An hard message for the open universe genre.
Starfield is a FPS Action RPG open universe of Bethesda and a Microsoft exclusive, this production has the hard job to open the way to the open universe.
Todd Howard the Mind Behind the “Space Game”
Todd Howard is the game designer behind great productions like Fallout 3, Oblivion, and Morrowind.
He always has visionary ideas for all his productions, like the complete interaction with the objects in the world and the procedurality technologies for creating more random environments, like the dungeons in Oblivion, the side missions in Skyrim, or the vegetation in Oblivion.
The most important creation is the Radiant AI, an artificial intelligence system that has the job of creating a “real life” for NPC and a live society in all cities.
The implementation of this technology creates some iconic problems, caused by the total freedom of the npc, who committed crimes like stealing or selling Skuma and the guards attacking them.
This caused in the test phase of Oblivion many problems because some important characters were killed in some random situation.
Todd Howard, since 1994, has had the idea to create a space RPG game.
Howard has worked on many space games, like Traveller, 10th Planet (the game that inspired the atmosphere of Starfield), and the only pitched Star Trek RPG.
All these projects were canceled, but the idea of the “space game” never abandoned the mind of Todd.
Every single Bethesda’s game in this years has created the base mechanics of Starfield, like Rockstar with GTA V.
The Innovative Design of Starfield
Starfield had a lot of versions and redesigns over this years.
From the more little versions more focused on story and more bigger.
Bethesda worked hard to create an impressive universe with unique cultures, factions, species and environments.
Starfield has the hard job to give to the players a new IP after 25 years and give life to the first RPG open universe. Bethesda based the design of Starfield on the best RPG they produced in the past.
Daggerfall for the planet’s exploration, because many planets use procedural generation for creating the environments, structures and casual encounters.
Fallout 3 for the biggest choices in every situation, because the players can use many paths, based on the different builds and the choices really impact the game world.
Oblivion for the complexity of the RPG mechanics and the great faction quest lines.
The exploration design has some limits caused by the old engine of Bethesda, the creation engine 2.
The game presents many galaxies with planets, moons, and space stations.
The player can fly completely free to every planet and land where he wants; the planets can offer cities, outposts with enemies, caves, forests, deserts, and more all to discover.
The Hard Life of the Open Universe Genre
In an era where open worlds are a standard, players need something that can break the rules and expand the limits of their gaming experience.
The open universe genre was born with Star Citizen, an MMo in a galaxy with 100 galaxy systems and a single-player mode called “Squadron 42,” very close to the exit.
Squadron 42 is the first experiment in this genre, and like Starfield, it is underestimated by a lot of players who expect a more action-focused experience, but the focus of this game is exploration and role-playing.
This with the long time needed to completely understand the base mechanics that make the genre hard to learn for young or casual players to get used to more immediate games.
Ubisoft has tried to create a game-open universe, Beyond Good and Evil 2, but after years, the projects remain in the dark, and the destiny of this project is unknown.
Another project that probably can expand the genre to a higher type of player is Star Wars Outlaws.
This Star Wars game allows the players to explore many planets in the Star Wars galaxy with total freedom.
The problem with this genre is the difficulty of adapting to a new player base that is more focused on immediate experiences.
The Exclusion Effect
Starfield has a great responsibility because it is a killer application for Microsoft, and with its launch, they did a great job.
A game of the year title can change the visibility of a game and give it more importance among the mass gaming public.
This genre, like other types of games like Virtua Fighter 5, Atomic Heart, and Hogwarts Legacy for this edition, and car games like Forza Horizon 5 years ago at the exit, were excluded.
This year, Starfield has only one nomination in the “best RPG” category.
Why Starfield Needs to be ReDiscovered
Starfield is a completely different game, unlike the past works of Bethesda. This is important to consider because a player who expects a Fallout or a Skyrim in space can be disappointed.
Starfield is a hardcore RPG experience, more similar to Oblivion; it is hard to learn but easy to master after the player understands the basics.
The player has the disposition of an entire galaxy to explore in freedom. The planets where the player lands are always different and have many surprises, but the difference with the other Bethesda games is the simulative approach used for creating the planet exploration mechanic.
This simulative experience gives some empty but incredible views of planets and some others handcrafted with many species, like Jemison, where the forest area gives off some vibes from Avatar and Jurassic Park when creatures similar to dinosaurs move in packs.
Starfield gives the players an excellent preview of what the next gen can realize with ambition and high technology.
We see in neon!
