"I like to feel that it’s my job to instigate the process with a cool drawing that inspires everyone else here into making something really cool, and worth the effort."

February 11, 2012 10:59 AM

Adam Adamowicz, concept artist behind the hugely popular video games Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, passed away this week after a long struggle with cancer.
posted by restless_nomad (37 comments total)

(Game links require location and birthdate - you need to be at least 13, I think - but lead to pretty interesting interviews.)
posted by restless_nomad at 11:00 AM on February 11

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posted by kilo hertz at 11:03 AM on February 11

Holy cow, the artwork on his site is brilliantly creative. There are a lot of quick sketches that reveal his gifted talent and careful attention to detail, but his paintings and sculptures were amazing. He worked in all sorts of mediums and styles. And so much of what he posted is just incredible. Thank you for posting this. What a loss. :(

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posted by zarq at 11:08 AM on February 11 [1 favorite]

This hit me unreasonably hard last night when I read about it.

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posted by june made him a gemini at 11:11 AM on February 11

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(If anyone needs me, I'll be skewering supermutants on a flaming sword made from a lawnmower blade.)
posted by radwolf76 at 11:16 AM on February 11 [1 favorite]

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posted by Aquaman at 11:22 AM on February 11

=.=
posted by Pendragon at 11:28 AM on February 11

Thanks, Adam. I didn't even know who you were, but I enjoyed the hell out of your work.
posted by Malor at 11:29 AM on February 11

Gah, I just finished Fallout 3 like yesterday, this is hitting me harder then I thought.
posted by The Whelk at 11:32 AM on February 11

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posted by EatTheWeak at 11:32 AM on February 11

"pours out Aqua Pura"
posted by The Whelk at 11:32 AM on February 11

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posted by Foci for Analysis at 11:33 AM on February 11

Aw, man.

FUCK YOU, CANCER. JUST FUCK YOU. YOU FUCKING FUCK.

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posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:44 AM on February 11 [3 favorites]

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posted by Splunge at 11:46 AM on February 11

I haven't played Fallout 3 but I really, really love how it looks.

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posted by Anything at 11:51 AM on February 11

Started downloading GOTY version last night when I heard about this. Thought I was done with the Capitol Wasteland, but the memories have pulled me back in. When I have scratched this itch I will get back to Skyrim. I have spent hundreds of hours in your worlds, Adam, thank you so much for the experiences.
posted by Meatbomb at 11:52 AM on February 11

Wow, I hadn't seen the concept art for either game, which is astonishing considering how much I love both. Really great stuff. Amazing how much of the character of these kinds of games is created early on, by a few people.
posted by danny the boy at 11:54 AM on February 11

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posted by jrb223 at 12:01 PM on February 11

Adam A had been "a cake decorator for a bakery specializing in erotic cake designs". What? Where? I feel so unhip.
posted by Cranberry at 12:18 PM on February 11

Playing my way through Fallout 3 at the moment. Haven't looked at the interviews yet but I saw some of his concept art here - really amazing stuff.

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posted by photo guy at 12:25 PM on February 11

Fallout 3 was the first game in probably a decade that I played all the way through. The quirky and humorous art and setting made the game. Cancer sucks.

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posted by formless at 12:28 PM on February 11

Are those some sort of specialty monitors in the "passed away" link, or am I so used to seeing widescreen monitors now that smallish square monitors look foreign?
posted by Ian A.T. at 12:30 PM on February 11

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posted by Smart Dalek at 12:34 PM on February 11

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posted by elphTeq at 1:13 PM on February 11

I am proud to say that I took an arrow to the knee for that guy.
posted by Splunge at 1:47 PM on February 11

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posted by 200burritos at 2:20 PM on February 11 [1 favorite]

I have the collector's editions of Fallout 3 and Skyrim. I love the style of both games and the concept art in the books is amazing. Finished Fallout3 a long time ago. Still plugging away in Skyrim. Thanks for giving us worlds, Adam, we like worlds.
posted by sciatica at 3:07 PM on February 11

I don't like many games. But I loved Fallout 3, man. Well done.

On the one hand, I'm sad to lose him; he had something really special, clearly, and I wish he'd been able to keep creating beautiful things for all of us till we were old and gray. On the other hand, god, I'm so glad our society gave this dude a huge megaphone. He's had a tremendous impact on gamer culture, I think. Both Skyrim and Fallout 3 really raised the bar for what it means to create an immersive world within a game, and I think gaming on the whole is better off for it. I feel privileged to have played games to which he contributed, and I know so many other people who do too.

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posted by troublesome at 3:09 PM on February 11 [1 favorite]

I finished New Vegas last night. "No Gods, No Masters", indeed.

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posted by mhoye at 3:15 PM on February 11

Loved F3 and have put many hours into F:NV. I'm over 100 hours into Skyrim and I have barely made a dent in the main storyline, despite being on my second character (both over level 40). I'm just taking my sweet time to soak in the world for as long as I can.

This is sad news indeed.

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posted by good in a vacuum at 3:20 PM on February 11

Patrolling the Mojave makes you wish for a cure for cancer.
posted by subbes at 3:30 PM on February 11 [2 favorites]

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posted by Busithoth at 4:55 PM on February 11

I just played through Fallout 3 last year and was playing The Pitt last week. I love the look of that game, sad to think what he could have designed in the future.
posted by octothorpe at 6:33 PM on February 11

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He was a talented guy.
posted by Artw at 10:41 PM on February 11

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posted by goodglovin77 at 2:53 AM on February 12

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Fallout 3 was the last long-form major-label RPG I can remember not only enjoying, but being completely immersed in. The design of everything in that game was just right.
posted by sixohsix at 6:29 AM on February 12

No matter what your opinions are of Fallout 3 and Skyrim, this is extremely sad. That whooshing you hear is the overwhelming sound of creative brilliance being sucked out of the the game industry. Did he have a hand in either of Skyrim's predecessors, Oblivion and Morrowind?
posted by Gordion Knott at 7:25 AM on February 12