There's no denying that Bethesda's Todd Howard is one of the most well-known authors in the gaming industry. His newest credit is on the new MachineGames Indiana Jones and the Great Circlea dream come true for Fall out, The Elder Scrollsand Starfield icon. Howard tried to launch a Indiana Jones game since 2009, but it fell. 15 years later, this journey is now over and the game will be released soon.
In a recent interview, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Executive producer Jerk Gustafsson spoke with Game Rant about Howard's role in the game's development and how the final project compares to Howard's initial presentation. Overall, much of the core idea comes from Todd Howard, who also served as the title's executive producer, but much of it also empowered MachineGames to do what MachineGames does best: create mind-blowing games with powerful stories.

Related
Todd Howard says The Elder Scrolls 6 could be his last
Todd Howard makes a statement suggesting that The Elder Scrolls 6 could be his last game with the company.
Indiana Jones Game Todd Howard's Dream
Howard's Indiana Jones the idea focused for a long time on the concept of the titular Great Circle. In navigation, a great circle is a representation of the shortest distance between two points on a globe. Since the Earth is round (technically a flattened spheroid), the shortest distance is not a line, but rather an arc. Howard was interested in the idea of creating a Great Circle between some of the greatest wonders of the world and tried to understand the significance of the fact that this Great Circle would divide the Earth.
While it's normal for games to change drastically during development, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle it is very close to the original pitch, explained Gustafsson. Although MachineGames worked with both Howard and Lucasfilm Games to stretch the basic pitch to the max Indiana Jones experience. As Gustafsson explained,
Todd had long nurtured this idea for a story around this mysterious Great Circle, and we developed the story in-house at MachineGames in collaboration with Todd based on his idea. Very early on, we decided to use Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark as a key reference, and we used the statement “we want you to feel like Indiana Jones” as our number one development goal… We don't usually make those big changes, let's be honest Once we get through writing that first story outline, we tend to be very good at sticking to our plan.
The changes MachineGame made throughout the game's development tended to be more detail-oriented, changing small parts of the game to better breathe as a whole, rather than anything major or fundamental to Howard's original concept. One notable change, however, is Troy Baker's role as Indiana Jones. While Howard was initially reluctant to cast him for the role, Baker's performance during the blind auditions impressed everyone. And based on everything seen so far, it looks like it was the right call.
Overall, this is the result of a game that Howard has been fantasizing about, to some extent, since 2009. Finally, Howard and MachineGames can tell the story of what lies behind the titular Great Circle and the significance of how it align the wonders of the world. Although Howard has long worked to make this game a reality, it came as a surprise to MachineGames, best known for Wolfenstein games. Gustafsson recounted the feelings he had when approached by Howard to create a Indiana Jones experience.
Our friendship and respect for each other has grown over the years as sister studios under the ZeniMax umbrella. However, I must admit that I was quite surprised when Todd asked me if we would be interested in developing a new one
Indiana Jones
game. Surprised, but also deeply honored. For many of us here at MachineGames,
Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark
it was one of those magical childhood movie moments, and to have the opportunity to work with a character like Indiana Jones was amazing to say the least.
As a result of MachineGames' dedication, along with Howard's, players will finally unravel the mystery of the titular Great Circle and see the vision Howard and the development team had for such an iconic character.

- ISSUED
- December 9, 2024