Developer Explains Why Starfield NPCs Look Like They’re Dead Inside

Playing Starfield and wondering why the NPCs look like they’re dead inside? One developer reckons they’ve worked out why.

Character and tech artist Delaney King took to X to post a fascinating look into the eyes of Starfield’s characters, explaining why their smiles look fake.

According to King, who has worked on the likes of Dragon Age and God of War, Starfield character smiles have an issue with the orbicularis oculi muscle not contracting, which creates a “Duchenne smile”. Rather than look genuine, this sort of smile makes it look like you’re lying or constipated. If you watch The Boys, you’ll know this smile from the superb Anthony Starr, who plays Homelander.

When you smile and this muscle doesn’t contract, you get a “fake smile” or a “liars smile”. pic.twitter.com/SPiZdstEc9

— Delaney King (@delaneykingrox) September 10, 2023

King references Hungarian model András Arató, who was made famous by the Hide the Pain Harold meme. His orbicularis oculi doesn’t contract far even with a genuine smile, resulting in the smile we’ve all seen across the internet for so many years.

This smile probably bugs you for some reason you can’t put your finger on as will. Allow me.

This is the zygomaticus major muscle. It contracts when you smile, pulling the corners of the mouth up towards the Zygomatic process.

But here it isn’t pic.twitter.com/nu12XqTnZ8

— Delaney King (@delaneykingrox) September 10, 2023

The upshot of this is that classic creepy NPC face look, which King said can be improved via a manual tweak pass.

András Arató is famous for his smile. It appears his orbicularis oculi doesn’t contract very far even with a genuine smile, resulting in that classic “dead inside” meme.
The crows feet suggest the muscle is tense, but it just doesn’t seem to go as far as your average joe. pic.twitter.com/PDE2Fb4PLD

— Delaney King (@delaneykingrox) September 10, 2023

See what I mean? pic.twitter.com/rDfzrQQdRY

— Delaney King (@delaneykingrox) September 10, 2023

Meanwhile, King commented on how Starfield NPC eyes move around in sockets without moving the upper eyelid to cover the upper eye white. “Exposing the upper whites of the eyes should be intentional,” King said, posting images of Starfield NPCs looking more than a little… intense.

The only time the upper eye whites should be exposed is when you pull out a fucking gun or if they do. pic.twitter.com/xD6VMFR2J8

— Delaney King (@delaneykingrox) September 10, 2023

Exposing the upper whites of the eyes should be intentional. pic.twitter.com/zu7ppha7xr

— Delaney King (@delaneykingrox) September 10, 2023

King’s thread is a fascinating insight in the difficulties video game developers face when creating realistic faces. As King concludes: “Faces are hard.” But Bethesda games are often criticised more than other games for their creepy NPC faces.

“A bunch of people across several departments have to coordinate and have the money and time to do it right,” King explained. “And the odds of them all knowing both human facial anatomy, expressions and visual communication queues isn’t high.”

There’s a lot going on in the world of Starfield. It’s seen over six million players since launch, making Starfield Bethesda’s biggest ever game launch. Players have worked out how to make ships the AI can’t hit, discovered many hidden references to other games like Skyrim, and used thousands of potatoes to show off its “mind-blowing” physics.

If you’re interested in modding Starfield, check out IGN’s guide on how to install Starfield mods. However, if you’re still just getting started, here are all the things to do first in Starfield.

IGN’s review explains the pull to seek out Starfield’s “immense amount of quality roleplaying quests and interesting NPCs” is strong, despite a rough start and some core aggravations.

Image credit: @delaneykingrox / X
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.