Pete Hines isn’t the only major departure from Bethesda Softworks. Will Shen, lead quest designer and design director on Starfield, has also announced that he’s leaving the studio. He’ll join Something Weird Games, a studio of former talent from BioWare, Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment, to work on Wyrdsong, their debut RPG.
Speaking to Game Developer, Shen said he will act as a bridge between the narrative and design teams at Something Weird. He’s also assisting in evolving the studio’s technology in the coming years. “The nice thing about an established team and established toolset is that you already have a common language, but one of the exciting things about a new place with a new toolset is that you’re building that language together and can do that with a lot of momentum.
“Momentum is really key in game development – it’s staggering how much you can get done in a short amount of time when everyone is feeling that energy. Teams can get into a flow state, and you can get a sense of what it’s like when a project is really gaining ground and moving quickly.”
Something Weird Games was founded by Jeff Gardiner, who has worked on Fallout 3, Fallout 4, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and much more. Announced at last year’s Gamescom Opening Night Live, Wyrdsong is an open-world RPG and “ game.
Set in Portugal, it will have choices and consequences, dialogue trees and even unreliable narrators. A release date and platforms haven’t been announced, but stay tuned for more details in the coming months (and potentially years).