Carl McKevitt, Senior Quest Designer at Bethesda Game Studios

Say “hi” to Carl McKevitt, a Senior Quest Designer whose range of work spans Fallout 76, but most recently was highlighted in the new “Once in a Blue Moon” update.

Carl was kind enough to give us a glimpse of “Quest Designer” day to day, but also shares personal gaming inspirations and childhood favorites.

What does a normal day look like for you as a Quest Designer?

These days I’m collaborating with the incredible team at Double11, helping coordinate and oversee the creation of some exciting new updates. Most days, I’m on a series of calls with all different folks both domestic and afar, playtesting content and providing direction or feedback, talking through ideas and prototypes. It’s incredibly fulfilling, and I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve got cooking!

What was your career path into the role of Quest Designer?

I joined Bethesda Game Studios Austin back in 2018, as a Quest Designer, about 6 months before the game launched. While I had a hand in fixing the odd bug here or there, my main contributions began with Wild Appalachia, in particular the Lying Lowe questline. From there I stayed a Quest Designer through every major update, up until just after Mothman Equinox—since then I’ve transitioned into the role I have now.

How long have you been with Bethesda? And do you have any advice for someone interested in joining the video games industry?

This is a tricky one, because both education and the industry have changed a lot since I joined. My road to Bethesda was a weird one: while I attended school for game design, I was hired to write an analysis on a free-to-play MMO from South Korea, because, oddly enough, I spoke Korean, not because I offered any real game developer experience. That job led to an internship, which led to a job in things like web-based MMOs, and eventually mobile games—pretty far from my goal of working at Bethesda Game Studios. But a decade of giving that my best shot later, I was lucky enough to apply when Bethesda Game Studios needed someone with my skillset.

So, the only advice I think I would offer – cautiously – is to take whatever opportunity you’re given and do it to the best of your ability. That, or learn Korean. I used to run a lunchtime class for folks in the Austin office, so I could teach you! Yes, you!

I must give special thanks to my wife: far too lazy to seek out the opportunities myself, she consistently managed to find the jobs that carved my path to where I am now—also being a loving, supporting partner. Another important work life lesson is to learn to lean on others; seek advice from people you trust; don’t go it alone.

Do you have a favorite project that you’ve worked on so far?

The Steel Dawn and Steel Reign updates for 76 are definitely a highpoint in my time here. Getting to contribute to the writing and story-building on a Brotherhood of Steel storyline was a dream come true in itself, but more so working closely with that group of writers was an unforgettable experience.

Once in a Blue Moon will also have a permanent place in my heart. I’m not just proud of the work the team did, but seeing the Blue Ridge Caravan Company taking center-stage has been a surreal and unforgettable experience.

What do you enjoy the most about your current role?

Joining in voice acting sessions… Seriously a dream-like experience. You get to hear the characters you wrote come to life; you get to hang out with amazingly talented folks—actors, directors, and engineers alike—and you get to scroll through the actor’s IMDB page with starry eyes the whole time. You just have to balance that out with the director gently reminding me; “Carl, stop fanboying, and let the professional do their job, please.”

There’s also the chance to join in on community events in QuakeCon or even Dev Dives. I have a ton of fun hopping into streams or events, getting the chance to interact with other players, or just goof off, and in some cases, helping raise awareness of charities run by our amazing community. In particular, joining streams with the fan-run Fallout for Hope streams has been a huge honor. The team behind it continues to amaze me each year.

Which of your favorite games inspire you?

Morrowind will always be my North Star in both being a favorite and an inspiration. While putting my 300th or so hour into it, I decided that I want to make games just like it. Now I do! Literally as “just like it” as you can get. That aside, many of my favorites tend to come from Japanese games—my grandmother played pretty much every JRPG on the SNES, PlayStation, and PS2, so I was kind of raised on RPGs. I grew up loving games like Yakuza Like a Dragon, or Pokémon. I do everything in my power to try not to let that color my impact on Fallout. “Try” is the operative word there.

What stands out to you about working at Bethesda Games Studios?

Without a doubt, it’s getting to see what the teams across Zenimax are working on early. In addition to the chance to geek out over upcoming releases, it’s great to get a glimpse into the process of different studios and the steps between the concept and a finished game. I still remember the first time we got a peek at Hi-Fi Rush – I was blown away and felt like a kid on Christmas being able to see something like that before the rest of the world. Exciting stuff like that comes up all the time and (5 years later) still never gets old.

What are you working on next that you’re excited for everyone to see?

Something very cool, which I am definitely not able to talk about yet— but I’m still deep in the woods of Appalachia, so I’m sure folks will hear about it in the near future! As of this writing, the team I’m working with has just delivered Once in a Blue Moon and are eagerly awaiting to see how our players respond to it. Be sure to join our discord to let me know what you think!

Do you have any fun developer related stories while working on Bethesda Game Studios games?

I have an embarrassing one that I’ll share: in my first year, Emil Pagliorulo (Bethesda Game Studio’s Design Director) visited the Austin office and went out to lunch with the quest team. In addition to patiently fielding our unanswerable questions about lore (that had nothing to do with 76), he had to witness a meeting of the minds between myself and Chris Marshall (another Quest Designer): during our conversation, it came to light that both Chris and I had the same exact head-canon for our Skyrim player characters… That they were the Nerevarine from our respective Morrowind playthroughs, surviving through Azura’s grace to the events of Skyrim. We then argued over whose character was the real Nerevarine. I think Emil is still cringing to this day, assuming he hasn’t blocked out the memory entirely.

Are you approaching the game you’re currently working on any different than in past games you’ve worked on?

My recent releases have had me focused more on overseeing content creation than creating it myself. That’s been quite the learning curve and requires relearning my own approaches to solving dev problems from a different perspective. While it’s challenging, it’s also humbling to see such a talented team push for and prove out their ideas.

What types of stories grab YOU when you play games?

I love when a game gives me the chance to express myself. One thing about Bethesda games that drew me in early was its ability to feel like I’m writing my story within the game. I always keep that in mind when I’m creating or testing content in 76: are we giving the player enough agency to feel like this is their story. Which can be a difficult thing to balance! As someone who went from writing my character’s story in the games, to helping create the games for others to writer their own stories in, it can be challenging to find those moments of agency; to remember that we’re not just telling stories, we’re setting up a stage for the player to tell theirs.

This is something I bounce around a lot on with a character like Aries from 76—he’s kind of my passion project. It can often feel like I’m inserting my own player character into the world with him. I really, really want to tell players about who he is, what he does and why he does it. But I have to remind myself: he isn’t there just to tell his story, he’s there to be a part of the player’s story.

Looking at the stories and characters that our community shares on social media, I think our team has succeeded in making a world where a player can carve out their own identity. Our fans elevate our content, and it’s been amazing to see that. It’s something I’m always thinking about whenever we take on the next endeavor—and I know my colleagues feel the same.

Thank you so much to Carl for taking the time to answer our questions. Check out more from our team here at Bethesda Game Studios. If you want to work alongside Carl or anyone else at Bethesda Game Studios, visit our careers page and apply today!