Fallout 76 players leave in-game tributes to late lead designer

Eric "Ferret" Baudoin, a game designer who was best known for his work on both the Dragon Age and Fallout series, suddenly passed away last week (15 October). Baudoin, who worked as a lead designer at BioWare for six years (he worked on both Dragon Age: Origins and its sequel), also spent 10 years at Bethesda, where he was a quest designer and writer on Fallout 4, and Fallout 76's post-launch lead designer.

As spotted by Eurogamer, on Twitter, Fallout fans have been using the hashtag “#ThanksFerret” to share their gratitude for Baudoin’s work and celebrate his memory, complete with special tributes made in Fallout 76.

“If I didn’t say this, I wouldn’t be me: Fallout 76 gave me a community. It gave me a chance to make friends, a struggle that autism always made hard for me. It gave me a family. It got me through homelessness and chronic illness. It gave me a home. #ThanksFerret isn’t enough,” wrote @CaptainMal77. 

“#ThanksFerret for being part in a game that has given me so many joyous hours! I had to delete a few items in my C.A.M.P to make room for a small memorial - long live your memory and thanks for all the fun!” tweeted @Johns3n. 

“#ThanksFerret - for all the joy you have brought me and my family through your work. May peace and comfort embrace those you leave behind,” wrote @LaPombe. 

“Dear Ferret, Thank you for everything you did for the Fallout franchise and community. You will be missed,” posted @ThreeNil13. 

Emil Pagliarulo, design director at Bethesda, tweeted out a thread in tribute of Baudoin earlier this week, noting how he didn’t “possess an ounce of cynicism”, and that he had a “passion for games”. 

“What I'll miss most is a human being so filled with love for his family, his colleagues, and his craft that he constantly reminded me what the point of all this actually is - to be happy, to make each other happy, and to never forget how wonderful life really is,” Pagliarulo wrote.