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Starfield's lead quest designer leaves Bethesda

Draugoth

Gold Member
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Starfield’s lead quest designer, also a Bethesda design director, is leaving the studio to help other genre veterans make another open-world RPG.

Will Shen was the lead quest designer and eventually design director on Starfield - meaning he’s responsible for some of the space epic’s very best moments - but he’s actually been working on Bethesda RPGs since Fallout 3. In an interview with Game Developer, Shen confirmed that he’s now joining developer Something Weird Games, a studio that was founded by another ex-Bethesda lead. The team now houses an all-star lineup of RPG developers with former BioWare, Bethesda, and Obsidian staff employed at the new studio.

Shen said his new role would bridge the gap between the studio’s narrative and design teams to help the game achieve a more cohesive vision.

“I think one of the things that makes triple-A role-playing games really come together is when it feels like the game has some kind of singular direction.
 
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Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
It's becoming more and more clear that Starfield was an unmitigated disaster and a complete flop.

We're going to see an unnatural amount of exodus as a result of it and probably somewhat of a reduction in force.

Some of that has to do with the expectations Microsoft created for it, some will be the game itself, and some of it will be putting this game on GamePass.

It probably needed a year or two more or a grander scope from the outset and it really needed that PS5 B2P revenue. The timing against Baldur's Gate couldn't have been worse not to mention the Cyberpunk expansion and it is going to be a complete ghost during the holiday season having unsuccesful moved the needle for Xbox Series.

This is precisely what myself and many are warning about when it comes to ABK. I'm sure some people will suggest this is just the regular grind of people coming and leaving studios, but it's only the start of it.
 
I don't think that Elder Scrolls VI will have any key people working on it from Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim.

You just know it won't be the same at this point, aside from having the same engine.
You think Todd will leave? He didn't imply anything of the sort in his latest interviews.
 
Maybe some of our beloved studios are not what they once were.

Or maybe we're on that path.

We've seen the cycle countless times, might be Bethesda's turn in the barrel. Though it seems like they've been in the barrel for a few years now. Eventually the hype will fade and the game will have to speak for itself.
 

artsi

Member
You think Todd will leave? He didn't imply anything of the sort in his latest interviews.

Todd might be there but 4-5 years will be a long time to make a game if trusted people around him are leaving.

Sometimes the company just doesn't feel the same after an acquisition. Someone else is in charge now.
 
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bitbydeath

Member
I don't think that Elder Scrolls VI will have any key people working on it from Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim.

You just know it won't be the same at this point, aside from having the same engine.

It’ll probably be rebooted/retooled at some point and moved to Unreal.
 
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Sorcerer

Member
Next Todd Howard leaves bethesda. New Elder Scrolls 6 game director Phil Spencer confirmed.
I'm guessing when MS bought Bethesda, they bought Todd also. I'm sure Todd is under contract to stay at Bethesda for a very long time and the day he can jump ship will be a lucrative day for him indeed.
 
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ShaiKhulud1989

Gold Member
They need to change someone who is actually in control for BGS games to evolve. Maybe not Toddster, but someone like Emil Pagliarulo really should be demoted. Starfield narrative approaches are so crude and ancient it’s not even funny.
 
Bruh. Between his posts on Naughty Dog the last few days and now reading his take on Starfield.

It's just too much 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I don't use the word but it starts with F and ends in Y. 😅
"Friday"?

This is the same company that thought buying Rare meant they bought Donkey Kong
Lmao is that true? MS lawyers might not know video games, but surely they understand intellectual property agreements
 
Seriously, the cracks started showing in Fallout 4 and I think it's a fair assessment that if you stopped playing that you'll stop playing Starfield.
Fallout 4 is leagues funner than Starfield. I tried to like Starfield, but I can’t. Compared to their other titles like Skyrim, Fallout 3 and 4 and Oblivion, it sucks. I went back and started a new game on F4 recently and im having way more fun than I did trying to enjoy Starfield.
 

Spitfire098

Member
Isn't working at MS a badge of honor in the tech world? With salary, benefits, stocks, etc. Why not transfer internally? I wouldnt know since I work in health care 🤷‍♂️
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Gotta wait for those September NPD results. God help the fanboys if xbox still came in third.
Bored Daily Show GIF by CTV Comedy Channel

Even coming in 2nd is no bueno, because the following month will be 3rd again and it is going to be a rough holiday season.

You buy a company for 7.5 billion and their big game that has been in development for more than half a decade entirely fails to make a small shift of the needle.

I don't think that's being called a fanboy to suggest that that's a failure and a disaster. I really feel like some people are so disassociated from reality that they can no longer call objective balls and strikes anymore.

If you had to say so far, whether or not Zenimax has been worth the 7.5 billion, what would your answers be? Mine is a no, and it's been enough time to come to an early conclusion on that. The key word being early. Enough time has gone by for people to be evaluated and judged.
 

Astray

Member
Will Shen has been a very big presence in the pre-release interviews. Very strange to see him leave like this.
 
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