Starfield's Size Debate: Why A Smaller Game Could Shine Brighter, According To Its Developer

Bruce Nesmith, a senior systems designer who worked on Starfield, shared insights on the game's development and suggested the expansive nature of the game might have had its downsides.

Microsoft Corp's MSFT Starfield boasts approximately 1,000 procedurally generated planets to explore, but many players have observed that a significant portion of this vast terrain feels desolate.

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In an interview with MinnMax, Nesmith said the decision to make Starfield's galaxy so massive was influenced by player expectations regarding the scale of Bethesda's open-world games.

Nesmith explained the development team initially aimed to establish the game's design philosophy in one solar system.

But, as the project progressed, they expanded to include multiple solar systems to meet player expectations.

He remarked the number of solar systems was almost arbitrarily chosen by game director Todd Howard but elaborated: "The more we went on, the more it was like, 'OK, so all core activity takes place in these two dozen in the settled systems and the rest of it is open space, but people love our big games. They love that open area to explore, so let's go ahead and let 'em have it."

Nevertheless, Nesmith expressed concerns this expansion might have come at the expense of more meaningful content within the game: "I think some of the exploration stuff didn't come through as well as it could've because they decided to make other choices."

He emphasized game development involves making tough decisions and studios are aware of the trade-offs they make during the process.

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Photo: Bethesda via Steam