Starfield's Revolutionary Character Creation Promises to Redefine Gaming for Generations

Starfield appears to be living up to fans' high hopes. After some missteps with Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, Bethesda seems to be giving it their all with Starfield, as evidenced by their recent in-depth gameplay presentation. The presentation lasted an impressive 45 minutes and provided a detailed breakdown of the game's major systems, while also teasing and hinting at what's to come.

Each of Starfield's lead developers took turns showcasing different aspects of the sci-fi RPG, including ground combat, space combat, ship customization, crewmates, story, and much more. The developers clearly outlined what players can expect and why they should be excited, without making unrealistic promises, a habit that Bethesda has been known for. However, among all of Starfield's innovative systems, its character customization stands out as a defining feature for this generation.

Starfield's Character Creator Goes Above and Beyond

Bethesda's previous RPGs have consistently included impressive character creators, and Fallout 3 is no exception. The game offers a memorable character creator that starts with players choosing a name and selecting presets for the character's sex, race, face, and hair.

Afterward, players have the option to further customize various cosmetic aspects, including the shape of the face, eyebrows, eyes, mouth, and cheeks. Fallout 3's character creator then advances the timeline by a few years, prompting players to allocate points in a charming SPECIAL baby book to determine their character's primary skills.

The character creator in Skyrim lacks the same functionality as Fallout 3. However, it greatly improves upon cosmetic customization options for players. After selecting their race, players can then customize their character's skin tone, sex, and weight. From there, players have the freedom to customize various facial elements such as the nose, eyes, ears, and jawline. They can also adjust skin tones for specific areas of the face.

In contrast, the character creator in Starfield offers the best of both worlds. It is designed to resemble the employee records of Argos Extractors. The character creation process begins with players choosing a preset profile. Afterward, they are presented with four distinct categories for customization: body, face, background, and traits. The body category allows players to determine the character's weight and stature using a circular chart, select from two different walk styles, and adjust the skin tone using a slider.

The face category closely follows Skyrim's example but enhances it by offering players more choices, including customizable teeth. Despite the increased range of options, Starfield's character creator remains user-friendly, with only one or two easily understandable sliders for customization.

However, the true innovation in Starfield's character creator lies in its background section. In addition to determining their character's appearance, players can select from a wide variety of backgrounds, each providing a unique backstory for their character. The Starfield gameplay trailer displayed 16 different backgrounds, with the potential for at least four more. These backgrounds encompass diverse roles such as Beast Hunter, Diplomat, Professor, and Gangster.

In addition to story details, these backgrounds provide the player with three Skills when starting the game. Bethesda also hinted that these backgrounds will play a crucial role in Starfield's quests, offering exclusive missions and objectives tied to each background. The last aspect of customization comes in the form of Traits, offering three optional modifiers that can impact gameplay and statistics. Among all the enhancements Starfield has to offer, its character creation stands out as one of its greatest strengths.

Starfield will be released on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.