The path from idea to finished product in the huge field of game development is frequently paved with unforeseen obstacles and last-minute modifications. This was the situation with Starfield, Bethesda’s much awaited space role-playing game, which has a vast cosmos with more than 1,000 planets. However, Masada 3 is the only one where the main quest’s conclusion occurs. At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, former Starfield lead quest designer Will Shen disclosed that the development of this crucial last mission was a race against time.
The final quest of Starfield is a grand space opera in miniature, beginning with an orbiting space battle and descending into a ground skirmish through hordes of enemies, culminating in a multi-dimensional showdown. This ambitious finale, however, was not part of a meticulously planned development schedule but a product of ‘necessity and urgency,’ according to Shen. The quest design team, already stretched thin, had to hit what Shen referred to as the ‘panic button’ to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the game’s narrative.
The development of Starfield was a colossal undertaking, with a team size that ballooned from around 100 people during Skyrim’s production to over 500 for Starfield. This growth, while indicative of the game’s ambitious scope, brought its own set of complications. Collaboration became a Herculean task, with departments scrambling for resources and often declining requests for assistance. Shen described a ‘silo effect’ where the focus shifted from the game’s needs to departmental priorities, bogging down even simple collaborative efforts.
As the project developed, it became clear that the primary quest required a pivotal destination to bring the narrative to a close. Shen turned to senior level designer Steve Cornett as time was running out, and he came up with the innovative idea of dimension hopping. This idea deftly avoided the necessity of producing new assets under time limitations by enabling players to return to important spots from earlier in the game.
The player is not duped by the last-minute nature of Starfield’s last objective, despite the behind-the-scenes chaos. For a more seamless experience, various aspects, such as the monotonous fights against Starborn copies and mercenaries, might have been simplified. A quintessential Bethesda touch, the choice to end the climactic confrontation without fighting provides a much-needed break from the action.
The story of the creation of Starfield’s last adventure serves as a microcosm of the difficulties encountered when creating AAA video games. It emphasizes how crucial it is for big teams to have clear communication and common objectives. Even while the finished product might not show the turbulent journey to completion, the industry can learn a lot from the tale behind it. Shen underlined that regular project-level communication is essential to maintaining a large team’s alignment and emphasis on providing a seamless gaming experience; emergency-driven collaboration should not be the norm.
The development team’s inventiveness and tenacity are demonstrated by Starfield’s last mission. It serves as a reminder that creativity can flourish in the face of adversity and provide ground-breaking ideas that surpass time and resource limitations. Knowing what it needed to make that experience a reality gives gamers starting the last leg of their Starfield journey a deeper respect for the adventure that awaits them on Masada 3.
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Starfield’s lead quest designer had ‘absolutely no time’ and had to hit the ‘panic button’ so the game would have a satisfying final quest
[PCGAMER] Starfield’s lead quest designer had ‘absolutely no time’ and had to hit the ‘panic button’ so the game would have a satisfying final quest
Starfield’s lead quest designer had ‘absolutely no time’ and had to hit the ‘panic button’ so the game would have a satisfying final quest
