A Bethesda Veteran Gets Brutally Honest About Starfield’s Flaws
It’s the conversation gamers have been having for two years, but now it’s coming from inside the studio. In a refreshingly candid interview, a former senior designer on Starfield has explained why the ambitious sci-fi RPG never quite captured the magic of its legendary predecessors, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout. Bruce Nesmith, who worked at Bethesda for decades, didn’t pull any punches, pinpointing the game’s reliance on procedural generation as the key factor that held it back.
Speaking on the FRVR Podcast, Nesmith was clear: “I think it’s a good game,” he stated, expressing pride in his work and that of his team. “I don’t think it’s in the same calibre as the other two, you know, Fallout or Skyrim.” He argued that if any other studio had released the exact same game, it would have been received much more positively. But coming from the masters of hand-crafted worlds, the expectations were just too high.
The Emptiness of Space: The Problem with a Thousand Planets
So, what was the big problem? For Nesmith, it all comes down to the game’s signature feature: its 1,000-plus planets. He “leans towards procedural generation” as the central issue. While the idea of a vast, explorable universe sounds amazing on paper, the reality was different.
“Space is inherently boring. It’s literally described as nothingness,” Nesmith explained. While he wasn’t bothered by the lack of real-time space travel, the on-planet experience is where the game stumbled. “When the planets start to feel very samey and you don’t start to feel the excitement on the planets, that’s to me where it falls apart.” This criticism gets to the heart of what players love about Bethesda games: the joy of discovering a unique, hand-crafted location with its own story. In Starfield, that magic was often lost in a sea of algorithmically generated, repetitive landscapes.
Where Are the Monsters?
Nesmith’s critique didn’t stop at the worlds themselves. He also pointed to a lack of compelling enemy variety. In a universe teeming with alien life, the most significant threats were almost always just other humans in different suits.
“I was also disappointed when, pretty much, the only serious enemy you fought were people,” he said. “There’s lots of cool alien creatures, but they’re like the wolves in Skyrim. They’re just there. They don’t contribute. You don’t have the variety of serious opponents that are story generators.” This lack of meaningful non-human adversaries further contributed to the sense of sameness across the galaxy.
Conclusion
It’s rare to get such an honest and insightful critique from a veteran developer about a game they worked on. Bruce Nesmith’s comments validate the feelings of many players who found Starfield to be a good, but not great, Bethesda experience. The studio’s gamble on massive scale through procedural generation came at the cost of the curated, hand-crafted detail that made its previous titles timeless classics. While the game still found success and continues to be supported with new content, this honest reflection from a designer at the heart of the project offers a fascinating glimpse into the challenges of modern game development and the difficult choices that have to be made.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What did the former Starfield designer say about the game?
Former Bethesda designer Bruce Nesmith said that while he believes Starfield is a “good game” that he’s proud of, it is not in the same “calibre” as the studio’s other major franchises, The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
2. Why did he think Starfield wasn’t as good as Skyrim?
He believes the game’s heavy reliance on procedural generation was its main weakness. This led to the game’s many planets feeling “very samey” and less exciting to explore compared to the hand-crafted worlds of previous Bethesda titles.
3. What is procedural generation?
Procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically rather than manually. In gaming, it’s used to create large amounts of content, like game levels or entire planets, without a developer having to design every detail by hand.
4. Did the designer have any other criticisms?
Yes, he was also disappointed by the lack of meaningful enemy variety. He noted that most serious enemies were just other humans, and the alien creatures felt like generic wildlife rather than story-driving opponents.
5. Who is Bruce Nesmith?
Bruce Nesmith is a veteran game designer who worked at Bethesda for decades. His credits include iconic RPGs like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Oblivion, and Starfield. He left the studio about a year before Starfield‘s release.
6. Is Bethesda still making content for Starfield?
Yes, Bethesda is still actively supporting the game. The Shattered Space expansion was released, and the company has teased further content, with rumors of a second major DLC in the works.