Teen makes giant Skyrim mod for job application

Bethesda Game Studios, the prestigious developer of the critically-acclaimed Elder Scrolls series, may be done with its fantasy epic, Skyrim. For its rabid fanbase, however, the adventure is far from over. And for one particular teenager, that adventure may just be starting. Alexander J. Velicky has just put the finishing touches to his masterpiece, “Falskaar”, a mod that took him over 2,000 hours to make.

 

Now he hopes to land a job at Bethesda game studios, with Falskaar as his job application, according to Eurogamer and Game Informer.

 

 

 

 

In an effort to grab the attention of Bethesda, nineteen-year-old Alexander J. Velicky started working on his ambitious mod right after finishing high school. The result is Falskaar, an adventure that boasts nearly 25 hours of gameplay, not including the one or two hours it will take players to traverse is gigantic dungeon. Falskaar itself is a landmass a third of Skyrim’s size, filled with brand new quests and a variety of unique characters.

 

It took Velicky about a year to create Falskaar. To realize his dream, Velicky employed over 100 contributors, 29 of whom where voice actors he personally selected from a series of auditions to give life to 54 characters. Falskaar also has its own soundtrack, composed by Adamm Khuevrr.

 

 

 

Velicky had the full support of his family; his father, in particular, let the budding game designer stay with him, rent-free. He was also allowed to forego looking for a design school so that he could devote time to his project.

 

“(My dad) was incredibly supportive, and allowed me to live here, paying for living expenses and charging no rent,” said Velicky. “I was able to not go to school and not have a day job. Meaning, more or less, that Falskaar was my day job.”

 

Velicky admitted that Falskaar was far from perfect. He is confident, however, that his work has garnered him the attention he so covets. “The best way to show Bethesda Game Studios that I want a job there and should be hired is to create content that meets the standards of their incredible development team,” he stated.

 

It remains to be seen whether or not Velicky’s Falskaar will meet that kind of success he envisions for it, but it is not entirely unheard of for game development studios to snag hopeful and talented game designers from their fanbase. This has always been one of the advantages of fostering a healthy relationship with the modding community; anytime a studio is in need of fresh blood to bolster their ranks, it can always look no further than its large pool of creative and dedicated fans.

 

Falskaar is available for download at Skyrim Nexus. — TJD, GMA News