Ex-Starfield Artist Explains Cut of Graphic Violence

Summary

• Starfield's lack of graphic violence was an intentional choice largely due to technical issues.
• It also wouldn't fit Starfield's tone, said Dennis Mejillones, a character artist who worked at Bethesda on Starfield and Fallout 4.

Starfield was originally planned to include much more violent elements, but a former Bethesda artist has shed light on why the game's gore was dialed back. While Bethesda's first-person shooters are known for their graphic violence, Starfield took a different approach. The decision to minimize graphic violence was deliberate, although it wasn't always the intended direction for the game.

Despite this, Starfield doesn't shy away from violence entirely. Combat, including gunplay and melee fights, remains a core component of the RPG. Many players have praised Starfield's combat mechanics as an improvement over those in Fallout 4, highlighting the attention to detail in its shooting and melee systems. The game was initially set to feature even more intense violence, but Bethesda opted to reduce the graphic details.

Dennis Mejillones, a character artist who worked on both Starfield and Fallout 4 at Bethesda, discussed the game's approach to violence in an interview on the Kiwi Talkz podcast on YouTube. He revealed that Starfield was originally intended to include decapitations and other kill animations. However, technical challenges related to the game's diverse array of suits and helmets made it difficult to animate such scenes realistically without introducing bugs. Given Starfield's persistent technical issues even after several updates, the decision to avoid further graphical complications seems justified.

Starfield Cut Decapitations for Technical and Tonal Reasons

The decision to cut graphic violence from Starfield wasn't solely based on technical difficulties. Mejillones also noted that the gore in Fallout adds to its humor, which doesn't align well with Starfield's more serious and realistic tone. Although Starfield includes nods to Bethesda's more violent and humorous titles, such as the recent addition of Doom-inspired content, it primarily offers a more grounded sci-fi experience. Over-the-top executions might have disrupted the game's immersive atmosphere.

Some fans have expressed a desire for greater realism in Starfield, particularly criticizing the game's nightclubs as feeling tame compared to other gritty sci-fi titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Mass Effect. Adding tongue-in-cheek violence could have exacerbated these concerns, making the game feel less authentic. Ultimately, Bethesda's choice to tone down the gore in Starfield, despite deviating from the studio's tradition in other shooters, appears to have been a wise one.