A new video blog for Bethesda’s space epic RPG has been released, titled Made For Wanderers, with game director Todd Howard in conversation with key members from the team. The opening quotes give an impression of the scope of the game and the focus on player choice. “It’s a level of immersion that we really focus on, you’re not just playing a game but really living in this world, in this universe,” says Istvan Pely, lead artist. Design director Emil Pagliarulo describes the game as “a giant open world for the player to do what they want”, with lead quest designer Will Shen adding: “You feel like you’ve had an impact on the world, you really feel like you’re there”. “The more we can put you in the situation where you’re going to decide - that’s what makes video games the best form of entertainment that they are,” says Howard. Pely says the team “embrace chaos” when it comes to the player interacting with the world. That begins with creating a character. Bethesda is returning to the character definition of older hardcore RPGs, allowing players to define their stats and their background but in a “new way”. Bethesda has scanned real world models, similar to the photogrammetry for landscapes, so that both the player character and the NPCs are as impactful and believable as possible. A number of factions will be available in the game, as previously reported, which determine the starting background for the player character. Three are depicted in the video blog. There’s the United Colonies, representing the future of space republic idealised; the Freestar Collective offering the space western fantasy; and Ryujin Industries, which represents corporate life. “‘What are the groups that would make [the world] feel whole and believable?’ And then, ‘How does the player interact with them?’” Howard poses. Another option is the Crimson Fleet space pirates, both a foe in the game and a faction the player can join - either as a bad guy, or as a space cop to report back from the inside. Companion interactivity has also been a priority, with the team leaning into how those characters feel about the player. As such, companions will comment on player activity throughout the game so “you think it’s a real person”. One companion revealed is a robot named Vasco, who refers to the player as Captain in the video. There will also be a persuasion minigame with which to interact with NPCs. This takes inspiration from the old Oblivion system, but the conversational system is designed so there definitely isn’t the “right thing to say”, further emphasising player freedom. “At the end of it we want the players to have told their own journey, but then look back at it and we’re asking the big questions: ‘Why are we all here?’ ‘Where is it leading?’ ‘And what’s next for humanity?’” says Howard. We’ll find out when the game releases on Xbox and PC on 11th November.
