“Don’t fool yourself into thinking you know why it is the way it is”
Starfield did not receive the positive reception that many expected, and many people have theories as to why. This has apparently prompted Starfield design director Emil Pagliarulo to reflect on how confident some of those critics are in their opinions, despite being “disconnected” from the process of actually making games.
“Funny how disconnected some players are from the realities of game development, and yet they speak with complete authority,” Pagliarulo started off with. “I mean, I can guess what it takes to make a Hostess Twinkie, but I don’t work in the factory, so what the hell do I really know? Not a lot.”
“Part of me really gets it. When you’re a consumer and spend money on things, that gives you the right to complain about those things. I spend a LOT of money on games every year, and sometimes it takes a lot for me not to scream into the internet’s collective consciousness.”
Pagliarulo acknowledges that consumers have the right to complain about the products they purchase, but he refrains from publicly criticizing games out of “respect for my fellow devs” and because “it would be uncool and unprofessional of me to do so. But sometimes I want to. Oh boy.”
The director recalls writing game reviews for the 1995-founded website Adrenaline Vault when he “would say whatever I wanted about a game,” with some negative comments referring to him as “being a sarcastic asshat.”
“But throughout that time, I actually had no inkling what game development was actually like. How hard the designers, programmers, artists, producers, and everyone else worked,” he went on. “The struggle to bring a vision to life with constantly shifting resources. The stress.”
His perspective on game development has shifted as a result of his involvement in the process”I can’t not share the truth,” he adds. “And that truth is, nobody sets out to make a bad game. And most game devs are incredibly talented… even if the game they release isn’t up to par.”