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Emil Pagliarulo

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Emil Pagliarulo
NationalityAmerican
EducationSalem State University
OccupationVideo game designer
EmployerBethesda Game Studios
Known forThief II: The Metal Age
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Fallout 3
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Starfield
Awards2008 Game Developers Choice Awards For Best Writing

Emil Pagliarulo is an American video game designer who works at Bethesda Game Studios.

Career

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Pagliarulo started his career writing for the website Adrenaline Vault.[1] He has been working for Bethesda Softworks since 2002.[2] He previously worked for Looking Glass Studios and Ion Storm Austin.[3] His first works at Bethesda include a credit for writing and quest design for Morrowind Bloodmoon, and quest design for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, for which he wrote the Dark Brotherhood quest line. He was the lead designer and the lead writer of Fallout 3, for which he received the Game of the Year award and the Best Writing award at the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards.[3] He was credited as the senior designer and writer of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4.

In 2024, Pagliarulo claimed via Twitter that the protagonist of Fallout 4, Nate, was the same character seen during the opening sequence from the original Fallout, though backtracked on this statement after fans observed that this would make the character a war criminal. [4]

Fallout 76

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Pagliarulo worked on Fallout 76 as design director. In 2022 it was uncovered by Kotaku that the development of Fallout 76 suffered massive mismanagement from top level executives, with one developer stating that “During development, our design director Emil [Pagliarulo] didn’t seem to want to be involved with the product at all. He didn’t want to have any contact with it…or read anything that we put in front of him.” Pagliarulo refused to comment to Kotaku when asked to give his side of the story.[5]

Despite his alleged lack of enthusiasm for the project, Pagliarulo would later celebrate the dedication of the game's team for correcting various issues present during the game's launch.[6][7]

Starfield

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Pagliarulo worked on Starfield as design director and lead writer. In an interview with Polygon, Pagliarulo stated that Starfield was the most ambitious RPG Bethesda has ever worked on and that the game would induce religious experience-like events for players.[8] After the game's mixed reception after launch and further souring in reviews post launch, Pagliarulo criticized the game's players, stating they were "disconnected from the realities of game developing."[9][10]

Prior to the release of Starfield's DLC Shattered Space Pagliarulo gave an interview with GamesRadar+ praising the DLC as a return to form for Bethesda going back to hand-crafted exploration.[11] When the DLC received overwhelmingly negative reviews from players, and mixed to negative reviews from critics, Pagliarulo tweeted that "Fans want a lot, and we do all we can to accommodate them. Here’s what I can tell you – nobody, and I mean nobody, at Bethesda is patting themselves on the back while ignoring our players" and that "My optimism is in no way meant to be mud in the eye of any dissatisfied fan."[12]

Video game credits

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References

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  1. ^ Gillen, Kieron (June 30, 2010). "Dark Futures Part 2: Emil Pagliarulo". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. ^ "IGN Profile". December 2, 2010. Archived from the original on June 20, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Remo, Chris (April 24, 2009). "Exploring A Devastated World: Emil Pagliarulo And Fallout 3". Game Developer. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  4. ^ Litchfeild, Ted (April 13, 2024). "Update: Fallout 4's lead writer reverses course, clarifies that main character is not actually a war criminal". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Jiang, Sisi (June 8, 2022). "The Human Toll Of Fallout 76's Disastrous Launch". kotaku. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Cryer, Hirun (September 4, 2023). "Starfield director says Fallout 76's "rough" repair job gave players "trust" in Bethesda". GamesRadar+. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  7. ^ Kuhnke, Oisin (September 4, 2023). "Do you trust Bethesda after Fallout 76? Bethesda thinks you do now". VG247. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Good, Owen S. (August 28, 2023). "Starfield design director Emil Pagliarulo says you may find God in its space — or lose faith". Polygon. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Pureza, Gabriel Machado (December 14, 2023). "Starfield Dev Claims Players Are Disconnected from the Realities of Game Developing". Game Rant. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  10. ^ Chalk, Andy (December 13, 2023). "Starfield design director calls out unfair game criticism: 'Don't fool yourself into thinking you know why it is the way it is'". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  11. ^ Wald, Heather. ""Players can explore like they used to in Fallout and Skyrim": How Shattered Space brings the "bespoke goodness" of past Bethesda RPGs to Starfield". GamesRadar+. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  12. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley. "Bethesda Design Director Addresses Fan Concern as Starfield DLC Shattered Space Plunges to 'Mostly Negative' Steam Review Rating". IGN. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  13. ^ Gamespot Staff (March 30, 2009). "GDC 2009: Fallout 3 lead opens game design vault". GameSpot. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  14. ^ Brown, Andy (October 21, 2021). "'Starfield' developer reveals the factions you'll be sharing the cosmos with". NME. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
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