Bethesda games have long been known for being released in buggy states, which are severely unpolished.
Skyrim Lead Designer describes the path of game development, showing the line between expectations and reality.
Ultimately, it’s impossible for every game to meet fan expectations perfectly.
The buggy state of modern Bethesda games has become its own meme. With Fallout 76, Starfield, and the Fallout 4 next-gen update all launching in less-than-favorable states, at this point, having an unpolished Bethesda game is the norm, not the outlier.
With The Elder Scrolls 6 around the corner as Bethesda’s next big RPG release, many of us are not only speculative about the quality of the upcoming title but genuinely worried that Bethesda’s next release will fall in line with the general lack of polish they’ve become known for.
This led to a recent interview from videogamer.com with Bruce Nesmith, the Lead Designer of Skyrim and Starfield Systems Designer. In the interview, Nesmith discussed what is causing all this instability and how it has become standard for Bethesda games to come packaged with bugs and glitches.
Nesmith states, “I will be the first person to say that Bethesda Games could be polished more,” but at the same time, Bethesda titles often do so much; he understands that a perfectly polished game isn’t always comparable with the time it takes to do so, as “Having an NPC run in place in front of a wall for a little while became acceptable because of the 17 things you could do with that NPC.
More importantly, Nesmith poses a question that many game developers have had to consider over the last few years: “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?”
As consumers, it’s easy to say, “they should’ve taken time to polish this,” or “this should have been out much sooner,” without realizing the factual cost-benefit analysis of the whole ordeal. As we saw with Cyberpunk 2077, making a list of all bugs and going down the list to fix the biggest ones first can take years of effort.
Regarding Starfield, Nesmith states that “because you have so many working elements that are trying to interact with one another, that to have a bug-free release is impossible.” While we agree when he states that no game is truly bug-free, the margin from buggy to unplayable is wide and doesn’t ultimately forgive all the broken games we’ve seen released.
Expectations VS Reality
Nothing is more punishing as a game lover than being excited about something for years, only for it to release unplayable. But many of us have already found ourselves in this situation, with a Russian roulette wheel striking down our favorite franchises with T-poses and blue screens.
Newsmith illustrates, “In marketing, what you’re looking to do is manage expectations.” He goes on to explain that:
the players expect that the game is flawless, that it has no bugs… and you aren’t going to achieve it.
So, this final statement is a haunting one for game developers. You want to make something unique and perfect but can never hit that mark 100%, deliver something every fan will say is what they expected, and all you can do is try your best to meet expectations.
We’re going to go back through gaming history to some of your favorites and find the games that just can’t make the cut anymore.
As games have only gotten more challenging to produce, especially the lifelike open worlds Bethesda has become known for delivering, this interview has helped us understand the state of game development at Bethesda. To be honest, it doesn’t help with our expectations for the upcoming Elder Scrolls 6.
If Bethesda has any means to tow that line between expectations and reality, making a product that may not fulfill all fan expectations but delivers in the most significant ways, maybe this is finally a wake-up call to go the extra mile.
With The Elder Scrolls 6 long in the oven, we hope this is the first time our longings for a truly polished Bethesda release will finally be met.
Create your own story in Bethesda’s epic open-world (or open-galaxy) RPG. With factions to join, wars to fight, and over 1000 planets to explore, Starfield is the legendary RPG developer’s most ambitious game yet.
Systems
Released
September 6, 2023
Engine
proprietary engine
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
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