Those beards are looking a bit iffy, mind
As promised, Bethesda gave us an extended look atStarfieldthis evening as part of a dedicated presentation attatched toMicrosoft’s larger not-E3 showcase. Alongside a fresh look at the game’s 1000 planets, combat and skill trees, we were given a closer peek at arguably the most important part of the whole game: itscharacter creator.
Described as the “simplest character creator” the team have ever made, Starfield will let you dig into the finer details of your space captain’s face, right down to their teeth for reasons I can’t quite work out yet. An improvement on the creators found in previous Bethesda games, there’s nothing here that looks particularly innovative compared to otheropen-world gamesof this ilk. What’s interesting is that this time around, the team have used the in-game tool to create every last one of Starfield’s NPCs.
Who cares if you can explore every moon you can see ominously hovering above the surface of a dusty planet. The new pitch will be as follows: see that random lad leaning against the bar of a space canteen? You can replicate every detail of his face, and take his indentity as your own. You can travel the vast expanse of the galaxy as that unassuming fella who was waiting to buy a hot bowl of space gruel. He’ll never even suspect that you’re out there, living a life he couldn’t even dream of having. You can do that, now. Thanks Todd. That’s cool and normal.
Once you’re done sculpting your space captain, you’ll be tasked withselecting a backgroundfor your freshly created character. Backgrounds serve as origin stories, filling in who you were before the start of the game. Whether a bounty hunter, a chef or a professor, each choice will provide you with a set of three starting skills. On top of this, you’ll also be able to choose up to three traits. Functioning in a similar way to those found in Bethesda’s ownFalloutgames,traits come with various pros and cons. An introvert uses more oxygen when adventuring withcompanions, for example, presumably because they’re nervous around other people. Mood. Kid Stuff, on the other hand, will subtract credits from you automatically to send back home to your parents - but selecting it will generate parents for your character to visit within the game world. Pretty neat.
The Starfield direct lasted for just under an hour, revealing a load of new stuff in the process. If you’re looking to find out more make sure to check out our dedicatedStarfieldtag. Did you miss the Xbox showcase entirely? Don’t worry, we’re got you covered witheverything that was revealedduring Microsoft’s not-E3 presentation.
