Bruce Nesmith is a

game design Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

er who has worked primarily on

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

s. He was Creative Director at TSR, working on a variety of games including ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

'', and is a senior game designer at

Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was established in 2001 as the spin-off of Bethesda Softworks' development unit, with Bethesda Softworks itself r ...

, where he has worked on AAA titles such as ''

Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...

'', ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for PlayStation 4, Wi ...

'' and '' Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'', and was lead designer on '' Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''.

Career

TSR, Inc. hired Bruce Nesmith in 1981 to design computer games on the

Apple II+ The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-mold ...

. He soon moved on to be a writer of ''

'' modules. After the original

Dragonlance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving i ...

group began, the Dragonlance Series Design Team was later expanded to also include

Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author, of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is ...

Douglas Niles Douglas Niles (born December 1, 1954, in Brookfield, Wisconsin) is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, the ''Star Frontiers'' space o ...

, Bruce Nesmith,

Mike Breault Michael Breault (born May 28, 1958 in Central Falls, Rhode Island) is a game designer and editor, and an author of multiple products for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game from TSR. Early life and education Mike Breault was bor ...

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

Laura Hickman Laura Curtis Hickman (born December 7, 1956, in Long Beach, California) is an American fantasy author, best known for her works in game design and fantasy novels cowritten with her husband, Tracy Hickman. She was one of the first women to write ...

, Linda Bakk, Michael Dobson and

Garry Spiegle Garry Floyd Spiegle (August 12, 1945 in Fairfield, Alabama – June 25, 2018) was a game designer who worked primarily on role-playing games. Career After the original Dragonlance group began, the Dragonlance Series Design Team was later expanded ...

. Nesmith designed '' Ravenloft: Realm of Terror'' (1990), which built on the ideas behind the Hickmans' original ''

Ravenloft Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a ''pocket dimension'' or demiplane, called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces c ...

'' adventure in an attempt to make ''AD&D'' competitive with horror role-playing games such as '' Call of Cthulhu'' and ''

Chill In computing, CHILL (an acronym for CCITT High Level Language) is a procedural programming language designed for use in telecommunication switches (the hardware used inside telephone exchanges). The language is still used for legacy systems ...

''. Nesmith and

Andria Hayday Andria Hayday is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Between 1983 and 1984, approximately 200 people left TSR as a result of multiple rounds of layoffs; as a result Andria Hayday joined CEO John Rickets, as w ...

designed the '' DragonStrike'' board game, which was published by

TSR, Inc TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

. His other design work for ''D&D'' includes ''

The War Rafts of Kron ''The War Rafts of Kron'' () is a 1984 adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. Synopsis ''The War Rafts of Kron'' is an adventure scenario that takes place on the sea and below its surface. The module includes rules for ...

'' (1984), ''

Sabre River ''Sabre River'' is a 1984 adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. Its associated product code is CM3. Plot summary ''Sabre River'' is an adventure in which the player characters must go to the Tower of Terror where the ...

'' (1984), ''

Master Player Screen ''Master Player Screen featuring The Spindle'' is a short accessory designed for the Pen & Paper role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Contents ''Master Player Screen Featuring the Spindle'' features a gamemaster's screen designed for master ...

Featuring The Spindle'' (1985), ''

The Book of Lairs II ''The Book of Lairs'' is an accessory book for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, first published by TSR in 1986. It contains an assortment of monster-themed mini-adventures. A second volume was published in 1987. TSR coded ...

'' (1987), ''

Tales of the Outer Planes ''Tales of the Outer Planes'' is an adventure module for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, set in that game's Outer Planes. TSR, Inc. published the module in 1988 for the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' rules. The module ...

'' (1988), ''Monstrous Compendium, Volume 2'' (1989), ''

Monstrous Compendium The ''Monstrous Compendium'' is a series of accessories for the '' Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game released from 1989 to 1998. The title was then used for a series of 5th Edition ''Dungeons & Dragons'' supplements released ...

, Volume 1'' (1989), ''

Hall of Heroes ''Hall of Heroes'' was an American independent comic book company that existed in the mid-to-late 1990s. Based in Elkhart, Indiana, Hall of Heroes operated from 1993 to 1999. The company's longest-running titles were two volumes of the antholog ...

'' (1989), ''Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix'' (1990), ''Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix'' (1990), ''Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix'' (1990), ''

Greyhawk Ruins ''Greyhawk Ruins'' is an adventure module for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. It was published in 1990 by TSR, Inc. for the second edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' rules. Publication history WGR1 ''Greyh ...

'' (1990), ''Touch of Death'' (1991), ''Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix II'' (1991), '' Goblins' Return'' (1991), ''

Darklords ''Darklords'' is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published in 1991. Contents The supplement focuses on "sixteen different Darklords spread out over thirteen chapters". The Darkl ...

'' (1991), ''Unsung Heroes'' (1992), ''From the Shadows'' (1992), '' Forbidden Lore'' (1992), '' Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts'' (1993), ''

House of Strahd ''House of Strahd'' is an adventure module for the 2nd edition of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published in 1993. Plot summary In ''House of Strahd'', the player characters are stranded in Barovia, and must brea ...

'' (1993), '' The Created'' (1993), '' Ravenloft Campaign Setting'', 2nd Ed. (1994), ''

Hour of the Knife An hour (symbol: h; also abbreviated hr) is a unit of time conventionally reckoned as of a day and scientifically reckoned between 3,599 and 3,601 seconds, depending on the speed of Earth's rotation. There are 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 ho ...

'' (1994), ''

First Quest First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

'' (1994), ''Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Terrors Beyond Tyr'' (1995), ''

Psionic Artifacts of Athas ''Psionic Artifacts of Athas'' is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the '' Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published in 1996. Contents ''Psionic Artifacts of Athas'' is a supplement which details the new artifacts feat ...

'' (1996), and ''

Domains of Dread Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined **Domain of definition of a partial function ** Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function *Do ...

'' (1997). Nesmith was one of the guests of honor at "

Winter Fantasy Winter Fantasy is an annual gaming convention that takes place in the USA every January or February. History The convention was held as early as 1977 under the name Winter Fantasy. In 2007 the convention was renamed to D&D Experience (often abbr ...

18" in 1994.Advertisement in Polyhedron Volume 15, Number 7, Issue 87, July 1993 In 1995 Nesmith moved into the computer game field, contributing to '' The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall'' computer roleplaying game, and ''

Terminator Terminator may refer to: Science and technology Genetics * Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription * Terminator technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation s ...

'' computer games. He then became a senior game designer for Bethesda Game Studios, where he worked extensively on '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'' and its expansion, '' The Shivering Isles'', as well being the lead designer on '' Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''. The video game ''

'', for which Nesmith did some of the quest writing, was nominated for an award for videogame writing at the

Writers Guild of America Awards 2008 The 61st Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film, television, and videogame writers of 2008. Winners were announced on February 7, 2009. Nominees Names in bold denote the winners. Film Best Adapted Screenplay *'' The Curious C ...

. In 2021, Nesmith released his first novel ''Mischief Maker: Norse Mythology Reimagined''.

References

External links

*
Biography at Mobygames.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesmith, Bruce 1959 births American video game designers Bethesda Softworks employees Dungeons & Dragons game designers Fallout (series) developers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Video game writers