The Real Reason Starfield Fell Flat (and Why the Elder Scrolls 6 Won’t Be Affected by It)

A former Starfield designer, Bruce Nesmith, who left the team in 2021, has shared an incredible theory on why the game did not comply with Bethesda’s other titles, like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. All his thoughts came out during an interview with FRVR, where he talked about how the space-exploration experience isn’t in the same caliber as other Bethesda titles.

According to him, Starfield could not meet the standards set by Bethesda, a studio that is an expert in crafting open-world experiences, filled with creativity. Bethesda’s vision was right, but their open-world formula cost them a lot of time and effort. Ultimately, the game felt like a loop where you simply visit one planet after another to complete the given objectives.

Ex-Starfield Designer Calls Space “Inherently Boring”

During the interview with FRVR, Bruce Nesmith said a few things that explained why Starfield couldn’t keep the fans engaged like Fallout and Skyrim did. He simply said that moving through space where nothing exciting exists may bore the fans to the core. Nesmith explains:

I’m an enormous space fan, I’m an amateur astronomer, I’m up on all that stuff, a lot of the work I did on Starfield was on the astronomical data, but space is inherently boring. It’s literally described as nothingness. So moving throughout that isn’t where the excitement is, in my opinion.

Nesmith got a valid point here, as while traveling through space, the planets start to feel similar. This is also when the entire excitement to try out new Solar Systems and planets dies from within. Moreover, the game did not have any major NPCs or enemies that contributed to the game’s main storyline. The regular NPCs were just there.

Bethesda had built Starfield on procedural generation, populating hundreds of planets with lifeless landscapes and scattered outposts. Due to this, the level of exploration in Bethesda’s games leveled down. While the game was visually striking, it just lacked the fantasy charm and story-driven elements found in other games from the studio.

Why The Elder Scrolls 6 Won’t Repeat Starfield’s Mistakes

A very logical reason to believe that Bethesda won’t make the same mistake with their upcoming title, The Elder Scrolls 6, is that they are returning to their roots! The studio will come back to the fantasy setting that made their franchise world-famous. Since their speciality lies in hand-crafting such experiences, there’s no way the developers will ruin a big release like TES 6.

Also, the underwhelming response from players after the release of Starfield was a major setback. Since years have gone by, the developers may have also learned from their past mistakes. More importantly, The Elder Scrolls 6 will have an identity, making it easier for the audience to settle in.

On the other hand, Starfield was burdened by defining what it wanted to be. Although we will only know how Bethesda cooks when The Elder Scrolls 6 releases.

What are your thoughts about Bruce Nesmith’s theory? Let us know about it in the comments below.

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