Starfield's character creator is so versatile, Bethesda used it to create the game's NPCs

As promised, Bethesda gave us an extended look at Starfield this evening as part of a dedicated presentation attatched to Microsoft's larger not-E3 showcase. Alongside a fresh look at the game's 1000 planets, combat and skill trees, we were given a closer peek at arguably the most important part of the whole game: its character creator.

Described as the "simplest character creator" the team have ever made, Starfield will let you dig into the finer details of your space captain's face, right down to their teeth for reasons I can't quite work out yet. An improvement on the creators found in previous Bethesda games, there's nothing here that looks particularly innovative compared to other open-world games of this ilk. What's interesting is that this time around, the team have used the in-game tool to create every last one of Starfield's NPCs.

Who cares if you can explore every moon you can see ominously hovering above the surface of a dusty planet. The new pitch will be as follows: see that random lad leaning against the bar of a space canteen? You can replicate every detail of his face, and take his indentity as your own. You can travel the vast expanse of the galaxy as that unassuming fella who was waiting to buy a hot bowl of space gruel. He'll never even suspect that you're out there, living a life he couldn't even dream of having. You can do that, now. Thanks Todd. That's cool and normal.

Once you're done sculpting your space captain, you'll be tasked with selecting a background for your freshly created character. Backgrounds serve as origin stories, filling in who you were before the start of the game. Whether a bounty hunter, a chef or a professor, each choice will provide you with a set of three starting skills. On top of this, you'll also be able to choose up to three traits. Functioning in a similar way to those found in Bethesda's own Fallout games, traits come with various pros and cons. An introvert uses more oxygen when adventuring with companions, for example, presumably because they're nervous around other people. Mood. Kid Stuff, on the other hand, will subtract credits from you automatically to send back home to your parents - but selecting it will generate parents for your character to visit within the game world. Pretty neat.

The Starfield direct lasted for just under an hour, revealing a load of new stuff in the process. If you're looking to find out more make sure to check out our dedicated Starfield tag. Did you miss the Xbox showcase entirely? Don't worry, we're got you covered with everything that was revealed during Microsoft's not-E3 presentation.

NotE3 and Summer Game Fest 2023 is over for another year. You can find out all the latest news by visiting our E3 2023 hub, or you can catch up with our round-up posts of everything that was announced at Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Games Showcase, the PC Gaming Show, Day Of The Devs, and our top highlights from the Wholesome Direct.