General:Will Shen

William Shen
Role(s)	Designer, Writer
Bethesda Softworks tenure	May 2007–Nov 2007 (internship) May 2009–Oct 2023

William Shen was a quest designer and writer at Bethesda Game Studios throughout the early 2010s and early 2020s, with credits on The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield.

Elder Scrolls Game Credits

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Quest Design / Writing
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dawnguard — Additional Design
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Hearthfire — Additional Design
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dragonborn — Additional Design

Known Contributions

• Skyrim — Shen wrote and implemented the game's introduction quest Unbound. He authored and implemented much of the quest design for the city of Markarth, including The Forsworn Conspiracy and No One Escapes Cidhna Mine, he also wrote the book Dwarves taking heavy inspiration from Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond. Shen created a handful of Daedric quests for the game, including Waking Nightmare, The Black Star, and The Taste of Death. In collaboration with level designer Dee Langlois, Shen designed the lore for the Vigil of Stendarr faction, both for randomized world encounters and for use in The House of Horrors Daedric quest. Additionally, Shen implemented the game's marriage system and The Bonds of Matrimony quest.

Texts Authored

This list is non-exhaustive and includes only texts of which Shen is known to be a primary author.

Skyrim

• Dwarves

Interviews

• Aug 2021: Reliving the Opening of Skyrim with the Creators from BGS
• May 2023: Writing the Worlds of Bethesda
• Feb 2024: Worldbuilding in Roleplaying Games | Will Shen | The Corner of Story and Game
• Mar 2024: Level and Quest Design Collaboration from Skyrim to Starfield
• May 2024: Will Shen on the Lenses of Endogenous Value, Problem Solving, The Eight Filters, & Functional Space

External Links

Will Shen on Twitter

Will Shen on BlueSky