| Vijay Lakshman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role(s) | Producer, Designer, Writer |
| Bethesda Softworks tenure | 1989–1994[1] |
—General Valarius Galadine, Mythborn.
Vijay Lakshman was a game designer and producer at Bethesda Softworks in the early 1990s.[1] He along with Julian Lefay and Ted Peterson originated The Elder Scrolls franchise with the game Arena, released in February 1994.[1][2] Lakshman authored the very first map of Tamriel, with other team members making additional contributions and refinements over his initial sketch.[3] Lakshman's original design documents and notes about the world of Tamriel, created during his tenure at Softworks, filled up to "five novels worth" of world building.[2] Lakshman was involved in the early development of The Elder Scrolls II in 1994, having authored a design treatment for an alternate version of the game set in Mournhold about Vampires and the Dark Elves, but the game was changed to Daggerfall instead at the behest of Ted Peterson,[4][5][6][7] which Lakshman continued to contribute to throughout his remaining time at Bethesda.[2] Around this time, Lakshman participated in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign ran by Julian Lefay and set in the province of High Rock about the Rise of the Camoran Usurper, wherein Lakshman played the character Vanus Galerion, who was later immortalized in Daggerfall lore books.[8]
In late 1994, Lakshman departed Bethesda Softworks to accept a producer position at Magnet Interactive Studios, passing the torch of lead designer to Ted Peterson for future games.[2][6] Lakshman has since gone on to work other business enterprise unrelated to video games.[1] In the 2010s, Lakshman wrote four entries of his own original fantasy series entitled Mythborn.[1] For a time in 2019, Lakshman was tertiarily attached to OnceLost Games as an executive producer, creating a new role-playing game called The Wayward Realms.[9] Currently, Lakshman is the Chief Innovation Officer at MNNT.[1]
Elder Scrolls Game CreditsEdit
- The Elder Scrolls: Arena — Designed and Produced by[10]
- The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall — Design (uncredited)[8]
Known ContributionsEdit
This list is non-exhaustive and includes only contributions which have been confirmed to be implemented, fully or partially, by Lakshman.
- Arena — Lakshman was responsible for crafting the high level setting, worldbuilding, maps, dungeons, races, classes, quests, and characters.[6] Additionally, the sprite for the Jagar Tharn character in Arena was modelled off of Vijay's visage.[7]
- Mournhold — Lakshman designed Mournhold as an expansion game to Arena, which was intended as a sort of "mix-and-match software" video game using the World of Xeen release model.[6]
InterviewsEdit
- Nov 1993: Computer Games Strategy Plus - Issue #36
- Nov 1993: Gamebytes - An Interview With Vijay Lakshman (archive.org)
- Feb 1994: Arena Conference
- May 1994: PC Player May - Issue #6
- Jul 2013: ProfilesInSuccess: The Fantastical Realist, Vijay Lakshman
- Jul 1994: Power Play Magazine 7/94
- Mar 2014: The Making of The Elder Scrolls Arena (archive.org)
- Aug 2014: A History of The Elder Scrolls
- Nov 2018: The First Podcast: Everyone is a Hero of Their Own Story (with Vijay Lakshman)
- Apr 2020: OnceLost Games LIVE AMA
- May 2022: Vijay Lakshman - Business Strategist, Venture Capitalist, and Gamification Genius
See AlsoEdit
- Vijay Lakshman's Posts — Posts by Lakshman about The Elder Scrolls on various platforms
External LinksEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b c d e f Vijay Lakshman — LinkedIn
- ^ a b c d Vijay Lakshman's Posts
- ^ OnceLost Games LIVE AMA
- ^ Arena Conference
- ^ Bethesda01's Posts
- ^ a b c d The First Podcast: Everyone is a Hero of Their Own Story — Vijay Lakshman)
- ^ a b Ted Peterson's Posts
- ^ a b Interview with Ted Peterson by Indigo Gaming
- ^ oncelostgames.com
- ^ Arena: Credits