Steve Meister/Inside the Vault

An interview with Steve Meister as part of the "Meet the Dev" conversations. Originally posted on several threads on Bethesda's Fallout 3 forum.

Transcript
What is your favorite mod for Oblivion?

BT and other interface mods.

What's your favorite thing about Oblivion

Alchemy and archery.

What do you most dislike about Oblivion?

Bandits with better armor than I have.

'''What do you have on your desk? Do you have any figurines or mascots? Books?'''

I have a TON of stuff on and around my desk & stuck on the walls. It's what happens when you work in the same place for 8 years. I've got Gundam models, a few varied action figures, cars of various sizes, some funky stuffed animals (Tamagotchi, a Peep, Duke (the Java mascot), a plush octopus, for example), a bunch of programming books, some interesting wind-up toys including ATOMIC ROBOT MAN, a bunch of Bethesda games in boxes (including some rare Morrowind stuff), a Morrowind poster of an Argonian, maps from Morrowind and Oblivion, a hollow wooden frog that makes an extremely loud croaking noise, a few lamps, pictures of my wife & family, and of course my monitors & keyboards & such. This year's calendar is Dilbert; last year's was Futurama.

Do you have a dresscode?

We don't have casual Friday. We dress so casually on normal days that I'd be afraid to see what people considered as MORE casual.

'''I would like to know where you each grew up. Are any of you from a rural area and if so how you like city life that you now are part of. Have any of you been to my great state of Alaska and if not would you like to visit. Any veterans? If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?'''

My dad was in the US Air Force, so we moved around a lot. New Hampshire, Maryland, Japan, Texas, Missouri, Massachusetts and finally Virginia, where I've lived for over 28 years. Not a big fan of cities. Haven't been to Alaska but I'd love to go sometime. Not sure where else but Virginia I'd want to live, though the Pacific Northwest is very nice and I love the Florida Keys.

And last but not least, do you drink coffee and what kind?

And I despise coffee :)

Have any of the devs seen 'Forbidden planet' with Walter Pidgeon and Leslie Nielsen?

I have the collector's edition DVD that came with a miniature Robbie the Robot. "Forbidden Planet" is an awesome movie, one of my all-time favorites. If you haven't seen it, do so, especially if you like Star Trek. It's obvious why Gene Roddenberry calls the movie an inspiration for Star Trek. Also watch for Robbie's appearance in the movie "Gremlins," where he repeats a few of his lines from "Forbidden Planet."

I knew a guy a while back who had the license plate "C-57D" :)

'''Any of the DEVs ever been to Europe? If yes, where to and long did you stay and why? Did you enjoy it? Found it to be culturally completely different?'''

I spent a bit of time in Germany, before & just after reunification. Mostly in Frankfurt, though I also spent some time near Stuttgart and Ingolstadt. Spent several weeks there on various trips between 1988 and 1991. I really enjoyed it. I became pretty familiar with Frankfurt (AM). Loved walking around the city. Loved the transit system and driving on the autobahn. On one trip I had to drive from SW of Stuttgart to Frankfurt to catch a plane, and I got that little Audi rental car to go as fast as it could go, about 220kph (130+mph). Lots of fun. And I loved the food & beer. Got to stay in several gasthauses in different towns too, so I got a bit of the local culture as opposed to staying in "normal" hotels. Learned the important German words and phrases: how to count, how to order a beer, and how to ask where the restroom (WC!) is.

Are any of you in the newest teaser art?

No. All of the concept art you've seen on the teaser website was painted by Craig Mullins, a freelance concept artist who lives & works in Hawaii.

Must be rough.

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