Starfield: a daytime shot of the city of New Atlantis.
Image via Bethesda/Steam.

Starfield’s design director really opens up about negative feedback

"Nobody sets out to make a bad game."

There’s been a lot of criticism in the gaming world lately. Yes, I’m talking about The Day Before, but it goes beyond that. In fact, negative feedback from the community seems to have gotten so bad that Starfield‘s design director has had a few (hundred) words to say about it.

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As reported by PC Gamer, Bethesda’s own Emil Pagliarulo decided to give an honest opinion about “how disconnected some players are from the realities of game development.” The thread – which goes on for 15 posts – offers a defense of studios, saying that “designers, programmers, artists, producers, and everyone else” work hard on their projects.

He does understand where frustrations come from, however. Post two starts by being a little understanding, saying that “when you’re a consumer and spend money on things, that gives you the right to complain about those things.”

The Starfield designer then says he doesn’t complain about games on social media for two reasons:

  1. He knows how difficult and time-consuming it is to make a video game.
  2. The fact that he works for a game studio would make it “uncool and unprofessional” to publicly criticize those who work in the industry.

Without wishing to quote the whole thread, the nuts and bolts of it is that Pagliarulo obviously feels there is too much negativity aimed at video games and the studios that make them. There are causes to have complaints, of course, but at the end of the day, “normal people have come together to work FOR YEARS for one goal – to bring you fun and happiness.”

It’s hard to say whether he’s talking specifically about Starfield or something else. It’s likely a mixture of many things. Whether you agree with him or not is up to you, but it’s obviously something he’s been wanting to get off his chest.


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Andrew Heaton
Andrew has been a gamer since the 17th century Restoration period. He now writes for a number of online publications, contributing news and other articles. He does not own a powdered wig.