Julian LeFay, of The Elder Scrolls fame, stepping back from game development due to cancer.

SomeNorseGuy

Gold Member
Wikipedia summary of his work at Bethesda:

Sometimes referred to as the "Father of The Elder Scrolls", he joined Bethesda Softworks, shortly after the company's creation in 1987. He held the role of Chief Engineer there for many years, and guided the company through the creation of some of its seminal games, such as The Terminator 2029, Arena, Daggerfall and Battlespire. The Elder Scrolls deity Julianos is based on Julian. He worked briefly on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind as a contractor after quitting Bethesda in 1998.



A Message From Ted & Victor

OnceLost Games


My name is Ted Peterson, CEO of OnceLost Games and Creative Director for the game we've been working on, The Wayward Realms. I first met Julian LeFay in 1992 when I came in, barely out of college, to interview for a junior writer position at Bethesda Softworks. I had never been in a game development company before, and when I left Julian said, "If you get the job, you have to lose the suit."

Julian himself struck an eccentric figure. Very tall and slender, scruffily handsome with a default scowl, and the most magnificent pompadour mullet in history. He was born in Europe and retained an accent which many people thought made him sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger, a comparison that always irked him, as Austria and Denmark where Julian is from are nowhere near each other.

Julian had been at Bethesda for several years before we met. He was a hotshot hacker style programmer with no formal education when he was recruited and brought over to work on PC and Amiga games, mostly of the genres of sports, action, and adventure. But he loved pen and paper roleplaying games and the game that eventually became the Elder Scrolls 1: Arena was his dream project. Thirty years after its release, the two of us spoke on its anniversary at the Game Developers Conference.

We worked together for years and released at least a dozen games together. You were usually working on two to three games of wildly different genres at a time. Even when we weren't in the office, we weren't apparently sick of each other. We would go to his place, playing role-playing games all night long. We were beta testing the game we became best known for, The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, when I became burned out enough that I took a job offer that sent me to the West Coast.

Julian visited me fairly frequently in California. I obviously never understood anything about programming, but he was also well-versed in history, literature, and movies. I still have his paperback of Herodotus, which I told him to sign as if he were the ancient historian gifting it to me as a prized pupil. When I moved back to the east coast, we saw each other more frequently since he was only eight hours away.

The seed that began Wayward Realms was an interview Julian did several years ago, where he was reflecting on the first Elder Scrolls games and given decades of experience since he made them and the tools available to developers nowadays, how he would tackle the challenges, whilst still keeping the same philosophy of creating a huge, immersive world. Afterwards, we talked about what I would do with design and narrative given my own years of experience on other games and other media like TV, and we decided to give it a shot together.

I could talk stories about our friendship and how we've worked together recently with our team on Wayward Realms as creative and technical directors, but I need to come to the point of this. Julian has been courageously battling cancer. His doctors have informed us that his time with us is limited, and we are preparing to say goodbye to a true legend of the industry.

Even in the face of this challenge, Julian's dedication to The Wayward Realms and to all of you, our community, has never wavered. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that his vision for "The Grand RPG" will live on, but now Julian must step away from OnceLost Games for his health and to live his final moments surrounded by his loved ones.

Julian has complete faith in the ability of the team to bring the game he has envisioned to life for this incredible community. Anticipating this possibility, Julian has documented his vision and concepts well, ensuring the team is left with the resources needed to complete the game. The full game, beyond the Early Access build.

During this difficult time, we invite you to share your thoughts, prayers, well wishes, memories, or the impact Julian's life and work have had on you. Your words of support mean more than you know, not just to Julian, but to all of us who have been privileged to work alongside him.

Obviously, the team has already had a chance to say goodbye and give their individual messages, and I sat by his hospital bed, reading them to him. In that case, I was reading them out loud and Julian was giving me dictation to reply back, which is rather hard to do through my tears.

To me, this is deeply personal, and I regret every second I didn't spend with one of the most charming, smart, funny, and interesting people I've ever met. It's also a spur to action for me: I will not let down his legacy.

That said, a final quote from the eminently quotable Julian LeFay. He said this at our last team meeting, and I believe it represents him and his beliefs well.

"It is personal. And if it's not personal, then you're just doing work for hire and you'll never have the motivation to accomplish a significant goal."

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TLDR;
Julian LeFay has been fighting off cancer for years, but now it seems that sadly cancer has won. So he wants to spend his remaining time with family and loved ones.
 
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Dude has been told to go home and get his affairs in order basically. Terribly sad.

May he enjoy the days he has left with his family. His legacy is one of good.

Fuck cancer.
 
Dude has been told to go home and get his affairs in order basically. Terribly sad.

May he enjoy the days he has left with his family. His legacy is one of good.

Fuck cancer.
Yeah, dosen't seem he has long left by the way they're wording it. 😢
Fuck cancer indeed!
 
I don't know ANYONE who does not know at least like 5+ people who has gotten cancer, I have no idea how science works, but I would be focusing so much more on it. I am not sure how the money get's dispersed on cancer donations, but I have a feeling most do not see it's destination.
 
I don't know ANYONE who does not know at least like 5+ people who has gotten cancer, I have no idea how science works, but I would be focusing so much more on it. I am not sure how the money get's dispersed on cancer donations, but I have a feeling most do not see it's destination.
It's a big money making industry. They will never find a cure.
 
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I know, and we ALL have likely the same theory as to why the code has not been cracked. Sad

Yet will all will say "fuck cancer" and "let's all donate for the cure" we will NEVER EVER be getting a cure to one of the biggest money makers on earth

I will never donate to it.
 
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I know, and we ALL have likely the same theory as to why the code has not been cracked. Sad

Yet will all will say "fuck cancer" and "let's all donate for the cure" we will NEVER EVER be getting a cure to one of the biggest money makers on earth

I will never donate to it.

I'd never have thought to read up on conspiracy theories on GAF.
What proof do you have that we will never get a cure to cancer?
There are a dozen reasons, even financially, why having a cure would be better.
 
I'd never have thought to read up on conspiracy theories on GAF.
What proof do you have that we will never get a cure to cancer?
There are a dozen reasons, even financially, why having a cure would be better.
Not for the people who would be doing the curing, bro. Cancer is a huge money maker, and it helps trim the population of us "useless eaters." Maybe we shouldn't sit back and allow ourselves to be led by people who literally call us that?

I hate to hear things like this. It's terrible to think about. It is a slight consolation that every mention of "Julianos" is in some way a homage to him, and I'd like to think that homage will stand the test of time.
 
I'd never have thought to read up on conspiracy theories on GAF.
What proof do you have that we will never get a cure to cancer?
There are a dozen reasons, even financially, why having a cure would be better.
Perhaps you should look more into these so called "conspiracy theories" when day by day more of these become facts. You might even understand why the poster said what he/she said. Hint: a cured patient brings no money and if it dies then good riddance, less people in this overpopulated globe (not my opinion, just translating how it works)
 
Fuck cancer indeed! I hope he can at least find some joy with his loved ones before it's too late.
 
Not for the people who would be doing the curing, bro. Cancer is a huge money maker, and it helps trim the population of us "useless eaters." Maybe we shouldn't sit back and allow ourselves to be led by people who literally call us that?

I hate to hear things like this. It's terrible to think about. It is a slight consolation that every mention of "Julianos" is in some way a homage to him, and I'd like to think that homage will stand the test of time.
Wow we posted the same thoughts at the same time
 
IMO, I think there's some truth to both.

Cancer isnt a one treatment fits all solution and involves tons of scientists and gear. But also, there's money to be made with forever meds.

It's like companies making shitty products with planned obsolescence. It makes no sense a lawnmower made in 1980 lasting 30 years should outdo a more modern built lawnmower you'd think is better made. But dont be surprised if dad's crusty mower from decades ago which is small and looks like dogshit still works. While your more expensive cooler looking model bombs out.

If other industries can have product strategies milking consumers to the bone, why cant pharma companies too?
 
Not for the people who would be doing the curing, bro. Cancer is a huge money maker, and it helps trim the population of us "useless eaters." Maybe we shouldn't sit back and allow ourselves to be led by people who literally call us that?
Not only that, but ill people dying could also be seen as a 'money-saver' for governments.

I asked Google Gemini if it could be a 'money-saver' for a government if a chronically ill person with 0.4 QALY dying at age 40 compared to a person with 1.0 QALY.

This was the answer (just the summary):
"Yes, if a government were to strictly and solely adhere to a highly utilitarian, cost-per-QALY metric for all healthcare decisions, without any ethical or societal counterbalances, then the data could lead them to prioritize interventions for healthier individuals over chronically ill ones, and by extension, view the avoidance of future healthcare costs for lower-QALY individuals as a "saving."

However, this is precisely why the uncritical use of QALYs is so heavily criticized and why many governments (e.g., in the US, via the ACA ban on QALY use in Medicare) have explicitly forbidden or significantly restricted their application in ways that could lead to such discriminatory outcomes. Most governments strive to balance economic efficiency with ethical principles, equity, and the fundamental right to healthcare for all citizens."


But I'll leave it at that. I'm probably walking a thin line here. Lol
 
Not only that, but ill people dying could also be seen as a 'money-saver' for governments.

I asked Google Gemini if it could be a 'money-saver' for a government if a chronically ill person with 0.4 QALY dying at age 40 compared to a person with 1.0 QALY.

This was the answer (just the summary):
"Yes, if a government were to strictly and solely adhere to a highly utilitarian, cost-per-QALY metric for all healthcare decisions, without any ethical or societal counterbalances, then the data could lead them to prioritize interventions for healthier individuals over chronically ill ones, and by extension, view the avoidance of future healthcare costs for lower-QALY individuals as a "saving."

However, this is precisely why the uncritical use of QALYs is so heavily criticized and why many governments (e.g., in the US, via the ACA ban on QALY use in Medicare) have explicitly forbidden or significantly restricted their application in ways that could lead to such discriminatory outcomes. Most governments strive to balance economic efficiency with ethical principles, equity, and the fundamental right to healthcare for all citizens."


But I'll leave it at that. I'm probably walking a thin line here. Lol
I don't really need an AI to say that, but...
 
Cancer is fucking a piece of shit that needs to fuck off. My uncle recently underwent T car cell therapy (I think that's what it's called) here in the UK and it saved his life from cancer. Treatments are getting better but this needs piece of shit illness should be uniting the world to get rid of it.
 
I know, and we ALL have likely the same theory as to why the code has not been cracked. Sad

Yet will all will say "fuck cancer" and "let's all donate for the cure" we will NEVER EVER be getting a cure to one of the biggest money makers on earth

I will never donate to it.
Yep and the World Health Organization has cures for many things. But they need to keep their giant business running and keep people on pills that comes with a million side effects.
 
Perhaps you should look more into these so called "conspiracy theories" when day by day more of these become facts. You might even understand why the poster said what he/she said. Hint: a cured patient brings no money and if it dies then good riddance, less people in this overpopulated globe (not my opinion, just translating how it works)
Well said, lots of the things that are "conspiracies" long ago ends up being true but by the time it does, people are already used to it/ desensitized to it which is how they keep fooling people. The world is evil and the people in power serve he who shall not be named.
 
Well said, lots of the things that are "conspiracies" long ago ends up being true but by the time it does, people are already used to it/ desensitized to it which is how they keep fooling people. The world is evil and the people in power serve he who shall not be named.
Exactly. But this is fucking insane to me, why can't people learn from anything? They are dooming us all because even today after all we went through in just the last couple of years they daresay "conspiracy theory". It's total clownish behavior
 
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