Julian LeFay's Game Design Philosophy in Quotes: What Developers Can Learn from the "Father of The Elder Scrolls"
On July 22, the programmer, game designer, and composer Julian Jensen, better known as Julian LeFay, who was instrumental in the creation of the The Elder Scrolls series, passed away. We have compiled his notable quotes—on the unobtainable freedom of tabletop RPGs, procedural generation, and how the industry grinds down young developers.
Who is Julian LeFay?
- Julian LeFay was born in Denmark on October 30, 1965. From a young age, he was passionate about programming, which eventually led him to the gaming industry.
- In 1988, after moving to the United States, LeFay joined Bethesda. At that time, the company had only four employees.
- Among the first games he worked on as a game designer were Wayne Gretzky Hockey and Terminator.
- LeFay eventually became the lead programmer for The Elder Scrolls: Arena, which initiated one of the longest-running and most successful series in the industry's history.
- Throughout most of the development of its sequel, Daggerfall, LeFay was essentially the only programmer on the project, simultaneously handling game design responsibilities.
- Under his direction, many renowned Bethesda veterans worked, including designer Ted Peterson, and LeFay himself earned the unofficial title of "Father of The Elder Scrolls."
- LeFay left Bethesda at the very start of Morrowind's development and afterward worked mostly outside the gaming industry. However, he sometimes assisted various teams, such as the creators of the fighting game Skullgirls.
- In 2019, he co-founded the studio OnceLost Games, alongside Peterson and Eric Heberling, the composer for Arena.
- The team worked on the RPG The Wayward Realms, but in April 2025, LeFay stepped away from the game's development due to cancer.
- Julian LeFay passed away on July 22 after several years battling the illness.
