{"id":1365542,"date":"2025-10-21T18:08:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T18:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/WLxBP6nsBKzCwe7SKqVNxe"},"modified":"2025-10-21T18:08:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T18:08:18","slug":"former-bethesda-designer-says-starfield-fell-flat-because-of-its-reliance-on-procgen-planets-i-dont-think-its-in-the-same-calibre-as-the-other-two-fallout-or-skyrim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/former-bethesda-designer-says-starfield-fell-flat-because-of-its-reliance-on-procgen-planets-i-dont-think-its-in-the-same-calibre-as-the-other-two-fallout-or-skyrim\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Bethesda designer says Starfield fell flat because of its reliance on procgen planets: &#8216;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s in the same calibre as the other two, Fallout or Skyrim&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p>Since its launch in 2023, Starfield has cemented a reputation as Bethesda&#8217;s okayest game. While Skyrim has been honored with what felt like 800 re-releases and Fallout&#8217;s enjoying its time in the TV adaptation spotlight, Starfield hasn&#8217;t managed to foster the same level of fondness\u2014even with Bethesda <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/rpg\/starfield-fans-are-pretty-sure-bethesda-just-dropped-the-first-teaser-for-the-games-second-expansion-we-look-forward-to-the-adventures-yet-to-come\/\">leaving sneaky little teasers<\/a> in its spacefaring RPG&#8217;s birthday card.<\/p>\n<p>In <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/frvr.com\/blog\/starfield-designer-says-sci-fi-rpg-still-a-great-game-but-procedural-generation-stopped-fallout-elder-scrolls\/\">an interview with FRVR<\/a>, former Bethesda designer Bruce Nesmith said that while he thinks it&#8217;s &#8220;a good game,&#8221; Starfield failed to live up to its potential because its reliance on procedurally generated content didn&#8217;t align with what players expected from a Bethesda RPG.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:1920px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"us2ksV6CpDj8TkaqqZh9cL\" name=\"starfield-ship-landing-Screenshot 2023-09-07 15-45-14.jpg\" alt=\"Starfield ship landing on the surface of a bright planet\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/former-bethesda-designer-says-starfield-fell-flat-because-of-its-reliance-on-procgen-planets-i-dont-think-its-in-the-same-calibre-as-the-other-two-fallout-or-skyrim.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Tyler C. \/ Bethesda)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s in the same calibre as the other two, Fallout or Skyrim\u2014or Elder Scrolls, rather\u2014but I think it&#8217;s a good game,&#8221; said Nesmith, who worked as a systems designer on Starfield until a year before release. &#8220;I worked on it. I&#8217;m proud of the work I did. I&#8217;m proud of the work that the people I knew did on it. I think they made a great game.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Still, Nesmith said that &#8220;the studio that gave you Skyrim and Fallout makes a space game&#8221; is a promise with a lot of potential, and it&#8217;s one that\u2014despite respectable sales and a subsequent expansion release\u2014Starfield couldn&#8217;t fully realize.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If the same game had been released by not Bethesda, it would have been received differently,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:2202px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.27%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"7RWRhPHC3GgGFWR2VicVyZ\" name=\"sf2.jpg\" alt=\"Starfield sci-fi game with spaceship\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/former-bethesda-designer-says-starfield-fell-flat-because-of-its-reliance-on-procgen-planets-i-dont-think-its-in-the-same-calibre-as-the-other-two-fallout-or-skyrim-1.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"2202\" height=\"1239\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Bethesda)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Nesmith &#8220;leans towards procedural generation&#8221; as being the central issue with Starfield&#8217;s direction, because its collection of procgen planets didn&#8217;t generate the same kind of interest as Bethesda&#8217;s hand-crafted game settings.<\/p>\n<p>Nesmith\u2014a self-described &#8220;enormous space fan&#8221; and &#8220;amateur astronomer&#8221;\u2014said that, at the end of the day, Starfield suffers from the fact that &#8220;space is inherently boring.&#8221; Its series of procgen planets didn&#8217;t provide compelling places for players to explore.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When the planets start to feel very samey and you don&#8217;t start to feel the excitement on the planets, that&#8217;s to me where it falls apart,&#8221; Nesmith said. And Bethesda, he said, didn&#8217;t do itself any favors with its enemy selection.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:2560px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"B5LXsF9nAw3tBvZgxqhaZj\" name=\"sfc.jpg\" alt=\"Astronaut on alien planet\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/former-bethesda-designer-says-starfield-fell-flat-because-of-its-reliance-on-procgen-planets-i-dont-think-its-in-the-same-calibre-as-the-other-two-fallout-or-skyrim-2.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"1\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"expandable\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Bethesda)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;I was also disappointed when, pretty much, the only serious enemy you fought were people,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There&#8217;s lots of cool alien creatures, but they&#8217;re like the wolves in Skyrim. They&#8217;re just there. They don&#8217;t contribute. You don&#8217;t have the variety of serious opponents that are story generators.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2022, our Wes Fenlon was skeptical that Starfield would be anything other than &#8220;<a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/theres-no-way-all-1000-explorable-planets-in-starfield-are-actually-interesting\/\">boring as hell<\/a>,&#8221; and Nesmith&#8217;s assessment seems to indicate that Wes was on the mark. Me, I&#8217;m more of a mind with former PC Gamer features producer Nat Clayton, who defended the merits of <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/i-hope-starfields-1000-planets-are-boring-actually\/\">the lonely, empty expanse<\/a>. Games like Elite: Dangerous show that countless unpopulated space rocks can be plenty compelling if they&#8217;re framed with systems that make them feel worth your attention. Starfield&#8217;s problem is that it couldn&#8217;t find much to do with a procgen planet beyond ignoring it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"product\"><a data-dimension112=\"57e5366f-6a05-402c-9a87-9dc43b594818\" data-action=\"Deal Block\" data-label=\"2025 games\" data-dimension48=\"2025 games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure \" >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:400px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"Vji3V6i3HDWUHeQ22PrjFL\" name=\"New Project (8).jpg\" caption=\"\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/former-bethesda-designer-says-starfield-fell-flat-because-of-its-reliance-on-procgen-planets-i-dont-think-its-in-the-same-calibre-as-the-other-two-fallout-or-skyrim-3.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" credit=\"\" class=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/new-games-2025-upcoming-pc-release-schedule\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-dimension112=\"57e5366f-6a05-402c-9a87-9dc43b594818\" data-action=\"Deal Block\" data-label=\"2025 games\" data-dimension48=\"2025 games\" data-dimension25=\"\"><strong>2025 games<\/strong><\/a>: This year&#8217;s upcoming releases<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/the-best-pc-games\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Best PC games<\/strong><\/a>: Our all-time favorites<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/the-50-best-free-pc-games\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Free PC games<\/strong><\/a>: Freebie fest<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/best-fps-games\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Best FPS games<\/strong><\/a>: Finest gunplay<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/best-rpgs-of-all-time\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Best RPGs<\/strong><\/a>: Grand adventures<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/the-best-co-op-games\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Best co-op games<\/strong><\/a>: Better together<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/rpg\/former-bethesda-designer-says-starfield-fell-flat-because-of-its-reliance-on-procgen-planets-i-dont-think-its-in-the-same-calibre-as-the-other-two-fallout-or-skyrim\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since its launch in 2023, Starfield has cemented a reputation as Bethesda&#8217;s okayest game. While Skyrim has been honored with what felt like 800 re-releases and Fallout&#8217;s enjoying its time in the TV adaptation spotlight, Starfield hasn&#8217;t managed to foster the same level of fondness\u2014even with Bethesda leaving sneaky little teasers in its spacefaring RPG&#8217;s birthday card. In an interview with FRVR, former Bethesda designer Bruce Nesmith said that while he thinks it&#8217;s &#8220;a good game,&#8221; Starfield failed to live up to its potential because its reliance on procedurally generated content didn&#8217;t align with what players expected from a Bethesda RPG. (Image credit: Tyler C. \/ Bethesda) &#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s in the same calibre as the other two, Fallout or Skyrim\u2014or Elder Scrolls, rather\u2014but&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/former-bethesda-designer-says-starfield-fell-flat-because-of-its-reliance-on-procgen-planets-i-dont-think-its-in-the-same-calibre-as-the-other-two-fallout-or-skyrim\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1365543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[748,34],"class_list":["post-1365542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pc-gamer","tag-games","tag-rpg"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former Bethesda designer says Starfield fell flat because of its reliance on procgen planets: &#039;I don&#039;t think it&#039;s in the same calibre as the other two, Fallout or Skyrim&#039; | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Since its launch in 2023, Starfield has cemented a reputation as Bethesda&#039;s okayest game. 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