Starfield, new images and details on the setting and construction of the universe

Starfield

Starfield is certainly one of the most important games presented during E3 2021, although practically nothing has been seen of the actual game, so we welcome some other details and new images that may derive from statements made by Todd Howard and Bethesda on this sci-fi blockbuster for PC and Xbox Series X | S.

We refer also in this case to the article in the Washington Post that was published in the hours immediately following the presentation of Starfield at the Xbox and Bethesda E3 2021 Showcase, which shed light on some aspects of the game's development through an exclusive interview and also a sort of short video documentary, visible below.





After seeing the statements of Todd Howard, who defined Starfield a sort of Skyrim in space and a "Han Solo simulator", we also see other details concerning in particular the construction of the setting and the universe of the game. As previously reported, the game is a tribute to classic science fiction but also to the more realistic aspect of space travel, with references to NASA exploits and the like, which is reflected in the representation of technology and settings.

In Starfield, players take part in an organization called Constellation, a group of space explorers, with the ability to further characterize their character and change their background. The lead artist responsible for the game, Istvan Pely, has defined the style adopted for Starfield a sort of "NASA punk", in the sense that it starts from some real bases on the design of technologies and structures but applies several imaginative and purely sci-fi solutions to them. .

According to reports by Todd Howard, all the various technological elements, such as the controls of the ship visible in the trailer, actually have a specific meaning and function, they are not elements placed at random as aesthetic trappings. The idea is not to stage settings that are too sterile or elegant, but to show a "lived" technology.

The game world in Starfield is the result of a long elaboration that Bethesda keeps in an archive, a which developers must follow to build a world that is as cohesive and stylistically coherent as possible, to get an idea of ​​the inspirations used, you can see some concept art in the gallery below, as well as other images of the game.

+ 2 It also emerged that Starfield is the result of a very long process of elaboration at Bethesda, but started even earlier as a project of Howard's youth. According to what was reported in the interview, it was a dream that the developer had since the first experiments on Apple II, then carried on several times in the following years. There was an attempt to build something on Traveler's rights, which later became the Delta V project, then The 10th Planet in the late 1990s. In the early 2000s, Bethesda also worked under the Star Trek license and around that time the idea of ​​a space RPG, but which has always remained in the background compared to other projects.

"We have always known, for years, that if we had the opportunity to develop something different it would be a science fiction game", he Howard said, but the Starfield project actually started in September 2013, before even registering its title.

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Some New ‘Starfield’ Details We Probably Should Have Heard At The Microsoft E3 Show

Starfield

Bethesda

I wasn’t exactly all that blown away by the opening reveal of Starfield at the Microsoft E3 show yesterday. I suppose the in-engine tech was impressive, but it still felt like a cinematic, and it didn’t really paint that clear of a picture of what exactly this game was and what we would be doing.

There probably should have been more detail and explanation provided in that segment, but after airing, more information has come out with interviews with Bethesda developers, including Todd Howard himself. And I think there’s a lot of key stuff that should be compiled and shared here.

From a lengthy Washington Post interview I suggest you read (yes, this feature is why the trailer and release date leaked out early from them, it seems), we have a lot of additional stuff:

Starfield is meant to feel like “Skyrim in space.”

It’s described as a “Han Solo simulator” where you explore the galaxy and “do fun stuff.”

Starfield takes place 300 years in the future.

The studio still loves Fallout, but they wanted to do something “new and fresh” in sci-fi after so many years on that series.

They are “confident” in the November 11, 2022 date and believe they will hit it with out delays, despite the fact we’re still 18 months out now.

There’s some religious aspect to the game as it aims to answer the big questions of the universe.

Starfield

Bethesda

There’s another Telegraph interview (paywalled) with Todd Howard that has some additional info as well:

They know what every single button does inside the space ship that was shown.

The members of Constellation, the core group of explorers, are described as NASA meets Indiana Jones meets The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

There are multiple groups of factions you can join in the game and “carve your own path.”

They want each player to be able to say “here’s who I want to be in the universe” and execute on that idea.

We still may not be able to climb things after all these years.

There’s a “lot” of information hidden in the trailer you can find through freeze frames, but Howard won’t go into detail about what exactly all of it is.

Tom Cruise is not in Starfield, negating a previous, rather odd rumor.

So, that’s a hell of a lot more than we got from the Microsoft show itself, and I’m definitely more interested in the concept now that I’ve heard all that. I suppose you have to pick and choose to showcase what you have time for, and with 18 months to go, there’s plenty of time for more.

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