 2001
- Oct 2001: RPGVault: Morrowind's dialogue -- Volume 1
- Oct 2001: RPGVault: Morrowind's dialogue -- Volume 2
- Oct 2001: GameSpy: Morrowind Developer Profiles: Douglas Goodall
- Dec 2001: RPGVault: Morrowind Developer Q&A; #12 Interesting Opponents
- Dec 2001: RPGVault: Morrowind Developer Q&A; #13 Surprise!
- Jan 2002: RPGVault: Morrowind Developer Q&A; #17 Low-Level Favorites
- Mar 2002: RPGVault: Morrowind Developer Q&A; #20 Favorite Weapons
- Apr 2002: Morrowind Developer Q&A; #23 Favorite Birthsigns
- Jul 2005: Douglas Goodall Interview
See AlsoEdit
- Douglas Goodall's Posts — Posts and IRC chats by Goodall about The Elder Scrolls on various platforms, usually under the name affamu
External LinksEdit
- Douglas Goodall on The Imperial Library
- Douglas Goodall on MobyGames
- Douglas Goodall on Substack
- Douglas Goodall on Amazon Books
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Douglas Goodall Interview
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Douglas Goodall's Posts
- ^ Jobasha Interview
- ^ a b Morrowind:Credits
- ^ Goodall, D. [affamu]. (12 January 2001). Comment on "Programmer's life". The Essential Site Storyboard. Archived from the original on 25 January 2001.
- ^ Goodall, D. [affamu]. (19 February 2001). Comment on "Khajiit Federation?". 'The Elder Scrolls Forums. Archived from the original on 5 March 2001.
- ^ a b c Keefer, J. (22 October 2001). Morrowind Developer Profiles. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 9 November 2001.
- ^ a b Kane, A. (27 March 2019). Morrowind: An oral history. Polygon.
- ^ Douglas Goodall's Posts — The Imperial Library
- ^ a b c d e f g Douglas Goodall's Texts — The Imperial Library
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Morrowind Mod:AFFresh
- ^ a b c d e f g h i A Modern Enchiridion. Substack.
- ^ Goodall, D. [affamu]. (15 February 2001). Comment on "Devs: What else have you made?". The Elder Scrolls Forums. Archived from the original on 5 March 2001.
- ^ a b Fallen Earth (Windows, 2009) credits. MobyGames.
- ^ Edge of Space (Windows, 2015) credits. MobyGames.
- ^ Douglas Goodall: About the Author — Amazon
- ^ Who Did What?, The Imperial Library
- ^ Interview With Jobasha
- ^ Intervie With Three Booksellers
- ^ Coleman, J. (20 May 2024). A Quest Designer Who Worked On Morrowind Has Written An Expansive Mod For The Game. DualSHOCKERS. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024.