Ex-Starfield dev dubs RPG’s design the “antithesis” of Fallout 4, admitting getting “lost” within the huge sci-fi game

Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield is a troubled RPG, but one with a lot of great parts. With additional updates in the works as the studio moves to work on The Elder Scrolls 6, there’s a lot more Starfield on the way, but some of its biggest issues may not be fixable.

In an interview with VideoGamer for an upcoming episode of the VideoGamer Podcast, ex-Starfield developer Nate Purkeypile looked back on one of the game’s biggest issues. After leaving Bethesda to create indie game The Axis Unseen, Purkeypile explained that Starfield’s main city, New Atlantis, was the “antithesis” of Fallout 4’s Diamond City.

Starfield vs Fallout 4

Purkeypile, who designed Starfield’s Akila City, Neon and Fallout 4’s Diamond City, explained that playing through Starfield proved that its main city was poorly structured. New Atlantis, the biggest city in the game, was confusing to navigate compared to locations in previous Bethesda games, leading players—and even Purkeypile—to become “lost” within its futuristic walls.

“I got lost in that all the time when I tried to play the game”

STARFIELD DEVELOPER NATE PURKEYPILE REFLECTING ON NEW ATLANTIS.

“I didn’t work that much on that city,” Purkeypile explained. “I worked on Akila and Neon a fair amount, but New Atlantis, I wasn’t really involved in that much. But I got lost in that all the time when I tried to play the game too it’s so big and Diamond City, you can see, is kind of like the antithesis of that like sprawling city thing.”

When Pukeypile was working on Diamond City in Fallout 4, it was important to make sure that everything was easily identifiable, hence the game’s large central hub with vendors, hairdressers and more. Some of this design can be seen in Starfield’s Akila City with its main strip, but New Atlantis is completely different.

“I was, like, you’re gonna have to go to this place so many times and sell stuff all the time. I wanted it all to be like right there as much as possible,” Purkeypile explained.

As the most important city in Starfield, New Atlantis’ confusing design is a huge detriment to the game’s early experience. While the game now has an actual map feature for cities alongside a feature to highlight important spots in your HUD, the main design of the game’s main location is still rather annoying,

For more Bethesda coverage, read about Skyrim lead Bruce Nesmith’s thoughts on why Creation Engine should not be abandoned in the future or how Starfield added way more loading screens late in development.