'A big document of stealth' requested by Todd Howard from a designer of one of the best stealth games of all time was the blueprint for Skyrim's most beloved playstyle

Two Skyrim thieves in leather nightingale armor regarding camera.

I love stealth games, and I love playing a sneaky guy in bigger RPGs: Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Cyberpunk. You best believe that, when given the option, I'm crouch walking for 80 hours straight. I'm not alone in that preference either: The Stealth Archer in Skyrim, which plays exactly how it sounds, is a memetic, fan-favorite playstyle in Bethesda's smash hit RPG, with guides, analysis, and love letters galore on YouTube and Reddit.

Being obsessed with stealth in games, particularly Bethesda RPGs, I've always wondered about the Pagliarulo Connection: Bethesda's design director, who has contributed to all of the studio's games since Oblivion, got his development start at Looking Glass Studios, the legendary '90s developer of Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.