Erik J . Caponi Erik J . Caponi is a designer at Bethesda Softworks and one of the developers of " Fallout 3 " . He is responsible for writing dialog , designing locations , crafting characters , implementing scenes and scenarios , and creating background lore for games set in the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series or role - playing games . Secondary duties include systems and content design . Career . Bethesda Game Studios ( Rockville , MD ) . Responsible for writing dialog , designing memorable locations , crafting characters , implementing scenes and scenarios , and creating background lore for games set in the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series or role - playing games . Secondary duties include systems and content design . Monolith Productions ( Kirkland , WA ) . Duties include : Creation , design , development , and implementation of compelling story , content , and game play experiences using game mechanics , visuals , and dialog . Maintenance and expansion of the story bible . Writing of new fiction consistent with the tone and canon of The Matrix intellectual property . University of Pittsburgh ( Pittsburgh , PA ) . Writing of interactive presentations , website copy , and scripts for large - scale video projects to service and highlight university events in scope ranging from the university commencement to visits from international dignitaries . Secondary duties include the writing of ad copy , event coordination , production , and communication . Xmachina Studios , LLC ( Pittsburgh , PA ) . Responsible for the writing and design of characters and fiction of two original IPs for action games . Also responsible for tracking and design documentation to outline design goals and project vision . Quotes . " I came on pretty late in Oblivion ’ s development . I got the change to work on a few of the Settlement Quests as well as various late - stage writing and design tasks . I was one third of the design team for Knights of the Nine and was responsible for a few of the quests as well as the final battle against Umaril ’ s minions and the battle with his spirit in the sky over Cyrodiil . On Shivering Isles , I was responsible for Retaking The Fringe and Symbols of Office as well as a lot of freeform design . I was also the designer on a couple of the downloadable content packs . " " Primarily what I do around here is known as “ Freeform Gameplay ” . I started with it on Shivering Isles and it ’ s now my full time role on Fallout . What it means is that I ’ m responsible for gameplay content that isn ’ t related to quests . This can take the form of incidental dialog , NPC behavior , scripted scenes , town dialog , world encounters , lore , conversation systems , as well as any one of a million different things that might not be tied directly to a particular quest . " " Perhaps the most limiting thing about working in a persistent world is that you can ’ t change the world around the player ’ s actions . You can ’ t have an epic quest that ends up burning down a town or killing a major NPC . So the stories have to be very self contained and can ’ t change the world itself . This leads to things feeling very static . And personally , I like to write things that make the player look at the game world and see the effect that his actions have had on it . Having a world that needs to house several thousand players limits that . " On mature content in Fallout 3 : " It is somewhat liberating . I ’ m a foul mouthed guy , and the ability to let loose is somewhat satisfying . Or course , as much fun as it is to write vicious combat dialog , there ’ s a lot more to Fallout than colorful language . The ability to incorporate situations and themes that wouldn ’ t really fit into the Elder Scrolls setting is enjoyable . It ’ s not too often that you get to work with the darker side of things . " ORE Newsletter interview , Jan 2008 Credits . Other work . Additionally , Erik has been a rules tester for tabletop roleplaying games and a domain storyteller for Camarilla . He holds a degree in filmmaking .