Starfield’s Universe: Ex-Bethesda Dev Reveals How He’d Handle 1,000 Planets Differently

Starfield, Bethesda’s ambitious space RPG, took us on a journey to a universe with a thousand planets. While the sheer scale was mind-boggling, not everyone believes it hit the mark perfectly. Recently, a seasoned Bethesda Game Studios veteran, Nate Purkeypile, shared his honest take on the game’s planet design, and let’s just say he would have done things very differently if he were calling the shots.

For those unfamiliar, Purkeypile is no stranger to crafting expansive worlds. He was a senior artist who played a crucial role in bringing beloved titles like Fallout 3, Skyrim, and Fallout 4 to life, even contributing to the early development of Starfield itself. His insights come from years of deep involvement with Bethesda’s unique brand of open-world magic.

So, what’s his main beef with Starfield’s cosmic playground? According to Purkeypile, the way the game handles its vast number of planets doesn’t quite align with what makes a Bethesda game truly special. He believes that focusing on quantity over quality, particularly with procedural generation, diluted the core experience. “If I was in charge of Starfield, I would not have done it that way at all,” he stated.

Instead of a thousand planets, Purkeypile envisioned a more focused approach: a smaller number of handcrafted planets, each with unique, bespoke layouts. He highlighted how the current system often leads to repetitive content, even during main questlines, something he noticed early on in development. He drew comparisons to the procedural planets in Mass Effect 1, which, in his view, also suffered from a lack of distinctiveness.

The “Bethesda surprise” – that exhilarating feeling of stumbling upon a hidden cave, an unexpected side quest, or a quirky character just by exploring off the beaten path – is a cornerstone of their games. Purkeypile feels that Starfield’s current design, with its stitched-together environments and less intentional placement of content, diminishes this sense of discovery. He pointed out how major cities might be impressive, but the areas immediately outside them often feel empty and illogical within the world’s context.

He clarified that if a game aims for thousands of planets, it needs to commit fully to the “No Man’s Sky” route, where procedural generation truly creates unique and diverse content every time, rather than just rearranging existing assets. For him, the current approach in Starfield doesn’t quite hit that procedural mark.

It’s important to note that Purkeypile doesn’t consider Starfield a bad game. His critique is more about the organizational philosophy and how it impacts the player’s sense of wonder and exploration. He’s now running his own indie studio, Just Purkey Games, continuing to shape new gaming experiences.

Meanwhile, Bethesda remains committed to Starfield’s future. The developers have confirmed that the space RPG “remains an important part of our future,” boasting over 17 million players already. With Year 3 content on the horizon, it seems the journey through Starfield’s universe is far from over, perhaps even evolving in ways that address some of these design discussions.

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