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 envisioned to be much more violent, according to a former Bethesda artist. While Bethesda's first-person shooters are known for their gore, the visceral elements of Fallout did not make it into the studio's latest sci-fi adventure. The decision to reduce graphic violence in Starfield was deliberate, despite initial plans to include more intense scenes.

Bethesda did not completely avoid violence in Starfield. The game features central gunplay and melee combat, which many players feel is a significant improvement over Fallout 4. The combat mechanics in Starfield received careful attention, enhancing the shooting and slicing experiences. However, the studio ultimately decided to scale back the more graphic elements.

Dennis Mejillones, a character artist who worked on both Starfield and Fallout 4, discussed the game's violence in an interview with the Kiwi Talkz podcast on YouTube. He revealed that the game was initially planned to include decapitations and other kill animations, but technical challenges hindered these plans. The diverse range of suits and helmets in Starfield made animating such violent scenes difficult, risking unrealistic or buggy outcomes. Given the persistent technical issues Starfield faced even after several major updates, the decision to avoid further graphical complications seems justified.

Starfield Cut Decapitations for Technical and Tonal Reasons

The decision to exclude graphic violence was not solely due to technical issues. Mejillones highlighted that the gore in Fallout contributes to its humor, which does not align well with Starfield's intended tone. Although Starfield occasionally nods to Bethesda's more lighthearted and violent games, such as the recent addition of Doom-inspired content, it generally adopts a more subdued and realistic approach to the sci-fi genre. Over-the-top executions might have disrupted the game's immersion, feeling out of place in its narrative.

Fans have expressed a desire for more realism in Starfield, particularly criticizing the game's nightclubs as feeling tame and unconvincing compared to other gritty sci-fi titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Mass Effect. Adding humorous violence could have further undermined the game's grounding in reality. Considering these factors, Bethesda's choice to tone down the gore in Starfield, diverging from the trend seen in its previous shooters, appears to have been the right move.