The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a pretty janky game, if we’re being brutally honest, but there are some things that even Bethesda won’t let fly in their big releases. Even though they’re pretty cool now, it was recently revealed that the game’s werewolves were at the brink of being cut from the game entirely due to how horrible they were, but were saved by the hard work of a couple of developers.
One of these developers is Dennis Mejillones, who has worked as a character artist for Bethesda on games such as Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield. In an interview with YouTube channel Kiwi Talkz, Mejillones recalls the tale of how he and another developer worked in secret in an attempt to stop werewolves from being scrapped.
Skyrim Dev Worked In Secret To Stop Werewolves From Being Scrapped
Mejillones begins by explaining that how Bethesda had originally implemented werewolves was “really bad”, as they were essentially just human beings with a dog’s head. Kind of like the Khajit and Argonians, but with human bodies, which is a very upsetting thing to think about. You can also now see why Bethesda came close to cutting the idea entirely.
However, unable to let a cool idea go, and inspired by the likes of the Underworld movies, Mejillones began working with fellow Bethesda developer and best friend Jeremy Bryant to save the werewolves. First, Mejillones acknowledged that werewolves shouldn’t be regular guys and should actually be monsters, like they’re portrayed in literally every other medium, so he and Bryant set about working on a demo in private.
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“So basically, I created a big brute animal werewolf, and Jeremy and I worked on bringing this thing together in the game, and kinda squeezing it in, and we did it just me and him. We’d stay nights, all sort of stuff to get it to where we had a playable demo. I remember we kept it really, really down low.”
Eventually, Mejillones approached Todd Howard directly with the demo, who immediately fell in love with the mechanic and wanted it in Skyrim’s full release. He even apparently batted away concerns from other developers about how the system would work, so next time you’re enjoying another werewolf slaughtering spree in Whiterun, spare a thought for Mejillones and Bryant, who made the entire thing possible.
One of the all-time greats, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim redefined the concept of the Western RPG. With countless awards under its belt and releases on almost every platform imaginable, you’ll find yourself engrossed in a colossal open world in your role as the Dragonborn. You must face your destiny and save the land from a formidable foe.