Bethesda games are notorious for their bugs, particularly erstwhile classics like Fallout 4 and Skyrim. Though it's suffered from the occasional disappearing floor or faces, and might sometimes crash, Starfield remains less buggy than some of its Bethesda-built cousins. Nevertheless, in a new interview the space RPG's systems designer (and the lead designer of Skyrim) its that the studio's games could "have a higher degree of polish."
In an interview with Videogamer, the best RPG games of all time), fans aren't finding the funny side so much anymore, and instead are expecting a higher quality that correlates with ever-increasing game prices.
"I will be the first person to say that Bethesda Games could have a higher degree of polish," Nesmith says. The developer goes on to explain that the studio, and he, have benefited from their games having "such a wide and vast array of gameplay that a certain amount of lack of polish could be forgiven."
However, that level of polish "comes at a price," with Nesmith explaining it could result in a game being delayed by months on end. "That level of polish also comes at a price," he said. "Are you willing to let the game sit for six more months and be delayed six more months in order to try to polish it? You're still not going to get perfection, it's just going to be better."
Nesmith went on to explain that game marketing's role is to "manage expectations.
"The players expectations are that the game is flawless, that it has no bugs," he explained. That is their expectation. You don't have to like it, but it's there. And you aren't going to achieve it. So what marketing has to do is say, how can we get as close as possible to that expectation. How can we make it so these guys don't hate us for what's wrong and love us for what's right?"
But, developers "can't fix them all"," and "at some point you have to make the decision to publish, and to publish something you know has bugs," Nesmith explained.
It's a tough line to tread, with players getting frustrated over game delays, but even more frustrated when a game they've waited for is released with a vast array of bugs and glitches. Bethesda's next big undertaking, The Elder Scrolls 6, is expected to be massive, both in scale and ambition. Perhaps it depends on what players prefer. Would you rather a game take longer to come out, but arrive with a smaller number of bugs, or hit launch sooner despite some technical flaws?
For more games like Starfield, check out our top picks of the best Starfield mods.
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