Summary
Bruce Nesmith, the former lead designer ofSkyrim, reminisced about his time at Bethesda during a recent interview, revealing that most of the major decisions forStarfieldran through Todd Howard. WhileStarfieldbroke several major milestones, a large amount of its playerbase hasn’t been entirely happy with the game they ultimately got. Features such as the ship builder have received plenty of praise from theStarfieldcommunity, but the lack of proper space exploration, loading screens, and procedural generation have all been openly critiqued by fans.
Nesmith spoke at length about the development ofStarfieldduring his interview with MinnMax, pointing out thatStarfield’s scope was much smallerprior to his departure. One of the major points of contention even within the team itself was an uncertainty in how much Bethesda wanted to rely on procedural generation to expand the scope of the game. Nesmith preferred a more traditional approach, focusing on just a dozen handcrafted worlds to tell an immersive story. Conversely, Todd Howard had an idea of “a hundred star systems” forStarfieldplayers to sink their teeth into, and it was becoming apparent that these visions were irreconcilable.
“All decisions run through Todd. He would hate, hate, hate me for saying that because he doesn’t believe it’s true. But unfortunately, it is true. If you want to have anything different other than the Bethesda usual, or something else you want to propose, you somehow have to get the idea in front of him.”
The success that Bethesda enjoyed in the past two decades greatly contributed to its growth, as the team had enlarged to an almost uncomfortable size for Nesmith, who candidly shared that the company’s restructuring played a role in him stepping away from Bethesda to pursue a career as a novelist.Starfieldwas the last project Nesmith had worked on, and compared to previous Bethesda titles, Todd Howard’s availability had dramatically shrunk. However, despite the lines of communication becoming more rigid, Howard still had final say onStarfield’s creative decisions. “All decisions run through Todd,” Nesmith said. “He would hate, hate, hate me for saying that because he doesn’t believe it’s true. But unfortunately, it is true.”
It’s a role that Howard wasn’t particularly keen on having, but the studio was nonetheless shaped in that direction because Todd Howard’s opinions became highly valuable. Even sinceMorrowind, Howard was able to put himself in the role of a casual player far better than most of the design team, according to Nesmith, and this ability to see things from “the Average Joe’s perspective” played a key role in Bethesda’s success. For example, Todd Howard had gone on record to say thatStarfield’s exploration was much more complicatedduring development, with a much bigger focus on environmental hazards, and the decision to simplify that system may have been for the better.
Ultimately,Starfieldproved to be a learning experience for Bethesda as a whole, and many of its lessons will no doubt be applied todevelop the nextElder Scrollsgame. Nesmith pointed out thatSkyrim’s magic system would undoubtedly carry over into the long-anticipated sequel, though hopefully with more inspired, dynamic spells.
Starfield
WHERE TO PLAY
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.
