General:Ted Peterson

Ted Peterson

Role(s)	Designer, Writer
Softworks tenure	1992-Jul 1996 2001-2006 (contract)
Alias(es)	Tedders Sheogorath S'reddit

Ted Peterson (also known as Tedders) was a game designer and writer at Bethesda Softworks in the 1990s and 2000s. He, alongside Julian Lefay and Vijay Lakshman, were responsible for originating The Elder Scrolls series with the game Arena. Peterson's contributions to the lore of the Elder Scrolls series are hard to overstate. At one point, he estimated that he had written 150,000 words for the in-game books alone, and this was before his contributions to Oblivion. Peterson continued to do contract work for Bethesda writing in-game books for both Morrowind and Oblivion.

Peterson is currently the studio and design director of OnceLost Games and is presently working with Julian Lefay in creating a spiritual successor to Daggerfall.^[1]

Credits[edit]

The Elder Scrolls: Arena — Additional Design By
Codex Scientia — Written By
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall — Design
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind — Additional Writing & Quest Design
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion — Additional Writing
Pocket Guide to the Empire: 3rd Edition — Written By

Contributions[edit]

This list is non-exhaustive and includes contributions which have been confirmed to be attributable, fully or partially, to Ted Peterson.

Arena — Peterson wrote the vast majority of the dialogue and prose for the game based on Vijay Lakshman's story treatment. Peterson designed and laid out many dungeons of the game, specifically the Halls of Colossus and Dagoth-Ur dungeons have been cited as his. The in-world architect of Colossus being named "Theodorus" is a nod to this. Peterson also came up with the damage systems for the game alongside Vijay Lakshman.
Camoran Usurper — Peterson participated in a D&D campaign run in 1994 by Julian Lefay; which was set in High Rock and centered around the rise of an usurper who was conquering the lands of Tamriel, in which he played Baron Othrok.
Daggerfall — Peterson designed the overall setting, narratives, locations, and characters, in collaboration with his design aid Robert Stoll. Peterson authored the prose and design for the game's main quest. Peterson designed the new character class system. Peterson created and designed the Mantellan Crux dungeon. Peterson created the Daedric Prince Sheogorath based on his full name, Theodore. Peterson edited all books in the game, especially those submitted for inclusion by the Council of Wisdom.
Tribunal — Peterson set the groundwork for a cancelled version of The Elder Scrolls III that would have been set within the Sumurset Isles.
Morrowind — Peterson consulted on the overall worldbuilding minutiae of the setting, helping to provide certain details he had never written down before or bouncing off ideas. In 2001, Peterson was contracted to write dozens upon dozens of in-game novellas and short stories that would act as exposition and level up the player's skills for having read them.
Loranna's RP — Peterson was a prolific participant in this Elder Scrolls Lore Forum roleplay in an unofficial capacity as de facto gamemaster, contributing more than 300,000 words worth of prose to the roleplay campaigns from 2004 to 2007.
Oblivion — Peterson was contracted to write more in-game books, and also authored the prose for Pocket Guide to the Empire: 3rd Edition.