Bethesda has become well-known for its in-depth dialogue and deeply story-driven approach to game design, and its upcoming space-travel title Starfield looks like it will be no exception.

In a recent interview on Bethesda's YouTube channel, game director Todd Howard, who has amassed great acclaim for leading teams in the development of games in the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series, pointed out that the number of lines of recorded dialogue in his upcoming game has eclipsed the 250,000 mark. Specifically, an infographic shown during the interview showed Starfield's lines of dialogue at 252,953+, more than doubling Fallout 4's 111,000 and quadrupling The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's 60,000.



The game will incorporate what Howard calls his "favorite speech persuasion system," which he says is set apart from the standard and will require a point-spending speech check system. "It feels like it's part of the dialogue, but you're spending points to persuade them," he explains. "It feels natural, not like I've entered some other mode ... I'm in this mode of persuading you to get what I want."



He further describes the system as "like a classic Bethesda-style dialogue," through which the player will have to look at the character to whom they're talking, read their emotions, and select from a series of options to move the conversation forward. "The impact is really there," he adds.

Another topic of discussion during the interview is Starfield's trait system. Every character will be built differently, but if a player grows to dislike a trait possessed by their character, Howard says that player doesn't need to start over with a brand-new one. Rather than starting from scratch, they'll be able to undertake a certain quest or activity to remove the unwanted trait from their character. "I love our trait list, it's super fun, but each one obviously comes with some sort of negative as well," he explained.

Additionally, while it's up to the player community to decide whether Starfield should be considered "hard sci-fi," Howard said one ease-of-play mechanic incorporated into the game is that the player's ship will never run out of fuel. Earlier playtests of the game didn't include this failsafe, and though the ability to become stranded without fuel would be more realistic, Howard described the abrupt halt to the action as "too punitive."

Starfield has no official release date yet, but it is expected to make its debut in 2023 for Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Posted: Oct 14, 2022 9:08 pm
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/starfield-dialogue-system-exceeds-250000-lines/