Joel Burgess, a former designer at Bethesda who is now the head of his new studio, Soft Rains, recently shared insights into the often-overlooked aspect of game design: the role of happy accidents in the development process.
Prior to establishing Soft Rains, Burgess contributed to significant titles at Bethesda, including Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Skyrim. During a discussion at the Game Developers Conference 2025, he shed light on a prevalent misunderstanding regarding game development.
“A lot of things occur purely by chance,” Burgess noted. “When you engage with a finished product—whether through listening, reading, or playing—there’s a sense of intentionality that can be easily misconstrued, especially when something doesn’t resonate with you.”
“Often, positive outcomes arise from unexpected events because, ultimately, we are entertainment teams crafting software. We work with unpredictable technology that frequently fails as we innovate. This leads to spontaneous moments that sometimes go unnoticed, and that can be part of what makes games enchanting.
Burgess also revisits the so-called treasure fox theory, which suggested that following foxes in Skyrim would lead players to hidden treasures. Although this theory has been debunked, it remains an interesting point of discussion. When Skyrim was first released, many players believed that foxes would guide them to treasure spots, but this was not a deliberate design choice.
The reality is that foxes are programmed to flee from players as quickly as possible. The game’s scripting measures distance using navigation mesh triangles, which delineate walkable areas in 3D environments. In regions such as towns and campsites—often rich in loot—smaller, denser triangles are commonplace. Thus, as the fox attempts to escape, it inadvertently traverses these areas, leading players to treasure hotspots.
“Gamers often underestimate the number of fortunate—or unfortunate—accidents that occur during gameplay,” Burgess explains. The enchantment of game design truly lies in these unexpected developments.
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