Summary
Bethesda, the gaming industry giant behind many popular titles likeThe Elder Scrollsseries,Fallout 4, and most recentlyStarfield, prides itself on creating some of the most immersive action role-playing games ever made. In pursuing this interest, the developer has consistently crafted maps that defy logic in size, like theestimated 1,000,000 square miles inStarfield, which outstrips the formidableElder Scroll V: Skyrimby several degrees.
Besides more pronounced immersion mechanics like map size, intricate details have also contributed considerably to Bethesda’s success. For instance,Fallout 4enabled an NPC bot to say player-chosen names when referring to the created character. This small detail didn’t reappear in a Bethesda title untilStarfieldmade the rounds, and it’s something the developer should consider making a staple in future games.
Going Down Codsworth’s Path Could Be Beneficial for Future Bethesda Games
It’s common practice for role-playing games to use honorifics like Captain or rely on pronouns to refer to player-created characters, even with the layer of customization that is assigning a name. Presumably, this is because of the limitations on recording lines, since there’s only a finite number of names used in voice acting. Diverging from the status quo,Fallout 4’s endearing robot butler, Codsworth, added an unexpected but most welcome personality boost.
Addressing the Sole Survivor by name made Codsworth feel much more than a mere game character and more like a familiar companion.Codsworth has about 1,200 names in his vocabulary, including some familiar ones from sci-fi movies like Kal-El, among others, and the gendered versions of each name, which he automatically detects and precedes with addresses of Mr or Ms. Some gamers proceeded to name themselves the most absurd things ever, mischievously making the innocent robot pronounce it, and several videos went viral based on that idea.
Starfield’s Vasco, the loyal robot companion, built on Codsworth’s legacy, never missing the opportunity to greet the players and address them as “Captain” right before calling out their selected names. This influenced players to prefer walking back to their ship instead of using the fast travel option, as Vasco is always standing guard right near the gangway, ready to welcome the captain back. With fast travel one of the problematic features in terms of reception, Vasco went a long way to makeStarfield’s gameplay more appealing.
Players can still input profane names, but it comes with a twist fromFallout 4almost a decade ago. Names couldn’t be changed once selected in the character creation menu, andStarfieldremedied this by featuring Enhance Clinics, which can be found in every major city across the Settled Systems. Characters' physical appearances and names can be changed for a fee of five hundred credits. This allows more people to play around with the mechanic without compelling them to start a new save just for the sake of it.
Future Games Could Add an Extra Layer of Advancement in Pronoun Positivity
Although it isn’t easy to define their impact in terms of metrics, Codsworth and Vasco’s performances have made the case for companions using custom player names to become a standard feature infuture Bethesda games. It provides a subtle yet effective way to enhance immersion and player connection to NPCs, which is priceless considering the ever-expanding open-world status in gaming. Further improving this feature and incorporating it into other supporting characters would be easier said than done, as it would be arduous to imitate with human voices rather than robotic ones. However, the path is worth exploring given fan reception.
Incorporating the mechanic into conversations like Codsworth did inFallout 4would also be more appreciated than Bethesda’s route with Vasco, who only acknowledges the name when greeting players. Additionally, with increased personalization in gender options, companions could refer to protagonists in any pronouns of their choosing. Picking personable moments to slide the player character’s chosen moniker into conversation was one of Codsworth’s strengths, and creating a similar experience in future games (The Elder Scrolls 6, for instance) would go a long way to competing against the best of the best in the role-playing space.
