The gaming industry is full of highly creative people, and it’s normal when one decides to apply their creativity someplace else. For Starfield design director Will Shen, that “someplace else” is ex-Bethesda project lead Jeff Gardiner’s Something Wicked Games.
Shen is a veteran of Bethesda whose work experience stretched from Fallout 3 to the highly successful Starfield. According to Games Radar, Shen initially worked as a lead quest designer for the open-world space RPG and later on was appointed as design director.
Something Wicked Games is the first all-remote games development studio. Shen will now be part of a team including Obsidian Entertainment's Robert Land, Akil Hooper, and BioWare Austin’s Jessica Silwinski.
This new job means that Shen will be working at home full-time. When asked by Game Developer to describe his new role, the former Bethesda design head said he’ll be in charge of bridging the studio’s narrative and design personnel.
Shen also shared his thoughts on what Gardiner had previously described as “constructive conflict,” which refers to environments where team members can argue but in a positive manner.
As one of the key personnel in Something Wicked Games tasked with fostering that environment, Shen said it’s important to establish that “as early as possible” to avoid situations where everyone is coerced to agree to an arrangement.
Shen departed from Bethesda immediately after the studio’s Senior Vice President for Publishing, Peter Hines, announced his retirement.
Hines said on X that he considers the success of Starfield’s launch as the perfect moment to step down after an impressive 24-year run with the company, which produced the unforgettable Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises.
Even before the numbers started cascading after the full launch on September 6, fans have opined whether or not there will be a mobile tie-in to Starfield similar to the Fallout Shelter mobile game for Fallout 4.
However, the closest that Bethesda released before launch is the Starfield Watch companion app to the Chronomark smartwatch, exclusive to Constellation members.
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