Fans of video games have long been passionate about their favorite entertainment medium. With a subset of fans often expecting games to cater to their every expectation, it can feel personal when a game doesn’t meet these personal requirements, whether realistic or otherwise. This is amplified when a game has been in development for a significant period of time, such as Starfield. This has been clearly evident regarding the discourse surrounding Starfield’s minimalistic start screen and one’s interpretation of what that means for the development of the game itself. Starfield fans have hit back at said discourse by sharing some of the start screens for their favorite games.
Ubisoft threw the question to the community via Twitter and was met with a range of responses.
The replies were a mix of both busy and minimalistic start screen choices. It clearly indicates that it all boils down to personal preference and does not indicate how the game will play. Some replies focused on the start screens for their favorite titles, whilst others highlighted their favorite start screens regardless of whether it was their favorite game or not. Some of the standout choices were Mass Effect, Final Fantasy VII, Assassin’s Creed, and Halo 2. Nostalgia also played a significant role in some of these choices, with Kingdom Hearts receiving a mention due to the way that the moving music track ‘Dearly Beloved‘ made them feel whenever they started up the game.
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Starfield fans used this opportunity to mention that they do, in fact, like the start screen, with numerous people listing it as their favorite screen in the comments. Whether or not it is actually their favorite start screen or they are choosing it to be supportive of the developers is left up to personal interpretation. Either way, it is nice to see the community come together to hit back at the earlier claim by Mark Kern that the team rushed the game and had a lack of pride in their work solely due to their preferred start screen aesthetic.
What is interesting, though, is that if you look back to previous Bethesda releases, many of their start screens have taken the same minimalistic approach, with titles such as Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Mass Effect being incredibly popular and well-received titles. The Starfield design aligns perfectly with that of previous Bethesda games, and as fans have pointed out through sharing some of their favorite games, there is no direct correlation between a smooth, minimalistic design and a lack of developer pride in their work.
It is great to see the community come together in a positive way to support the hardworking team behind Starfield. It won’t be long until September 6, and players will soon be able to dive into the universe for themselves.
